Australian road rules: Many obey rules that are not actually law

A conversation about road rules on social media has revealed many of us have been obeying a rule that is not actually a rule at all.

A simple question posed on social media has revealed many of us are obeying road rules that don’t exist simply because we were told to.

The Guardian’s political reporter Amy Remeikis set the ball rolling on a conversation about one widespread misconception when she asked on Twitter: “Why did so many parents believe it was illegal to drive with the car interior light on?”

Why did so many parents believe it was illegal to drive with the car interior light on?

— Amy Remeikis (@AmyRemeikis) June 15, 2020

The question led to a flurry of responses from people who thought it was illegal, including one from former Australian first lady and philanthropist Lucy Turnbull.

“You mean … it isn’t?” one person wrote.

“Who knew,” another said.

Mrs Turnbull wrote: “I absolutely believed it was illegal because the driver would be distracted. Big, early (pre-social media) misinfo campaign.”

Others wrote that it was generational confusion.

“My Dad told us that and then doubled down with overuse of the indicators chewed up too much petrol,” one person wrote.

“I always thought it was. I am sure it was when I learnt years ago,” another wrote.

The conversation led others to reveal fake road rules they have been obeying.

Victoria Police shocked that state a few years ago when they revealed it’s also not illegal to have an open alcoholic beverage in a car.

— Craig Platt (@CPtraveller) June 15, 2020

“Victoria Police shocked that state a few years ago when they revealed it’s also not illegal to have an open alcoholic beverage in the car,” Craig Platt wrote.

“Indeed. Fill people in about the ‘tradie traveller’ and watch the jaws drop,” another user commented.

A quick search of Victoria’s road rules reveals Mr Platt is spot on.

“Passengers are not prohibited from drinking alcohol in a vehicle. However, it is advised that passengers do not engage in drinking, as drunk passengers could distract the driver,” the VicRoads website reads.

News.com.au previously published a list of the road rules that Aussie drivers found most confusing.

Among them was the use of fog lights and the common myth about roundabouts.

Most people assume that when approaching a roundabout you should always give way to your right.

Some road rules don’t exist and we still obey them.

This is probably one of the first road rules that was drilled into you when you were learning how to drive.

If this is the case then you have probably been driving wrong your whole life, because this common roundabout rule is actually a myth, one that could cost to up to $474.

The actual rule dictates that drivers must slow or stop to give way to any vehicles already on the roundabout.

Another myth surrounds the 10 per cent rule.

The 10 per cent rule relates to the belief among some drivers that as long as their driving speed is within 10 per cent of the limit, they won’t get booked.

For example, you are able to get away with going 88km/h in an 80km/h zone or 55km/h in a 50km/h zone.

This belief is more of a myth than an official rule and comes from uncertainty surrounding the exact tolerances for speeding in each state.