SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Hi, Myself and family are going to cairns in april and know very little about driving in oz, all i know is watch out for the wildlife and you can turn right in most red lights. Anything else we need to watchout for? Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Watch out for tailgaters. Lots of that all over Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Get that alot here tgough i just stick my hazards on they tend to back off. Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingback Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Get that alot here tgough i just stick my hazards on they tend to back off. Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Aussies aren't quite as submissive - if you do this, you're more likely to get them speeding past and giving you the finger in my experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Be aware that many roads in Queensland are pretty awful... surface wise I mean with potholes and bumpy surfaces. On the whole I find drivers in Queensland better than those in WA.... at least they can merge! Perth drivers especially have absolutely no idea how a zipper works it seems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booma Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Hi, Myself and family are going to cairns in april and know very little about driving in oz, all i know is watch out for the wildlife and you can turn right in most red lights. Anything else we need to watchout for? Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk what do you mean you can turn right in most red lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 I read you can turn right on most red lights where indicated. Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I read you can turn right on most red lights where indicated. Huh? You can turn LEFT on red.. sometimes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booma Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I read you can turn right on most red lights where indicated. Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk only if you get a green arrow to turn. you should download the road rules & read them so you dont make an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Remember we drive on the left - if you turned right at a red light you would be crossing the flow of traffic. in some places at some times you can tuen left on a red light. Certainly not in Victoria - perhaps a Queenslander can confirm if it happens there - I would imagine where you can do that there is a sign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Watch out for Kangaroos, particularly at dawn and dusk. They are really dumb and will just jump out in front of you very suddenly. It will make **** of your car. We hit one in country NSW in 2015 and it caused $2,500 worth of damage. A good tip is not to be the first car (ie drive behind somebody) if you are in an area with them, particularly around dusk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Watch out for Kangaroos, particularly at dawn and dusk. They are really dumb and will just jump out in front of you very suddenly. It will make **** of your car. We hit one in country NSW in 2015 and it caused $2,500 worth of damage. A good tip is not to be the first car (ie drive behind somebody) if you are in an area with them, particularly around dusk Thank you, great tip Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 A left turn on red is permitted in NSW at junctions where this sign is present: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on_red#/media/File:Left_Turn_on_Red_sign_Australia.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 A left turn on red is permitted in NSW at junctions where this sign is present: [ATTACH]34622[/ATTACH] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on_red#/media/File:Left_Turn_on_Red_sign_Australia.jpg Thank you Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Obey the speed limits. The cops are fab at revenue generation and cameras are v well hidden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiaCapan Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Don't speed. Ever. Had a clean licence for over 20 years in the UK. Now have 4 demerits in 6 months :policeman: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Don't speed. Ever. Had a clean licence for over 20 years in the UK. Now have 4 demerits in 6 months :policeman: That would be why my son who lives in Queensland always says to me when I visit, "drive to the limit Mum or you will get a fine as the cameras are everywhere and you won't know where they are!" Which is probably why whenever I drive in Queensland I like how everyone is going with the speed limit and being polite. So maybe there is a lesson here for the WA Police. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anoh Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Welcome to Cairns. I can honestly say driving in my small car I feel like a gibbering wreck because of the bad driving here. You do get used to it but that doesn't make it any better. Be aware you may be turning left for instance on a green light but when turning don't be surprised to see pedestrians ambling across because they have also been given a green light. Accidents waiting to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH1 Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Some random thoughts. See:https://jointhedrive.qld.gov.au/ And various YouTube videos by Queensland Transport. Consider carefully any driving at dawn or dusk in kangaroo populated areas. They jump across the road at speed, and have no concept of vehicles. A kangaroo can write off a car and kill the occupants. Just because a beach in the tropics looks pristine and straight out of a magazine , does not mean that it is crocodile and/or shark free. It probably has crocs in the shallows. When turning left at a green traffic light with pedestraian crossing, the pedestrians have right of way if the green man is illuminated. If there is a turn left filter lane, it will be signposted that you can turn left as long as you give way, at any time. The emergency numbers are 000 (our version of 999), and either 000 or 112 from a mobile phone. Always check how far it is to the next petrol station. Most cars will do 450-70kms, but in some cases it may be >1200kms between the first and third. Undertaking is legal in large parts of Australia. Check local road rules via relevant websites before driving. If you break down never leave your vehicle. Always have emergency water if driving in rural waters. If driving during bush fire season, in bush fire prone areas, always check local fire conditions and listen to local ABC radio stations for fire reports: http://www.abc.net.au/news/emergency/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Be aware that many roads in Queensland are pretty awful... surface wise I mean with potholes and bumpy surfaces. On the whole I find drivers in Queensland better than those in WA.... at least they can merge! Perth drivers especially have absolutely no idea how a zipper works it seems! When were you last in Qld. Road surfaces on the whole pretty good. Travelled up and past Cairns in 2015 and saw no potholes that I remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 (edited) There is a circumstance where you can turn right on a red light; if there's a separate turning lane that's controlled by lights, in some of them (not all), when the opposing lane is moving and you're on a red turn arrow, the red will just go out and there won't be any illuminated arrows at all. Then you can cross when safe to do so. The Bruce Highway is an absolute joke; it's a national highway that wouldn't be classed as a B road in the UK; once you get north of the Sunshine Coast there's very few dual lane bits and if you get stuck behind a convoy of caravanners or the army on the road then you may as well pull over and have a sleep somewhere. Otherwise watch out for people on roundabouts - indicators are apparently optional extras. Roos are mainly an issue at dawn or dusk, you generally won't see too many of them during the daytime. The other big (literally) thing to watch out for are wide loads,especially in the areas near mines. Truck bodies and dragline buckets can be up to 13m wide, and when the highway is only single lane you don't have a lot of wiggle room. If you see a police car driving slowly towards you in your lane then they are indicating the width of the approaching wide load. Get off the road and stay there. You'll see a pilot vehicle pass - it says "Pilot" or "Oversize Load" in a big yellow sign, then the truck carrying a wide load will go through, followed by another pilot. I've seen a few out-of-staters have some close calls as they don't know what's going on. Edited March 11, 2017 by Eera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 When were you last in Qld. Road surfaces on the whole pretty good. Travelled up and past Cairns in 2015 and saw no potholes that I remember. I visit Queensland 2 or 3 times a year as my son lives there ...... December was my last visit. Overall I find the roads in Brisbane and the Gold Coast fine, and I admit it is a couple of years since I drove up the coast from Brisbane to Mackay, where I found the conditions of highway pretty appalling at times. I find the cement corregated conditions of the M1/Princes Highway in places from Brisbane all the way down into NSW is pretty poor. And some of the roads in the Hinterland and Mt Glorious areas leave a bit to be desired with crumbling edges and strange cambers that don't help you around some of the very tight bends. To be fair I haven't driven any further north than Mackay in the last 35 years, and I haven't been to Cairns since the early 1970's, but hopefully going to correct that on my next visit in May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 When were you last in Qld. Road surfaces on the whole pretty good. Travelled up and past Cairns in 2015 and saw no potholes that I remember. It must not have been after the rain then as the roads in Cairns are terrible after a downpour. The Bruce Highway is I think the worst in Australia for accidents. I don't mind the roads in and around Cairns, they are so easy to drive. However, as soon as there is a drop of rain there is always an accident on the range or a landslide heading up to Port Douglas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I think everything as been covered. Thankfully you don't have any of the stupid hook turns in Qld that they have in Melbourne. Some other tips I will add (They may have already been mentioned so apologies if they have) make sure you always remember that parking against the flow of traffic is illegal, well it is in Qld, Vic and WA not sure about the other states. Also in Qld you cannot do a U Turn unless there is a sign saying U Turns permitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 It must not have been after the rain then as the roads in Cairns are terrible after a downpour. The Bruce Highway is I think the worst in Australia for accidents. I don't mind the roads in and around Cairns, they are so easy to drive. However, as soon as there is a drop of rain there is always an accident on the range or a landslide heading up to Port Douglas. That will be it then. We travelled in September 2015 when there was no rain at all and the only concern were the bushfires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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