The simple driving rule catching out thousands of motorists
How well do you know the merging road rule while driving? Many may be surprised to learn that they may be breaking the law when changing lanes.
The rule is that the car in front of you has right of way when merging. Motorists should build up their speed to match that of traffic around them, and to be sure as they cross into a lane that they’re checking for safety, reports the Daily Mail.
In a story featured on Today Tonight Perth, Steve Kolb, a driving instructor of 20 years, said that the seemingly straightforward lane change is confusing motorists, or that they’re simply complacent.
“I think people just get lazy,” reports Perth Now.
“You know they don't focus on what they're doing, they forget the road rules, they don't keep up with road rules.”
Kolb lays some of the blame on parents for passing on bad driving habits to their children. His job he said, is to correct learner drivers armed with the incorrect advice from parents.
The driving instructor believes what causes the most confusion on our roads is merging lanes in traffic, braking distances and negotiating roundabouts.
Kolb says that it’s not enough to just understand and follow road rules to be a good driver, you have to have the right attitude.
"You can know all the rules and everything but if you've got the wrong attitude, like a hoon for argument's sake, you're never going to be good,” he said.
Police Superintendent, State Traffic, of Western Australia Police Dom Wood warns that while police are concentrating on targeting more serious offences like speeding, drink driving and mobile use that can result in fatalities on our roads, drivers shouldn’t get complacent about obeying road rules.
"Even though we don't focus on the lower end offences, our officers are out there 24/7 and there is no reason to say they won't stop you, they won't intervene,” he said.
If you are caught by police breaking the merging rule, it could cost you dearly according to figures published by the Daily Mail.
In ascending order by state, you’ll be hit with a $100 fine in Western Australia, $122 in Tasmania, $238 in Victoria, $332 in South Australia, $337 in NSW, and a whopping $391 in Queensland.
But there’s a novel way that you can track how well you’re driving, as Perth mum Lisa Godfrey has discovered. She uses a mobile app called UbiCar to improve her driving skills, which records and rates her behaviour while driving. The app was designed, according to the UbiCar site to “help young drivers and parents become smarter drivers".
"It has the five stars so you've got your speeding, phone distraction, acceleration, braking and cornering," Godfrey told Today Tonight Perth "If everyone was driving to get five stars the benefits would be huge.”
Did you know the merging road rule? Let us know in the comments below.