EXITING A CAR PARK, service station or even a private driveway can be quite a challenge. Just when you see a break in the traffic, you accelerate and collide with a pedestrian or cyclist you didn’t see.
It’s an increasingly common occurrence when drivers exit a car-related space such as a supermarket car park or a service station to join a public road.
Part of the problem is a misunderstanding of who has right of way; another problem is simply inattention or not driving with due care.
Australian Road Rule 74 covers this situation: drivers entering a road must give way to any vehicle travelling on the road, to pedestrians on any road-related area such as a footpath that the driver needs to cross, to cyclists on the road or in a designated bike lane and, if the driver is entering the road from a road-related area, any other vehicle ahead or approaching from either side. The onus rests with the driver entering the road from a road-related area at all times.
So the first thing to define is what constitutes a “road-related area”. If you are exiting a private driveway, shopping centre car park or a service station, you are exiting a road-related area and are required to yield right of way to everybody and everything.
One of the problems arises because drivers leaving these areas are focusing on oncoming vehicles, especially those on the right. This means that pedestrians and/or cyclists may approach unnoticed. In the understandable urgency of taking advantage of a break in the traffic, careful checking for pedestrians and cyclists may suffer and a collision ensue.
There’s the additional issue of limited vision when reversing from a private driveway, particularly if there are high fences, hedges or other obstructions. In this situation, consider using a passenger to help you safely reverse.
Even if you do use a third party to help, it is your responsibility as a driver to be aware of all surrounding dangers and to take all possible action to avoid them.
Breaches of the give way law will incur a fine and demerit points (varies from State to State).
seniordriveraus.com recommends seeking legal advice before disputing any expiation notice. Information contained in this article is for guidance only.