RAA warns of motorists failing in road rule knowledge ahead of Easter weekend

Thousands of drivers tested their knowledge of rules. It was a good thing they did it in a quiz, not the road, because most got this wrong. Can you do better?

One in two motorists failed one of the country’s most basic road rules, an RAA quiz has revealed.

More than 2800 people took part in the 10-question multiple-choice quiz, featured in the March online edition of RAA’s e-news.

RAA spokesman Charles Mountain said the results were “shocking”.

He said that ahead of the Easter break drivers must revise their knowledge of road rules to help reduce road trauma.

The results showed 58 per cent wrongly answered the question: “When do you need to keep left on a multi-lane road?”

“The correct answer is when there is a ‘Keep left unless overtaking’ sign or the speed limit is above 80km/h,” Mr Mountain said.

He said it was crucial that motorists understood the road rules, especially about the importance of keeping left on a multi-lane road.

“Failure to obey this law can potentially cause crashes or force drivers to make hasty manoeuvres if other drivers have to pass a slower vehicle in a left-hand lane,’’ he said.

“Motorists’ failure to adhere to the rule can also reduce traffic flows and lead to frustration and anger among other drivers.’’

Only 56 per cent correctly said the closest you could park to an intersection without traffic lights was 10m, while 59 per cent correctly answered that the minimum distance you should keep from the car in front of you when travelling at 60km/h is eight car lengths.

“Motorists can also forget rules, or pick up bad habits, so it’s important they know what the rules are to avoid potentially causing confusion, traffic congestion, conflict or collisions,’’ Mr Mountain said.