Facetiming and driving – recap
Readers may recall a few weeks ago we published a blog about a driver who had been fined for the action of her passenger who was facetiming while the car was being driven and which distracted the driver.
We circulated that story to all our staff with a challenge for them to identify the most obscure road rule. The three winners (and their favourite road rule) are –
- Megan Sault – road rule 291-3 which requires drivers to slow down or stop the vehicle so as to avoid splashing mud on a person in or on the bus, entering or leaving the bus or any person waiting at a bus stop.
- Zoe Brindle – road rule 303-3 unless you have permission in writing from RMS you cannot drive your 12.5 metre hummer limo (or any other lengthy vehicle) on the Bradfield Highway (and lots of other places) in the morning and afternoon peak.
- Brett Watts – (a former employee) also contributed with his favourite road rule 245-1 which creates the offence riding a bicycle furiously (and negligently or recklessly).
My personal favourite is road rule 145 – if you are being overtaken you must not increase your speed until you have been overtaken.
And while the prompt for the article in the first place was the distraction to drivers caused by passengers and their screens and devices, take a look at what the clever people at Samsung are developing. This should surely reduce the number of overtaking accidents although that might require an amendment to road rule 299.
Written by Belinda Cassidy
Belinda Cassidy holds the position of Special Counsel at Stacks Goudkamp. She had previously held the position of Principal Claims Assessor at the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) for 18 years, and currently holds an appointment as a Claims Assessor under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act.
