'About time': Drivers praise police for targeting 'annoying' road habit
The basic rule of Australian motorway driving is to stick to the left unless overtaking.
But one 25-year-old motorist learned the lesson the hard way when he was fined almost $340 for hogging the right lane.
The driver was travelling in the right-hand lane on the Hume Highway near Holbrook, in NSW’s south, for 6km while passing a ‘keep left unless overtaking’ sign, police said.
“[The driver] stated he didn’t know it was an offence and he was quite comfortable in the right lane,” NSW Police’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Command wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, sharing a picture from the scene.
He was fined $337 and two demerit points.
News of the penalty surprised some on social media, but many supported the move to fine the driver, while others called for the cops to be more vigilant on fining drivers for the offence.
“Good stuff. Ignorant drivers are incredibly dangerous on the roads and should go read the rule book,” one wrote.
Another commented: “Don’t go in the vroom vroom lane, if you aren’t gonna vroom vroom.”
“They really annoy me stay left unless overtaking,” a third person said.
“About time they got pulled over,” a fourth said.
The ‘keep left’ driving rule explained
As the young man learned, driving in the middle or right lane when it is clear on the left can carry hefty penalties.
In New South Wales, multi-lane roads where the speed limit is over 80km/h, drivers must stay in the left-hand lane, according to Transport for NSW.
“If a ‘keep left unless overtaking’ sign is displayed, the requirement to stay in the left lane applies regardless of the speed limit,” it stated in an instructional video.
Flouting this rule can lead to heavy penalties in NSW, where failing to drive on the far-left side of the road attracts a $263 fine.
As was the case with the 25-year-old, disobeying a ‘keep left unless overtaking’ sign could lead to a whopping $337 fine.
It is not just driving in the right lane that can land motorists in trouble; driving in the middle lane when it is clear on the left can also carry hefty penalties.
A motorist in Melbourne’s north started their Australia Day long weekend on a sour note, picking up a $161 fine for “failing to keep left” and getting two demerit points in the process.
How much can drivers be fined?
NSW motorists who fail to keep left in a multi-lane road could be fined $108 and get two demerit points.
In Queensland it is a $66 fine and two demerit points.
The maximum penalty is $161 in Victoria.
SA motorists who fail to keep left could be fined up to $305 and two demerit points.
In Tasmania, the fine for driving in a right-hand lane on multi-lane road (in an over 80 km/h zone or with keep left unless overtaking sign) when not permitted, is up to $125.25 and get two demerit points.
Western Australian drivers can be fined $50 and get two demerit points for the same offence.
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