Mad Australian Police fined me for driving on right hand lane of freeway

[Mr. Fabulous]

What kind of communist society do we live in? Are we living in a Nazi regime?

"McBain to base. I'm being attacked by Commie Nazis."

But seriously, that you would compare our society to a fascist regime that murdered millions of people because you got busted by an overzealous cop after you were being a smarta.rse to him, that's pretty low, sunshine.

You need to get off your soap box and stop acting like an entitlement princess.

 

[ianvestor]

I thought we were always being told:

"Unnecessary lane changes cause accidents".

That's why I think keeping left is a dumb law.

Instead of just staying right and overtaking 10 cars, you see people jumping over them one at a time like some kind of leap frog game. In and and of the right-hand lane.

Stupid.

 

[Aaron Sice]

+1!

This has been the law for decades but hardly ever got enforced so all sorts of poor driving habits resulted. In Perth we even saw freeway exits come in from the right lane which is just poor design and only encouraged these bad habits and made enforcement twice as difficult.

the bigger problem is entering the freeway at under the prevailing speed. drivers have a full 200m, or one-eighth of a mile, to get up to speed and still cant.

traffic ON the freeway is MEANT to give way to merging traffic, but don't.

so we get a lovely situation in peak hour.

 

[ianvestor]

drivers have a full 200m, or one-eighth of a mile, to get up to speed and still cant.

I think most can, but they don't. I sometimes see them still doing 60 when it's time to merge.

 

[skater]

the bigger problem is entering the freeway at under the prevailing speed. drivers have a full 200m, or one-eighth of a mile, to get up to speed and still cant.

Hmmm........I especially like the ones who crawl up to the merge part, then STOP. This affects everyone behind them who now have to merge into traffic doing 100km or more from a standstill.

 

[quoll]

3) request the fine be revoked based on the fact there is no specific legislation citing driving in the right hand lane is an indictable offence.

Pretty sure if you check the road rules, it is an offense to NOT drive as far left as practically possible.

Considering I'm in SA where 99% of drivers either don't know the rules, don't care, or both. I'll take my spoon ful of cement and make sure they dont' run into me.

Regards
Graeme

 

[tubs]

traffic ON the freeway is MEANT to give way to merging traffic, but don't.

I don't think that's right. Your lane ends at the dashed line so it's like a give way sign. Merging traffic gives way.

I see your point about the fine being stupid. I hate people hogging the right hand lane. But if you're out there alone perhaps it's a bit stupid. But if you were all alone on the freeway, where did the cop come from?

 

[Aaron Sice]

I don't think that's right. Your lane ends at the dashed line so it's like a give way sign. Merging traffic gives way.

tubs, if merging traffic doesn't have right of way the they have to stop. entering the traffic from a standstill at those speeds is just plain dangerous.

if they do have to give way, then what was the on ramp for? it's there for a purpose. they might as well just have a level crossing and some traffic lights.

we don't have any lines here at all where 2 lanes meet.

 

[eXc]

I wish cops would fine more people for it. It's my biggest pet hate with driving, people that want to sit in the right lane...argh!

Years ago we were going to rig up an LCD display on the rear shelf so we could display messages to people that sit in the right line once we finally get past them

 

[Luv2Travel]

tubs, if merging traffic doesn't have right of way the they have to stop. entering the traffic from a standstill at those speeds is just plain dangerous.

I agree, but...

http://www.seniorsmovingsafely.org.au/road_rules.html

And people have the nerve to say old people should be tested regularly after a certain age - I agree their health should, but nothing else. Provided they are healthy they are probably safer than most P platers.

With regards to the right lane issue, I agree, I get annoyed when people sit in it for no reason. If they are under the speed limit, even more so. Apart from it being law and discourteous, what about the scenario of you sitting in the right lane and are distracted (e.g. on your phone, talking to passengers, or listening to music) and an emergency vehicle comes flying down the right lane and is stuck behind you, even if only for a few seconds. Those few seconds could be critical in some instances.

 

[pieman]

I thought we were always being told:

"Unnecessary lane changes cause accidents".

That's why I think keeping left is a dumb law.

Instead of just staying right and overtaking 10 cars, you see people jumping over them one at a time like some kind of leap frog game. In and and of the right-hand lane.

Stupid.

No Ian i think you'll find "stupid" is hogging the right lane on a >=2 lane road and also happens to be against the law when the conditions below are met..

Rule 130 Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

(1) This rule applies to a driver driving on a multi-lane road if:
(a) the speed limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving is over 80 kilometres per hour, or
(b) a keep left unless overtaking sign applies to the length of road where the driver is driving

 

[depreciator]

I think Somersoft might have reinforced a real life stat. When I come up behind a knucklehead sitting in the right hand lane of the freeway, the car usually has either Queensland or a Vic number plates.

 

[Sailesh Channan]

Sitting on a right hand land can be dangerous as people caught behind the slow driver can get frustrated and take chances causing accidents. Yesterday, I was driving along the Bruce Highway heading north on a three lane highway and car after car would come up to the back of this slow car on the right hand lane doing around 90 in a 100 area. Then they are forced to overtake on the left. Some even flashed headlights and cut sharply in front of him in an aggressive manner.

The old guy behind the wheel was oblivious to what was happening around as he carried on without a care in the world.

 

[HandyAndy888]

But I said there is nobody behind me for 1km,

So why were you not in the left lane? I'm confused....the rules are pretty simple. Imagine if a vehicle crossed the freeway into your side, much more chance of head on...take it on the chin and stay in the left lane...

 

[rodimus]

considering you were aware there was no vehicles behind you to make you consider moving to the left Rodimus, where did the police bike come from?

he was speeding way over the limit to chase me. It was a 100kmh zone, I was driving 95-100kmh. He must be riding like 150kmh to come from about 200m behind.

 

[rodimus]

I can't believe you think you're in the right. You must keep left unless overtaking on freeways. What planet have you been living if you don't know that?

I do a lot of freeway kms, and there is always some d***head hogging the right lane, completely oblivious to what's going on around him/her, impeding the faster traffic flow and therefore potentially causing dangerous situations. Standard response is "i'm going fast enough, no one passes me" or I passed a car a few minutes ago. How stupid.

I've driven in Euro countries with higher speed limits, and they have very courteous and safe road manners on the motorways. Come back here and see how some morons are on the fwys, makes you wanna cringe.

Anyway, while I stongly disagree with the current overactive speed camera situation here in Vic, I fully agree that they enforce this right lane rule to the letter.

BTW, if I was the cop, I would have also locked you up for being a smart a**e.

Drive safe

Why are you using such language at me?

LOOK, I SAID NOBODY WAS DRIVING BEHING ME OR NEXT TO ME AND I ALSO SAID IF SOMEONE WAS COMING BEHIND ME SPEEDING (SUCH AS THE POLICEMAN), THEN I WOULD CHANGE LANE, WHICH I DID WHEN THE POLICE CAME TO ABOUT 50m BEHIND ME! DONT YOU GET IT??

 

[rodimus]

I think Somersoft might have reinforced a real life stat. When I come up behind a knucklehead sitting in the right hand lane of the freeway, the car usually has either Queensland or a Vic number plates.

KNUCKLEHEAD??????????????
I said, there was nobody behind me! Did you even read my post? And I said in my first post if someone were coming up behind me i would give WAY!

 

[wobbycarly]

No Ian i think you'll find "stupid" is hogging the right lane on a >=2 lane road and also happens to be against the law when the conditions below are met..

Rule 130 Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

(1) This rule applies to a driver driving on a multi-lane road if:
(a) the speed limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving is over 80 kilometres per hour, or
(b) a keep left unless overtaking sign applies to the length of road where the driver is driving

Which part of "keep left unless overtaking" is difficult to understand.

The law is "Keep left", but it's been so loosely enforced that I can understand Rodimus's frustration.

What about some of these... (if they are true.)

http://www.knowledgesutra.com/forums/topic/60240-the-worlds-strangest-laws/

 

[VYBerlinaV8]

Unless overtaking, there's no reason to be in the right hand lane. It's discourteous, and leads to the problems we have in Canberra, where half the population drives in the right hand lane, then gets upset because frustrated people tailgate them, which is actually quite dangerous.

It's a life lesson - learn it and move on.

 

[rodimus]

People, I think a lot of you are confusing me with those that keep right and obstructing traffic. Like I said, there was nobody behind me for nearly 500m. I quickly moved to the middle lane when I saw 2 bikes coming out from the middle lane about 200m behind, and I was already in middle lane when they were 100m behind me seeing they were overspeeding.

Today while in the car with a client and my director, he was also driving on right hand side and I told him what happened to me. Both of them said they were unaware it is an OFFENCE, they said "as long as you are not blocking someone behind you and you give way, what's the big deal?"
THey both agreed that the police was a bit petty to give that fine!