$10 including GST the driver’s handbook In this book: • your road safety responsibilities • the road rules • drivers and licensing • vehicles and registration • fitness to drive • road rules for bicycle riders. The Driver’s Handbookk provides an overview of the road rules and the laws for driver’s licences and registering a vehicle in South Australia. The information contained within this handbook has been prepared to help you become better informed about road safety, road rules, drivers and licensing and vehicle registration. It has been written in plain, easy to understand language and should not be taken as a precise interpretation of the law. It is not intended to be a substitute for the legislation made by Parliament. Recent changes in laws may not be reflected. Diagrams are for illustrative purposes and are not to scale. If you require further information, please call 13 10 84. Information on the relevant South Australian legislation may be obtained from www.legislation.sa.gov.au Road crash statistics are based on averages from 2013-2017. references • The Driving Companion (for Learner Drivers) • Australian Road Rules • Road Traffic Act (1961) and Regulations • Motor Vehicles Act (1959) and Regulations • Cycling and the Law © Government of South Australia. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. A summary of the licence terms is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en First published in Australia 2000. MR200 June 2019 ISMF Classification – PUBLIC – I3 – A3 WELCOME The Driver’s Handbook provides an overview of the road rules and the laws for driver’s licences and registering a vehicle in South Australia. All road users have a right to use our roads including pedestrians, bicycle riders, motorcyclists, users of mobility devices, and wheeled recreation devices; drivers of cars and heavy vehicles; the young, the elderly, and people with disabilities. This guide explains your road safety responsibilities to respect the rights of all who share our roads. Stay alert and travel safely. Before you drive… • Think about safety. Know the risks and be prepared. The major risks on the road and how to avoid them is covered in the Your Road Safety Responsibilities section. • Know the road rules. Road rules are explained in the Road Rules section. • Be licensed. Ensure that your driver’s licence or permit is current, appropriate for the vehicle you are driving and with you. Refer to the Drivers and Licensing section for details. The Drivers and Licensing section also incorporates Fitness to Drive. • Ensure your vehicle is roadworthy, registered and insured. All drivers of registered vehicles in South Australia are covered by Compulsory Third Party (Bodily) Insurance and the Lifetime Support Scheme. Refer to the Vehicles and Registration section for details. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, June 2019 The Driver’s Handbook 1 Contents Your Road Safety Responsibilities Road Safety – Minimising the Risks 6 Alcohol, Drugs, Medicines and Driving 20 Young Drivers 8 Seatbelts 26 Understand Different Types of Crashes and Driver Distraction and Inattention 28 How to Avoid Them 10 Driver Fatigue 30 In Case of a Crash 14 Share the Road 32 Speeding and Inappropriate Travel Speeds 17 Hazardous Driving Situations 37 Road Rules Approaching and Entering a Roundabout 79 Seatbelts and Restraints 42 Freeways and Expressways 81 Care, Courtesy, Common Sense 44 Obstruction 83 How to Read the Diagrams 45 Towing and Loads 84 Speed Limits 46 Driving at Night or in Poor Visibility 86 Driving on the Road 49 Motorcycles 88 Signs 58 Road Rules for Bicycle Riders 90 Driving Signals 60 Parking 97 Traffic Lights 65 Miscellaneous Rules 103 Crossings 68 Mobile Phones 102 Giving Way 72 Trams 106 Drivers and Licensing Obtaining a Licence 108 Fitness to Drive 132 Graduated Licensing Scheme 112 Vehicles and Registration Registration of Motor Vehicles 136 What to do When Buying a Car 139 What to do as a Seller 138 Glossary and Index Glossary 140 Index 144 The Driver’s Handbook 3 LICENCE CLASSES AND MINIMUM DRIVING EXPERIENCE Licence Motor Vehicles Authorised To Be Driven Minimum Driving Experience Class • Any motor vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) not greater than 4.5 tonne but does 17 years: not include a bus, motorcycle or motor trike. The motor vehicle may tow a single trailer, • if you are under the age of 25 you must have C subject to the combination mass limits fixed under the Road Traffic Act 1961. held your learner’s permit for at least 12 months. • if you are aged 25 or over you must have held your learner’s permit for at least 6 months. • Any motor vehicle from class C. Must have held a class C for at LR • Any other motor vehicle with a GVM not greater than 8 tonne except a motorcycle or least one year. motor trike. The motor vehicle may tow a single trailer, subject to the combination mass limits fixed under the Road Traffic Act 1961or the Heavy Vehicle National Law (South Australia). • Any motor vehicle from class LR. Must have held a class C for at least one year. • Any other motor vehicle with 2 axles except a motorcycle or motor trike. The motor vehicle may MR tow a single trailer (other than a semi-trailer) with a GVM not greater than 9 tonne subject to the combination mass limits fixed under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (South Australia). • Any special purpose vehicle with 3 or more axles and a GVM not greater than 15 tonne. • Any motor vehicle from class MR. The applicant must have held - • Any other motor vehicle (including an articulated bus, but not including any other articulated (a) a class C for at least two years; HR motor vehicle) with 3 or more axles, except a motorcycle or motor trike. The motor vehicle may or tow a single trailer (other than a semi-trailer) with a GVM not greater than 9 tonne, subject to the (b) a class LR or MR for at least one year. combination mass limits fixed under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (South Australia). • Any special purpose vehicle with 3 or more axles and a GVM greater than 15 tonne • Any motor vehicle from class HR. Must have held a class MR or HR for at least HC • Any prime mover to which is attached a single semi-trailer (whether or not any unladen one year. converter dolly or low loader dolly is also attached). • Any rigid motor vehicle to which is attached a single trailer with a GVM greater than 9 tonne (whether or not any unladen converter dolly or low loader dolly is also attached). • Any motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles except a motorcycle or motor trike. Must have held a class HC or HR for at least MC one year. • Any approved motorcycle or motor trike the engine capacity of up to 660ml with a 17 years; and if no other licence is held: power-to-weight ratio not exceeding 150kw/t. • if you are under the age of 25 you must have R-DATE* held your learner’s permit for at least 12 months. • if you are aged 25 or over you must have held your learner’s permit for at least 6 months. • Any motorcycle or motor trike. Must have held a class R-DATE* for at least R one year. *Please note that the R-Date is not an ‘expiry’ date in the same way as applies to other licence classes, but is in effect an ‘eligibility’ date. The holder of a driver’s licence endorsed R-Date remains restricted to an approved motorcycle or motor trike with an engine capacity up to 660 millilitres with a power to weight ratio up to 150 kw/t until he or she is granted a licence endorsed R, notwithstanding the fact that the date included on the classification may have passed. 4 The Driver’s Handbook Your Road Safety Responsibilities You are encouraged to carefully read the following road safety pages. They can help South Australian drivers of all ages to drive in the safest ways possible and set the scene for life-long safe driving behaviours and experiences. The Driver’s Handbook 5 ROAD SAFETY Road Safety – Minimising Driving involves risk, and safe drivers aim to the Risks reduce and manage their risk by making good decisions and taking responsibility for their Driving a car is one of the riskiest activities that people perform on behaviour when driving. a daily basis. Each year, there are thousands of crashes in South Australia, often involving death and injury. Driving is complicated and presents many challenges every time you drive. It requires a lot of time and practice to develop the skills to become a safe driver. 6 The Driver’s Handbook Certain behaviours are major contributors to high risk driving and In this Road Safety section, you will find useful information about crashes. These include: sharing the road, as well as hazardous driving situations, including country driving risks and how to keep your vehicle safe. % speeding and inappropriate travel speeds for the road or weather conditions You are encouraged to read the road safety pages carefully. They % driving after drinking alcohol or when impaired by drugs can help South Australian drivers and riders of all ages to drive in the safest ways possible and set the scene for lifelong safe driving % not wearing seatbelts behaviours and experience. % driver distraction and inattention, including use of mobile In particular, young drivers have been shown to have a higher phones risk of crashing than older drivers. Those learning to drive for the % driver fatigue.