A VISITOR’S GUIDE TO DRIVING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

[V8ENZ]

For those outside Australia, we drive right hand drive cars and drive on the left hand side of the road.

In WA, we have an unwritten road code, therefore, it is suggested that you discard your official copy so diligently obtained and studied prior to your visit. The following rules apply to the WA roads, not in any particular order of importance.

1. The correct overtaking lane is the left hand lane. The right hand lane is reserved for sightseeing, making mobile phone calls, and looking for street signs. If someone behind you puts on their high beam when you are in the right hand lane, they do not want to overtake, but, in fact, are trying to give you more light in which to read your street directory. We in the west are so considerate like that.

2. Tunnels are a big novelty here, despite probably being commonplace where you come from. As a result, you are expected to reduce speed considerably on entering our very own tunnel so you have more time to appreciate the engineering and architecture of this magnificent structure, which is far better than anything in your hometown.

3. In WA, it is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone while you are driving. Please do not let that stop you, your call is important to us. However, we all recognise the inherent danger in using these devices while driving, so it is recommended that whilst using a mobile, please move to the right lane (you should be there already) and reduce speed to ensure you can still respond in a timely manner to any change in road conditions.

4. Roundabouts are something we have never really got used to. To avoid any confusion, please do not indicate at all, as any indication is confusing. Should you not be to sure who has right of way, feel free to stop in the middle of the roundabout to give way to your left. This is also a great gesture of courtesy, and should anyone toot their horn, it is in appreciation of your courtesy. Likewise, a vertical finger is a wave of “welcome to PerthR21;.

5. On many of our country roads there are overtaking lanes to allow drivers to overtake slower vehicles on sections where it would otherwise be difficult or impossible to do so. You should be mindful of the fact that speed is our biggest killer and you therefore have a moral obligation to drive at least 20kph below the speed limit on the single lane sections, and accelerate to whatever speed is necessary to prohibit those reckless drivers in our midst from overtaking. They are a danger to the community at large and who knows how many lives you will save by such a small contribution as this.

6. Traffic lights are a modern method of regulating the flow of traffic but have the effect of causing vehicles to travel in packs. Therefore, the appropriate method to reduce this effect is to wait until the vehicle in front of you is a reasonable distance from you before you move away from the lights. Ten car lengths or more is considered appropriate. Do not accelerate quickly away from the lights, as this will make you stand out as a tourist.

7. Merging of two lanes into one has its dangers. The obvious way to reduce these dangers is to reduce your speed prior to attempting a merging manoeuvre. While you may be used to merging one for one, this simply does not work here and you should try to stay as close to the car in front to ensure you don’t lose your place in the queue.

If all the above rules are too confusing, remember that when all else fails, drive in the right hand lane and be totally oblivious to anything that may be happening around you. It is not as easy as it sounds but with some practice you’ll find yourself driving like a local in no time.
Follow these simple rules and you are ensured of a pleasant stay in our beautiful state without standing out from the crowd as just another tourist. Enjoy your stay.

[Joe]

Spot on!

[adrenalin]

was going to say did you write that joe ?

That is gold

[-Luke-]

that would be hilarious.......if it wasn't true.....:(

[FitzyB]

Thats utter brilliance, for a long time i thought that sorta stuff only happened around me (the country overtaking one especially).

That should be making the email rounds of the offices of perth...

[mehow2g]

On a dual laned round about goto into the left lane and flick the indicator turning left on the round about then cross into the right lane while you are on the round about.

[Jumanji]

Gold absolute Gold...

[Halle Terry]

I nearly had a mental breakdown at this lady who I travelled behind last night, sat in the right hand lane 10kph below the limit for over 5km's, I high beamed her over and over again to get her to move out of the way but obviously it was far too difficult to comprehend.

[Alt_F4]

YES!!!

[ReaperSS]

Soooo true!

[-Luke-]

my personal favorite is drivers who dawdle off the lights at intersections that merge to one lane. They try and jump que and take the next merge spot. Then get upset when you wont let them in.


One from each lane................how fucking hard is it????:werd:

[MISS 13B]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry because every one of those points is sooo true.
It's only a matter of time before I'm arrested for assualt with a street directory.

[Turbo2.6L]

So funny, yet so depressing at the same time :lol:
Merging & Keeping Left are just too fucking hard for 90% of WA road users to comprehend!

[hillbilly1]

While I agree with eveything stated in Nik's post and it is so frustrating to be around these tools, it is not limited to WA or even Aus for that matter, try watching the idiots in Rome or even Paris they are just as bad or even worse at times. The best drivers I have seen would have to be the Germans but we all know you have to know how to drive before you get a licence over there.

[Torquen]

fucking LOL.

[easytiger]

No 7 really grinds my gears

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e1ixLAraWv0/Sb5SuhE6y8I/AAAAAAAAAgo/TxR3GidIwEM/s320/grinds-my-gears1.jpg

Coming soon: Vehicular manslaugher Roe hwy freeway south onramp at 5pm

[mehow2g]

I stopped at a set of lights just then, I looked in my rearview mirror and some guy had a stick on his windscreen "LEFT LANE USE IT" it was backwards so you can see it in your mirrors.

I hate stickers on cars but fck me this one is tempting to get.

[Jiblet]

i havea feeling it's not only the drivers but also the way that the road is made.. over east, when the left lane ends, it doesn't just stop out of nowhere, there is a clear definition of who has the right away. The left lane has to wait until the right lane is free.. In Wa it's "oh i'm in a 2 lane, oh crap where did my lane go *brake*"....

[Yakky Bear]

i havea feeling it's not only the drivers but also the way that the road is made.. over east, when the left lane ends, it doesn't just stop out of nowhere, there is a clear definition of who has the right away. The left lane has to wait until the right lane is free.. In Wa it's "oh i'm in a 2 lane, oh crap where did my lane go *brake*"....

also when merging they have the mentality of ..... This is my spot your not allowed infront of me

[Nic_A31]

also when merging they have the mentality of ..... "This is my spot your not allowed infront of me.. or behind me...or around.....just get in the emergency lane"

Fixed

[ho57ile]

The problem with keeping left in WA is that the left lane on major roads is reserved for those who do under the speed limit, which is fucking retarded and frusrating as hell as im sure you're all aware of.

95% of the time i'm in the right hand lane purely because i want to travel at the speed limit (at least). Also i can see myself going on a murder/suicide all over the on ramp from roe highway to the kwinnie south.

[LNYMRKO]

:werd:

[Bomber]

The problem with keeping left in WA is that the left lane on major roads is reserved for those who do under the speed limit, which is fucking retarded and frusrating as hell as im sure you're all aware of.

95% of the time i'm in the right hand lane purely because i want to travel at the speed limit (at least). Also i can see myself going on a murder/suicide all over the on ramp from roe highway to the kwinnie south.

That's the one with the invisible 60km/h zone yeah?
Semi trailer trucks are trying to merge in from Roe with traffic already on the Freeway doing around 100km/h. The on ramp becomes an incline over a few hundred metres so trucks aren't gathering up the speed to make it a smooth process granted. However the fucktards who sit in the left lane and fuck everything up because they can't judge speed or distance and how they relate to each other in a moving vehicle create chaos because they don't want to move into the right lane for 10 seconds to either 1) leave open space for the trucks to merge in WITHOUT NEEDING TO BRAKE or 2) think they will miss the South St exit which only has a slip lane of 800 metres (sacasm detector on?)........

The real problem is road design. The Roe-Kwinana on ramp should extend up further and meet in with the South St off ramp. Mix in a few fuckwits with no fucking clue on smooth driving or any other practicable driving skills and chaos ensues.

[jaybee]

i dont think joe could have even written that better himself

[2LMILK]

i was drive home just then, coming south on tonkin before kelvin. some idiot P plate drive idiot trying to use his i phone......i swear 10m before lights he slams on brakes, locks em all up and stock 2m into intersection...i pull up and he a security guard...

[Bomber]

i was drive home just then, coming south on tonkin before kelvin. some idiot P plate drive idiot trying to use his i phone......i swear 10m before lights he slams on brakes, locks em all up and stock 2m into intersection...i pull up and he a security guard...

Then who was phone?

[hostage_85]

While I agree with eveything stated in Nik's post and it is so frustrating to be around these tools, it is not limited to WA or even Aus for that matter, try watching the idiots in Rome or even Paris they are just as bad or even worse at times. The best drivers I have seen would have to be the Germans but we all know you have to know how to drive before you get a licence over there.

I agree 100% with V8ENZ however you are right, it isn't solely limited to WA/Aus. In the UK they have 3 lane roundabouts and i've seen fuckwits change from left to right and back again without a single indication, i was like WTF.

[Onijin]

Currently over for a couple of weeks because my grandma passed away, and already I've noticed a marked difference in the driving standards between Perth and Melbourne people, particularly the lack of keeping to the left and not merging properly. I seriously think there are quite a few people who need to be reassessed urgently as to their driving standards.

[Jiblet]

yeah they should have a refresher course... and a punch in the face.. *bam* you can drive good now

[DR1FT3N]

5. On many of our country roads there are overtaking lanes to allow drivers to overtake slower vehicles on sections where it would otherwise be difficult or impossible to do so. You should be mindful of the fact that speed is our biggest killer and you therefore have a moral obligation to drive at least 20kph below the speed limit on the single lane sections, and accelerate to whatever speed is necessary to prohibit those reckless drivers in our midst from overtaking. They are a danger to the community at large and who knows how many lives you will save by such a small contribution as this.

spot on this whole list is oh so true but no 5 really pisses me off :(

[V70R]

While I agree with eveything stated in Nik's post and it is so frustrating to be around these tools, it is not limited to WA or even Aus for that matter, try watching the idiots in Rome or even Paris they are just as bad or even worse at times. The best drivers I have seen would have to be the Germans but we all know you have to know how to drive before you get a licence over there.

European drivers keep out of the fast lanes - obvious reasons. It was so much a pleasure to drive amongst people with common sense.

Dont get me started on Kwinana Freeway drivers.
Last night there was a wanker doing 80 in the right lane - other two lanes were empty. I drove up behind, waited ... waited... overtook on the middle lane (apparently illegal anywhere else but WA) pulled ahead of him and then he high beams me .. WTF

[Rantopotamus]

We need to do a bulk buy of those rear word scrolling signs Top Gear used on their caravan trip...

Pretty much you type in what you want to say and you leave it on the back of your car and the Red LED lights scroll across... I have overtaken people in the middle lane and once was so angry with the idiot as she was not paying attention to the 15 cars behind her... so I did the immature thing of pulling up beside her and telling her to get out of the lane with completely useless hadn gestures... she looked away and kept driving.. so this frustrated me more and I pulled in fornt of her slowed down to her speed around 75 on 3 lane mitchel freeway and sat there for a second to show her how annoying she was ... she had no idea what was going on...

So if I had my scrolling LED thingo I could type her a message saying you are blocking up the right lane, doing 25 km/ph under the limit get out of the lane ... or a simple KEEP LEFT pingpingpingping...

u get my gyst.

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.bezzmedia.com/swfspot/resources/17-textscroller.swf?bulbcolor=FF0000&amp;inputstring=KEEP LEFT pingpingpingping" width="300" height="40"><param name="movie" value="http://www.bezzmedia.com/swfspot/resources/17-textscroller.swf?bulbcolor=FF0000&amp;inputstring=KEEP LEFT pingpingpingping"/></object>

[Breno]

*trump*

I did the test for my heavy vehicles license a few months ago... and the INSTRUCTOR told me it was ok to change lanes whilst IN a roundabout!!!!

how the fuck are people meant to drive in WA if this is what's being taught?!

couldn't fucking believe it... lucky they instructor mistook the shaking of my head for exaggerated mirror checking and i aced the test :P

[V70R]

Its also ok for trucks to use the Right lanes on the freeway even with signs saying "Trucks use Left lanes"

[Bomber]

Its also ok for trucks to use the Right lanes on the freeway even with signs saying "Trucks use Left lanes"

I drive a truck and quite often am in the right lane because at least it is going somewhere near the speed limit as opposed to dealing with the fuckheads on the left who absolutely, positively MUST be in front of the truck at all times, even if it means accelerating to 140km/h and then slamming on the brakes whilst cutting off the truck and causing the driver to panic brake because the car he saw in his mirrors a second ago is now trying to do a handstand 2m in front of the bullbar :hammer:

[wormbo2]

I'm not sure if i'll rock the boat with this subject, but in my opinion, its MOSTLY Women and Old People who cause most of these problems?

Everytime i overtake a car on the freeway, or even a main road, its either some bird with her phone, or Farkin around in the mirror with her lipgloss, or its Captain Retirement checking how Slow he can go in top gear.

It's not us Young Drivers F**king the Traffic, because i KNOW i use my vehicle to its Fullest capabilities, and i'm the one copping the bird for wanting to do 100kp/h on the freeway.

N.B: I apologize to the minority of women and older people that CAN drive.

[HIKARI]

Nothing more better than:

1. Screamer pipe - change lane to overtake and WOT
2. If it is convertible that's being a pingpingpingping - overtake and pull in front of the car, let it get fairly close then WOT. Smoke screen should take care of them.
3. Idiots who knows there is a truck and decided to merge in front of it just before redlight.

Also hate, fucking ladies and I kid you not mostly 'asians' who drives their little echo, corolla etc etc continuously have their high beams on at night. Pull up next to them, roll down my windows and started to warn her by screaming and hand gesture. She just looks away. This is not being biased, I'm asian myself.

[Gazza]

even if it means accelerating to 140km/h and then slamming on the brakes whilst cutting off the truck and causing the driver to panic brake because the car he saw in his mirrors a second ago is now trying to do a handstand 2m in front of the bullbar :hammer:
Quoted for truth!!

I drive a Semi/Double and im in the same boat, I like to do the speed limit, but of coarse move accross when you can. But thats mainly so I can look down on the talent as it sails past me:wiggle:

[Mistikal]

Sister (don't ask, yuck) was following me home one night, myself in my car, her in her own. Next thing I know, she's into the right lane with her foot down, passes the semi infront of me and slams her brakes on for the red light - poor truckie struggled to stop.

Thankfully thou, he got out and gave her what for with a barrage of verbal abuse - to which she complained about once home, only to receive a barrage of verbal abuse from me too.

People with no clue should be shot.

[V70R]

I hear you on the cars pulling out and jumping into the gaps in front of trucks on the freeway in traffic. Many drivers think a big rig can pull up just as fast as a car - they cant.

You should go to Europe. 3 lane freeways. Trucks use the inside lanes and the middle lane to overtake slower trucks. you NEVER see a truck overtaking in the fast lane. Perhaps im used to that logic...

Trust me im not attempting to start beef with you guys and i understand where you are coming from, its just that too many on our roads are stupid, selfish and inconsiderate of other road users resulting in complete anarchy of road rules.