keep left unless overtaking

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road is not only courteous to other drivers, it’s the law! This rule i
s designed to improve traffic flow on our roads and reduce driver frustration.

Drivers must stay out of the right lane when driving on a multi-lane road with a speed limit of more than 80km/h or where a ‘Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ sign applies. A multi-lane road is a road with two or more marked traffic lanes in the same direction.

The exceptions to this are when a driver is turning right or making a U-turn from the centre of the road and has their right-turn indicator on, overtaking another vehicle, avoiding an obstruction, travelling where signs or arrows indicate this is allowed (such as where a ‘Left Lane Must Turn Left’ sign applies and the driver is not turning left) or where traffic in other lanes is congested.

This rule only applies to the far right lane. Drivers may drive in the left and centre lanes on a road with three or more lanes in each direction, unless signs or markings on the road indicate otherwise.

A ‘Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ sign applies for the length of road from the first sign until an ‘End Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ sign, road markings on the surface of the road or signage indicate that the road is no longer a multi-lane road or the road ends, for example at a T-intersection or a dead end.

However, even where it is not legally necessary to keep left, it is courteous (when practical) to give other vehicles free passage past your vehicle should they desire it.