By Jeremy Rochow
Published: Wednesday, March 31, 2021
More than half of motorists don’t know when to keep left on a multi-lane road, a recent samotor quiz has revealed ahead of the Easter long weekend.
Almost 3000 motorists completed the 10 question multiple-choice quiz, with only 42% of respondents understanding that you must keep left when there’s a keep left unless overtaking sign or the speed limit is over 80km/h.
More than 1000 respondents thought motorists must always keep left, no matter what the conditions.
RAA Safety and Infrastructure Manager Charles Mountain said not understanding keep-left rules could cause a crash.
“Failure to understand keep-left laws could lead to hasty manoeuvres when drivers have to pass a slower vehicle in a left-hand lane,” he said.
“Motorists’ failure to adhere to the rule can also reduce traffic flow and lead to frustration and anger among other drivers.’’
Only 160 people managed a perfect score in the quiz, while surprisingly, two thirds of people got at least 3 questions wrong.
This has prompted RAA to urge drivers to brush up on their road rules knowledge.
Mr Mountain said many of the road rules in the quiz should be common knowledge for motorists.
“Many of the questions in the quiz were about rules that motorists should know,” Mr Mountain said.
“Road rules change, and it’s important drivers keep up to date.
“Rules can also be forgotten, or we can pick up bad habits, so it’s important all road users know what the rules are to avoid potentially causing confusion, traffic congestion, conflict or collisions.”
Many quiz participants were also tripped up by rules about roundabouts, merging, traffic lights and parking.
One in 10 respondents thought they could speed when dealing with a medical emergency or when their (hypothetical) partner was about to have a baby.
And, while it’s a good idea to lock your car, 56% of people thought leaving their vehicle unlocked was a fineable offence.
The results weren’t all doom and gloom though, with 95% of quiz participants knowing it’s illegal to reply to a text, even while their phone is in a commercially manufactured phone cradle.
More than 2500 people correctly answered that they need to give way to buses when they’re pulling away from a stop.