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Originally Posted by GTpilot
MERGING.
Well here are the facts (well for Vic anyway), however as with everything, there is also and element of commonsense mixed with some common courtesy that should also be applied.
FROM: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/...eways.htm#rule + A few other things.
Entering a freeway
When entering a freeway, you are effectively changing lanes (across the dotted white line) and you must give way to vehicles already travelling on the freeway.
There are traffic lights at some freeway entrances to control the flow of vehicles onto the freeway when the traffic is heavy. When operating, the lights will change quickly, so that when the light is green only one vehicle in each lane will be able to enter the freeway.
Keeping left
When driving on any multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80km/h, you must keep out of the right lane unless you are overtaking, turning right, or if all lanes are congested. If there is a transit lane, this rule also applies to lane immediately to the left of the transit lane.
Stopping
You must not stop on a freeway except in an emergency and only in the emergency lane. Buses and taxis can sometimes use the emergency stopping lane when signs allow it.
Transit lanes
During times specified on the signs, transit lanes are for buses, taxis, motorcycles, trams and vehicles carrying two or more people (T2 sign), or three or more people (T3 sign). You may drive in a transit lane for up to 100 metres if it is necessary to make a turn.
Rule references
Road Safety Road Rules 2009
130 Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road
148 Giving way when moving from one marked lane or line of traffic to another marked lane or line of traffic
177 Stopping on a freeway
178 Stopping in an emergency stopping lane
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Thanx GTpilot, I was going to quote the rules too, as it seems to me that there a few people on this forum that need to learn what the current rules are (not stating that I am any expert by any stretch of the imagination). I would, however, add one more excerpt from the rules to clarify things:
149 Giving way when lines of traffic merge into a
single line of traffic
A driver in a line of traffic that is merging with one or more
lines of traffic travelling in the same direction as the driver
must give way to a vehicle in another line of traffic if any
part of the vehicle is ahead of the driver’s vehicle.
Offence provision.
Note 1 Driver’s vehicle is defined in the dictionary.
Note 2 For this rule, give way means the driver must slow down and, if
necessary, stop to avoid a collision — see the definition in the
dictionary.
But most of the entrance lanes I've seen on freeways have the marked lines, so this rule wouldn't apply in that circumstance.
However, IMHO, this difference in ruling just creates doubt as to whom shoudl give way or not, purely dependant upon whether the lending lane is marked or not.
As for people not keeping left, this is my absolute pet hate when driving on the freeways in Melbourne. No one seems to take any notice of it, even when the occasional 'Keep Left Unless Overtaking' sign appears. This mentality then follows out onto the country freeways. Last Easter I was returning from Bendigo along the Calder freeway (so road was busy) and came across a car travelling in the right hand lane around Woodend area. Given he (looked like) he was passing the car in the left, I pulled into the right hand lane behind him and disengaged the cruise control (from the approx 113km/h indicated speed) to give him the time to get the pass done. Well blow me down, he wasn't actually passing the car. I ended up sitting behind this walburger for at least 2km while he sat next to the car in the left hand lane before I slowly started to creep up on him (to try and suggest to him that he would like to either speed up and move into the left hand lane, or slow down and pull in behind the car he was next to). By this stage I had at least another 5 cars queued up behind me!!! But he took no notice of me getting closer to him, so then I started waving at him to move across. This didn't work either, so I felt I had no other option than to flash my lights at him to get his attention. In no way was I overly aggressive in this, I was simply trying to get his attention so that he would move over (as he was legally required to do) and let those going faster than him to pass. Anyway, he eventually got the message, pulled ahead of the car in the left lane and then, when clear, pulled into the left lane. Well, you should have seen what this walburger did; he started waving his fist at me with a frown on his face, as if
I was the one in the wrong...!!!! I estimate I eventually sat behind this guy for at least 5km...!!!
All I could put it down to was that he hadn't driven in the country too much and that the style of driving on the city freeway was what he had become accustom too. either that or he just wasn't thinking. Either way, he shouldn't be allowed to drive on those roads if he drives like that.
Oh, and I think there should be a
lot more ‘Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ signs on the freeways to remind people of their responsibilities.
Craig H