New road rules for Victoria came into effect on 9th November. The new road rules are aimed at providing improved road safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries. The rules will also make road rules within Australia more consistent. The new road rules are as follows:

• Mobile phones – can only be used if they are not handled I.e. the phone’s body is not to be handled by the driver at any time. The phones can only be used for making and receiving calls, operating the GPS and audio/music functions. Texting, emailing and video calls are strictly prohibited. The mobile phone is not to be handled at any time, even if you are not using it, and this includes resting it in the driver’s lap. Learner and P1 drivers are prohibited from using a phone at all.
• Visual display units – such as a dvd player are not to be used if any part of the screen is visible to the driver and/or is distracting to the driver. A driver’s aid such as a GPS can be used only if they are built into the vehicle design or are secured in a commercially designed holder.
• Child restraints – all children under the age of seven must wear a child restraint or booster seat. You will need to ensure that your child is fitted with the correct restraint according to their age, weight and height. Children under the age of four must not sit in the front seat where there are two or more rows of seats. In the event that all other seats are being used by children under the age of seven, then a child between four and six may travel in the front seat, provided they are using the correct child restraint or booster seat.
• Centre dividing lines – you can only cross a single continuous centre line if you are entering or leaving the road or to avoid an obstruction. You can’t overtake or do a U-turn over a single continuous line or a double continuous line.
• Motorcyclists – must not carry a passenger under the age of eight years unless in a sidecar and the sidecar must only carry the number of passengers for which it is designed. No animals are to be carried between the rider and the handlebars of the motorcycles.
• Cyclists – must wear an approved bicycle helmet and sit on a proper seat when ride the bicycle. A driver must stop at the first line of a bicycle box whilst a cyclists must stop at the second line within the bicycle box. When turning left within a bicycle box ensure that you are in the left lane of the reserved area. If turning right you must be in the right lane of the reserved area. If there is no reserved area a standard right turn can be used by signalling and turning from the right hand turn lane. Alternatively a rider may perform a hook turn from the left lane.
• Scooters, skateboards and roller blades – are called Wheeled Recreational Devices (WRD) in the road rules. A WRD can travel on footpaths and roads where the speed limit is 50km per hour or less. A WRD can not be towed or slipstream and must not be used on the road at night. A scooter rider must where an approved bicycle helmet.
• Road safety rules – a driver must stop at the first stop line of an intersection and must not enter the area for cyclists when the traffic light is red. If a driver is blocking a driveway, the driver is only allowed two minutes to pick up or drop off passengers and must not leave the vehicle unattended. A driver must not have another person or animal on their lap. If two vehicles are using are travelling in the same marked lane ie, two cyclists or a car and a motorbike, and one vehicle diverges to the left or right within the marked lane, the diverging vehicle must give way.
• Tram rules – when sharing the road with trams, a driver must stop before passing the rear of a stopped tram at a tram stop. Once the tram doors are closed and pedestrians have crossed between the tram and kerb, a driver may then proceed at no more than 10 kmh past the tram. Unless there is a sign which permits parking, a driver must not stop or park within 20 metres of a tram stop. Tramways will be introduced in Victoria. These will clearly be displayed with a sign of a tram and the word ONLY underneath there will be two continuous yellow lines or raised dividing strips for these areas. This means that a driver is not allowed to drive in a tramway.

There are a number of new rules so it would be wise to familiarise yourself with them. Visit www.roadrules.vicroads.vic.gov.au for futher information about the new road rules.