When you’re a novice driver, familiarising yourself with the road rules on freeways across Australia can be stressful, particularly if you don’t know the general driver etiquette.
One of the most debated topics among road users is how effective the ‘keep left unless overtaking’ law has been in recent years, given that Australian drivers continue to be divided over the issue.
In 2024, an online user took to the Ask an Australian Reddit thread to ask, “People that drive in the right lane, or the middle lane of a three-lane highway, why do you do it?”.
Commenters were quick to share their opinion, with a vast majority sharing their experience with left-lane drivers.
One user said, “The left lane has become the slow lane for drivers who are too scared to drive at the designated speed limit, regardless of what that may be”.
“50 per cent of drivers don’t know how to merge, attempting to enter the freeway traffic at 30 per cent under the speed limit and expecting a 10-second gap in the cars,” they added.
A different commenter stated, “I drive a lot in the middle lane because I want to go roughly the speed limit. The left lane is full of entering/exiting traffic and very nervous, slow drivers. The right lane is often full of people wanting to go 10–20km/h over”.
Conversely, NSW Highway Patrol was celebrated by social media users on Facebook in August 2024 after the road authority posted a recent pull-over involving a driver who failed to follow the simple road rule.
But what exactly do the road rules say? And how much can you be fined for breaking them? Here’s what you need to know.
When does the keep left unless overtaking rule apply?
According to the Australian Road Rules – a set of legislation that is the foundation of state and territory laws – the keep left unless overtaking rule applies on multi-lane roads if the speed limit is 80km/h and above, or if there are sign-posted warnings, the rule applies on a stretch of road.
But it’s worth noting that depending on the state and territory laws, there could be a slight difference. For example, in Western Australia and Queensland, the road rules apply on multi-lane roads with a 90km/h speed limit and above.
What’s the fine for failing to keep left?
Depending on where you live, failing to keep left can incur hundreds of dollars in fines and demerit points. However, there are some exemptions.
Motorists are able to use the middle or right lane to overtake, U-turn, or move through traffic if roads are congested. Additionally, this road rule does not apply if the left lane is used for special purposes like buses.
Victorian motorists caught disobeying the state’s road rules can be issued three penalty units valued at $609. In New South Wales, its Highway Patrol recently shared awareness of this “commonly misunderstood” road rule, with the road authority stating the offence carries a $423 fine and two demerit points.
Queenslanders failing to keep left where required can incur two demerit points and a $133 fine. South Australian drivers who "drive in the right lane on multi-lane roads when not permitted" can be penalised $320 and two demerit points.
Motorists who don't abide by Western Australia's road rules can be fined $50 and two demerit points. In Tasmania, failing to keep left can lead to a fine not exceeding $1025.
In the territories, drivers residing in the nation's capital can be slugged with two demerit points and a $35 penalty, while the road rule comes with a $30 fine in the Northern Territory.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
