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Annoying Adelaide drivers put on notice

SA Police found 226 motorists failing to keep left on Adelaide’s multi-lane roads yesterday, in the first of what it promises to be a monthly blitz on annoying driving habits.

Jul 14, 2017, updated Jul 14, 2017
The South-Eastern Freeway. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

The South-Eastern Freeway. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

SA Police said today that its one-day focus on Australian Road Rule 130 – keeping to the left on a multi-lane road – was the first in an ongoing campaign dubbed “Traffic Thursday”.

The campaign will focus on breaches of road rules which cause frustration to motorists and police.

The acting officer in charge of the SA Police Traffic Support Branch, Inspector Ben Spencer, said preliminary data from yesterday’s blitz shows 226 motorists were detected in breach of the keep left road rule, with 19 drivers issued with expiation notices – at a cost of $252 plus a $60 victims of crime levy – and 207 let off with a caution.

“Police are keen to use Traffic Thursday to improve road safety overall through influencing driver behaviour,” Spencer said.

“These road rules are policed as a matter of normal police business, but Traffic Thursday will throw a spotlight on offences which are particularly frustrating for drivers and police.

“The offence of failing to keep left will continue to be policed along with the offences which are linked to the so-called ‘Fatal Five’ of  speeding, seatbelt use, preventing drink or drug driving, detecting distracted drivers and identifying dangerous drivers.”

The next Traffic Thursday will be in August, with the road rule being targeted to be announced just the day before.

However, Police said motorists can expect a focus on bugbears including tailgating, failing to indicate, poor roundabout “behaviour” and failing to stop at stop signs.

For the record, here’s the “keep left” rule in full.

Australian Road Rule 130

  1. This rule applies to a driver driving on a multi-lane road if—
    1. the speed limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving is over 80 kilometres per hour; or
    2. a keep left unless overtaking sign applies to the length of road where the driver is driving.
  2. The driver must not drive in the right lane unless—
    1. the driver is turning right, or making a U-turn from the centre of the road, and is giving a right change of direction signal; or
    2. the driver is overtaking; or
    3. a left lane must turn left sign or left traffic lane arrows apply to any other lane and the driver is not turning left; or
    4. the driver is required to drive in the right lane under rule 159; or
    5. the driver is avoiding an obstruction; or
    6. the traffic in each other lane is congested; or
    7. the traffic in every lane is congested; or
    8. the right lane is a special purpose lane in which the driver, under another provision of the Australian Road Rules, is permitted to drive; or
    9. (there are only 2 marked lanes and the left lane is a slow vehicle turn out lane.
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