Road Rules Awareness

Traffic laws and regulations are designed to ensure that traffic moves in an orderly and safe manner. No matter what the circumstances, it is the responsibility of each driver to drive safely and avoid crashes. A driver can be held accountable for a crash even if a road rule has not been broken. The most basic concept of all road rules upon which our movement in traffic is based is described simply as Duty of Care and applies to all who use public streets and public places.

The Northern Territory Road Users' Handbook provides information about the road rules, instruction for new drivers and general safety tips. The Handbook is available online or from Motor Vehicle Registry offices and Police Outstations for $6.00 each. In 2005, coinciding with the launch of the Road Users' Handbook, a series of road rules quiz print advertisements were published to encourage discussion of the road rules and raise awareness of this resource.

How well do you know your road rules? Test your knowledge about the road rules by answering the quizzes below:

• Giving way to pedestrians (pdf 185kb)
• Giving way at a slip lane (pdf 329kb)
• U-turns at traffic lights (pdf 171kb)

Due to ongoing safety issues arising from motorists carrying out illegal u-turns at traffic lights, an awareness campaign began in June 2008 to draw attention to the road rules applying to U-Turns at traffic lights.

The campaign included print and television advertising using the slogan -

If you can't see this, you can't do this!

A new U-Turns television commercial was also developed in the style of previous Road Rules campaigns for roundabouts and merging.

• U-Turns (wmv 1.8mb)
• Roundabouts
• Merging (wmv 1.8mb)

 

A complete version of the Northern Territory Traffic Regulations, including the Australian Road Rules is available at http://www.nt.gov.au/dcm/legislation/current.html

For more information please contact the Road Safety Branch of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure.