NSW motorways and special lanes

Joining a motorway and keeping left

A motorway has no intersections and everything on it moves fast, so how you join and where you sit both matter.

• The entry ramp is built long so you can reach the speed of the traffic before you merge.
• Signal, then slot into a gap. Vehicles already on the motorway have priority over you.
• Not overtaking? Travel in the left lanes.
• Where several lanes run and the limit is above 80 km/h, the right lane is for passing, so return left once you are past.
• Before a long run at speed, check fuel, oil, water and tyre pressures to lower the chance of breaking down.

Missed exits, stopping and breakdowns

The riskiest motorway moments come when you want to pull up or turn back.

• Gone past your exit? Drive on to the next one and come back on local roads.
• Never stop, reverse, turn back or make a U-turn on a motorway, and that includes a gravel gap in the median.
• The shoulder and emergency stopping lane are for emergencies only. Feeling drowsy is not one, so push on to a rest area.
• If the car breaks down, get as far left as you can and turn on your hazard lights.
• Back on a 60 km/h road after hours at 110, your sense of speed is dulled, so trust the speedometer.

A U-turn or a reverse on a motorway puts you across or against fast traffic. It is never allowed, however close the exit you missed.

Bus lanes and bus only lanes

Bus lanes keep public transport moving, and the wording on the sign tells you how strict the lane is.

• Bus lane: during its hours a car may use it for no more than 100 metres, and only to turn or to enter or leave the road.
• Turning left into a side street 60 metres ahead? You may move into the bus lane for that short run.
• Bus only lane: no cars at all while it operates, however empty it looks in peak hour.
• You must not stop in a bus lane during its hours, not even for a quick drop off. Drive on to a legal spot.

Transit lanes: T2 and T3

A transit lane is about how many people are on board, not what kind of vehicle you drive.

• T2 needs at least two people in the vehicle and T3 at least three.
• Everyone counts: the driver, adult passengers and young children alike.
• Motorbikes may use any transit lane, whatever the number on board.
• Short of the number? You may use the lane only within 100 metres of your turn, or to enter or leave the road. A turn 200 metres away is too far.
• In one by mistake, move out as soon as it is safe, and never stop in it while it operates.

Count heads before you change lanes. You plus one passenger is enough for T2 but not for T3.

Truck, tram and bicycle lanes

Some lanes belong to one kind of road user, and a car is a brief visitor at most.

• Truck lane: set aside for trucks, so keep your car out even when it is nearly empty.
• Tram lane and light rail tracks: stay out except where the rules or signs let you in, and never block a tram.
• Bicycle lane: you may drive in it for no more than 50 metres, and only to turn or to enter or leave the road.
• Stopping in an operating bicycle lane is not allowed, whatever the errand.

Median turning lanes, footpaths and shared paths

A few spaces on and beside the road are shared in ways that catch learners out.

• A median turning lane in the centre of the road serves right turners from both directions.
• Enter it slowly and be ready to stop, because an oncoming car may already be in it, slowing to turn.
• Never drive along a footpath or shared path, even to get around a parked delivery van.
• You may cross a footpath or shared path only to get into or out of a driveway.