New Road Rules for the ACT introduced on 15 March 2010
New road rules were introduced in the ACT on 15 March 2010. These amendments give effect to the National Transport Commission's 5th, 6th and 7th packages of amendments to the Australian Road Rules. All States and Territories plan to introduce, or have recently introduced, these changes to the Australian Road Rules.
New Child Restraint Rules
The most significant changes relate to nationally agreed mandatory child restraint rules for children under the age of 7 years. Research has shown that while many parents and carers do choose an appropriate child restraint for their children, many children are using adult seatbelts too early and this has resulted in injuries to children involved in car accidents.
In the ACT, the phase-in period for the new child restraint rules commenced on 15 March 2010 and these rules will become mandatory 12 months later, on 15 March 2011. This will allow adequate time for people to purchase appropriate child restraints and booster seats. After that, failure to comply with the new laws will attract a similar penalty to other seatbelt offences, which includes fines and demerit points.
Under the new rules, the type of child restraint will depend on the age of the child, as follows:
Under 6 months: an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear facing child restraint.
Between 6 months and under 4 years: an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear facing OR forward facing child restraint with an in-built harness.
Between 4 years and under 7 years: an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, forward facing child restraint with an in-built harness OR a properly positioned approved booster seat and a seatbelt that is properly fastened and adjusted.
There will also be new laws for where children can sit in vehicles:
If a vehicle has two or more rows of seats, then children under 4
years must not travel in the front seat.
If a vehicle has two or more rows of seats, then children aged between 4 years and under 7 years must not travel in the front seat unless all other seats are being used by children under 7 years. In this situation, a child may travel in the front seat using an approved booster seat and a properly fastened and adjusted seatbelt.
Other new Road Rules introduced on 15 March 2010
There is no 12 month phase-in period for the remaining new road rules.
Most of the amendments to the road rules are simply to clarify the intent of a rule or to remove anomalies. The amendments that are important for road users are:
The carrying of unrestrained passengers of any age in the load area of vehicles (eg station wagons) is prohibited.
The carrying of additional unrestrained passengers of any age after all seating positions with a seatbelt are occupied is prohibited. Note: An exemption from this requirement currently applies for passengers in older vehicles (eg veteran, vintage and historic vehicles) where the Australian Design Rules do not require seatbelts to be fitted to a seating position. From 15 March 2011 this exemption will no longer apply to passengers under 7 years of age. They will be required to be restrained in a child restraint or a booster seat with a lap/sash seatbelt, depending on their age.
Drivers are responsible for making sure
all passengers (not just those under 16 years) are
using a seatbelt or child restraint.
It has been made clear in the road rules that drivers
are not allowed to overtake or perform a U-turn across a
single continuous dividing line on a road.
Children under 8 years of age are
not allowed to ride on motorcycles as a pillion
passenger, but they are permitted to travel in a
sidecar.
Motorcycle riders are not permitted to ride with an
animal (eg a dog) on the petrol tank of the motorcycle.
However, there are devices that can be fitted to the
back of a motorcycle that provide safe travel for dogs
and cats etc.
A person may not drive a vehicle if a person or animal is on the driver's lap.
It has been made clear in the road rules that where parking bays are marked in a parking area or on a length of road, the driver must park the vehicle in a marked parking bay, whether or not a 'Park in Bays Only' sign is present.
A driver must not stop or park a vehicle on a painted island. A painted island is an area of a road that has painted stripes or chevrons in white (or another colour) and is surrounded by a line or lines (whether broken or continuous).
Where parallel parking is permitted in a road-related area, eg an indented parking bay, a vehicle must be parked facing in the same direction as the flow of traffic closest to the vehicle.
Drivers must not use front fog lights unless the driver is driving in fog or other hazardous weather conditions causing reduced visibility.
The current prohibition on the use of motorised scooters on roads and road-related areas (eg shared paths and footpaths) in the ACT will continue. The term 'motorised scooter' refers to scooters with a footboard and handlebars to which have been added a petrol driven or electric motor. It also refers to scooters with a footboard and handlebars that have been manufactured with an electric motor as an integral part of their design. It does not include motorised wheelchairs, which are commonly known as 'mobility scooters' and are specifically built to transport a person who is mobility impaired. Nor does it include the motor scooters and mopeds that are registered by road transport authorities.
It has been made clear in the road rules that the writing, sending or reading of text messages on a mobile phone is prohibited.
The new road rules include rules about Bicycle Storage Areas which are designated spaces on the road at traffic lights that allow cyclists to stop in front of motor vehicles at an intersection and then leave the intersection before the motor vehicles. These are common in Melbourne, however there are none in the ACT at present.
The road rules allow a pedestrian to walk along the edge of a road if there is no footpath or nature strip available or fit for use. Walking on the side of the road in the same direction as the traffic flow is inherently dangerous. The new version of the road rules requires pedestrians to walk on the right hand side of the road so as to face oncoming traffic. This will ensure pedestrians have a view of the traffic closest to them on the road, to assist them to take evasive action if the traffic is approaching too close.
ACT's new Road Rules from 15 March 2010
A copy of the new version of the Australian Road Rules that became ACT law on 15 March 2010 can be downloaded by selecting the following link: