August 24, 2022
From September 16, drivers who fail to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles will face a $432 fine and three demerit points under a new Queensland law.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the new rule is aimed at keeping first responders safe on the roadside.
“Our emergency service and first responders do an incredible job, and they play a critical role in roadside incidents,” Mr Bailey said.
“The rule is simple – if you see flashing lights at the roadside, move over and slow down.
“We know many people already do it, but this change makes it clear that you must do it to keep the people helping in an incident safe from harm.”
The new rule applies to ambulances, police cars, fire trucks and transport enforcement vehicles, as well as breakdown assistance providers such as RACQ, tow trucks and assistance vehicles.
The new law is being introduced as part of Queensland Road Safety Week (August 22-26) after advocacy from the RACQ.
RACQ Group Executive – Assistance, Glenn Toms, said the RACQ have been advocating for the change since 2017.
“90 percent of our members are in favour of making this lifesaving road rule a reality,” Mr Toms said.
“So we are incredibly pleased the government is taking action.”
An education campaign will be run to make sure the public are aware of the change.
I find it’s also wise to slow down a bit and move closer to the centreline when there’s a vehicle parked at the edge of a highway. You don’t know if they’re going to pull out right in front of you, open a roadside door or do nothing.
So any idea what the actual rule will be, that “move over and slow down” is a remark/idea. Moving over 1cm and slowing 1km/h satisfies the flippant statement that is all over the news. Some other States have, I believe, a 40km/h max speed when passing emergency vehicles on the side of the road.
Colin, we have spoken to the Minister’s office. On a multi-lane road, drivers will be required to slow down and shift into an adjacent lane. On a single-lane road, they must slow down and move over as far as possible as can be done safely. The experts in Queensland have determined that setting an actual speed limit could be more dangerous, eg. drivers travelling at highway speeds suddenly braking to 40km/h. The aim is to encourage drivers to use common sense and to keep traffic moving slowly but safely. If drivers don’t do the right thing, police can impose a penalty. More information will be available soon on the Streetsmarts website
Good luck with that for them. In a court of law if the infringement officer’s position is that they felt “they didn’t move over enough or didn’t down slow enough” is not very defensible.