Driving in Australia

Driving in Australia offers a few challenges. Basic driving follows the rules of the United Kingdom but there are a few notable exceptions. Speed limits are posted in KM/H. National Speed limit signs are white circles with a black diagonal line through them generally they indicate a limit of 60 KM/H in residential areas and 100 KM/H in open areas

It is HIGHLY recommended that if you are doing any amount of travelling you should purchase a road atlas as this will contain not only maps of the area but also information on rules of the road and points of interest. Note: When I travelled in Victoria many of the roads did NOT have the same identification on the map as they did on the road itself (they were not labelled the same). Whether this was because of recent changes to the road labels or whatever it seemed to happen a fair amount.

The roads are generally fairly small with the exception of in the south where vast mutli-lane highways link major cities together. Most roads are in good repair and the only hazards a driver will normally face will be with animals (there are a lot of them). Wombats are the most common animals hit since they are easy to miss, their being low to the ground.

Outback travel is not really recommended but possible by taking special precautions (read up before you try this). If you are renting a car your insurance may not cover travel in the outback – check if you are planning on doing this.

In Melbourne there is a strange rule that when turning right at some intersections you must be in the far LEFT lane. To turn right you get in the left lane, indicating you wish to turn right (traffic is SUPPOSEDLY not allowed to pass you when you perform this turn) hook far to the left then wait until the lights in the street you are entering have changed to green then cut across the lanes to your right while turning and proceeding through the remainder of your turn (assuming all traffic is clear as you do this).