Intersection Rules Australia

[Martez Fields]

Sowhat happens at an intersection with both a stop and a give way sign? Contrary to popular belief, a stop sign is not more powerful than a give way sign. The signs effectively cancel each other out and normal give way rules still apply. Both must give way to all vehicles, then because car A is turning right, it must give way to car B.

A stop sign is not more powerful than a give way sign when giving way. When 2 drivers arrive at stop or give ways signs at the same time, the stop sign becomes the equivalent of a give way sign. Both vehicles must give way to other vehicles before they must give way to each other.

You need to give way if you face a give way sign or a stop sign or if there are stop or give way lines on the road, even if the other driver, who is not facing a stop or give way sign, is turning right across your path.

When you are driving in a built-up area and the speed limit is 70km/h or less, you must give way to a bus that displays a give way to buses sign on its back right-hand side, and is signalling to enter traffic from:

You must give way to all other vehicles and signal for at least 5 seconds when you drive on to the road from a parked position on the side of the road or in a median strip. You must stop signalling as soon as you have completed the manoeuvre.

You must give way to pedestrians and bicycle or personal mobility device riders on or entering a road you're turning into or entering. This includes pedestrians or bicycle and personal mobility device riders that are crossing on the green 'walk' signal at an intersection controlled with traffic lights, and you are turning into the road they are crossing.

This article covers intersections, roundabouts, lane use and traffic light rules in New South Wales, including where road traffic intersects with other traffic like pedestrians, cyclists and trams/light rail.

When you are facing another vehicle at a crossroads, if you are turning right you must wait for any vehicles coming straight through or turning left. Therefore in the diagram below vehicle P has right of way over vehicle O.

When you come to an intersection and the road beyond is choked with vehicles going in the same direction you must wait until there is room to completely cross the intersection, even if your traffic light turns green.

When travelling on a laned roadway, right turns must be made from the right-hand lane unless there are right-turning arrows in other lanes. In the example below you can see traffic turning from a one-way street. The left-hand lane traffic can also turn right. Any vehicle wanting to turn into the road at X would use the left hand lane.

The diagram below shows a marked pedestrian crossing at an intersection. There is also a STOP sign at the intersection. Even if you have already stopped for a pedestrian you must stop again at the STOP line.

The rules for a roundabout are that you must always give way to traffic already on the roundabout and you must use the appropriate lane. You can see in the photo below that the right-hand lane can be used for turning right and going straight ahead, whereas the left-hand lane can be used for turning left or going straight ahead.

When turning right, approach the roundabout in any lane marked for turning right (usually the right-hand lane), indicating right. As you pass the exit before the one you want to take, signal left. If there are two lanes on your exit road then you will exit onto the right-hand lane.

Traffic light phases are set so that, at the speed limit, vehicles should be able to pull up safely when the light turns yellow without having to drive through the intersection while the light is red. Red light cameras will only trigger if you enter the intersection when the light is red.

Temporary traffic lights are sometimes installed at roadworks and they should be treated as any other traffic light. The sign indicates where it is safe to stop. Also, some automated lights have a sensor for vehicles waiting at a red light so they know to turn the lights green again after a certain period of time. Parking forward of this sensor may mean the light does not change green.

A transit lane is a lane reserved for vehicles with defined minimum number of occupants. For example, a T2 lane must have a driver and at least one other occupant whereas a T3 lane must have a driver and at least two other occupants. T2 and T3 lanes can usually be used by cyclists, motorcyclists and buses, too.

In Australia, the National Transport Commission recommends model rules, which each state adopts and lightly modifies. For instance, New South Wales Road Rules 72, 73 and 353 cover pedestrians crossing a road.

Because of the legal principle of duty of care, drivers must still try to avoid colliding with pedestrians. They have a legal obligation to not be negligent. Thus, they must stop if they can for pedestrians who are already there, but not those on the side of the road wanting to cross.

However, this element of the NSW Road Transport Act is not made explicit in the NSW Road Rules. There is no statutory requirement in the road rules or elsewhere to give way to pedestrians other than as set out specifically in the road rules.

Does the law as written mean a slow-moving person can never cross the street because of the risk of being hit? Only because duty-of-care logic indicates both the driver and pedestrian should yield to the other to avoid a collision is it possible for this person to cross without depending on the kindness of strangers. But the law gives the benefit of doubt to the driver of the multi-ton machine. Existing road rules permit drivers to voluntarily give way, or not.

Keep in mind the asymmetry of this situation. A person walking into the side of the car is silly. A car being driven into the side of a person, as happens 1,500 times a year in NSW, is life-threatening.

Walking has multiple benefits. More people on foot lowers infrastructure costs, improves health and reduces the number in cars, in turn reducing crashes, pollution and congestion. However, the road rules are not designed with this logic.

The putative aim of road rules is safety, but in practice the rules trade off between safety and convenience. The more rules are biased toward the convenience of drivers, the more drivers there will be.

Like many things in this world, intersection interactions are negotiated, tacitly, by road users and their subtle and not-so-subtle cues. Pedestrians should have legal priority behind them in this negotiation.

The road rules need to be amended to require drivers to give way to pedestrians at all intersections. We favour a rule requiring drivers to look out for pedestrians and give way to them on any road or road-related area. In the case of collisions, the onus would be on drivers to show they could not in the circumstances give way to the pedestrian.

This change in perspective will require significant road user re-education. Users will have to be reminded every intersection is a crosswalk and that pedestrians both in the road and showing intent to cross should be yielded to, whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the road. We believe this change will increase safety and willingness to walk, because of the safety-in-numbers phenomenon, and improve quality of life.

People should continue to behave in a way that does not harm themselves or others. People on foot should not jump out in front of cars, expecting drivers to slam on their brakes, because drivers cannot always stop in time.

Similarly, drivers should be ready to slow or stop when a person crosses the street, at a crosswalk or not. But the law should be refactored to give priority to pedestrians at unmarked crossings. This will reduce ambiguity and make drivers more alert and ready to slow down.

Cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other road users, but they are more vulnerable when travelling on the road. Both cyclists and motorists need to consider each other and share the road safely.

Cyclists must obey all road rules, just like motorists, including stopping at stop signs and traffic lights, riding on the left side of the road and giving way to pedestrians on crossings and at intersections.

Use the Cycle Instead online Journey Planner or download the Bikedirect cycling maps to find the locations of bike lanes as well as shared paths, greenways and bicycle boulevards in metropolitan Adelaide.

Clearways operate on busy arterial roads during periods of high traffic volume. They are designed to maximise traffic flow, safety and capacity and are clearly signposted with the relevant times and restrictions.

Priority to the right is a right-of-way system in right-hand traffic, in which the driver of a vehicle is required to give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4.a of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic for countries where traffic keeps to the right and applies to all situations where it is not overridden by priority signs (including uncontrolled intersections), including side roads and roundabouts (but not paths or earth-tracks).

The system is widely used in countries with right-hand traffic, including most European countries. What varies, however, is the prevalence of uncontrolled intersections. In some countries, the right of way at virtually all but the most minor road junctions is controlled by the display of priority vs. stop / yield signs or by traffic lights, while in others (such as France) priority-to-the-right is sometimes applied even at heavily trafficked intersections such as the Place de l'toile (around the Arc de Triomphe) and on the Boulevard Priphrique (Paris ring road).

Most states in the United States enforce priority-to-the-right at uncontrolled (four way) intersections, where motorists must yield to the right,[citation needed] although these intersections are less common. Increasingly, municipalities across the US have introduced all way stops, traffic signals and other designations such as multiple lane right-of-way or paved vs. unpaved roads as a means of controlling the intersections to decrease the likelihood of a collision and to make it easier to determine liability in the event of an accident.[citation needed]

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