Road rules

For free and confidential legal advice about this topic, please contact us here.

This page contains answers to the most common questions young people ask us about road rules.  It is not a full list of road rules! 

Do I have to wear a seatbelt?

Yes.

It’s against the law if you don’t wear a seatbelt in a car.  It doesn’t matter if you are the driver or the passenger.  

If you’re driving without a seatbelt, you will be fined $300-350 and could lose up to 3 demerit points, for driving without wearing a seat belt themselves or carrying passengers who do not wear seat belts.

If you’re over 16 and you’re riding in a car without a seatbelt, you could be fined $300.

Bicycles

Do I have to wear a helmet?

Yes, it’s against the law if you don’t wear a helmet. This applies to both riders or passengers on a bicycle.  If you’re caught without a helmet, you could be fined up to $100!

For some tips on staying safe when using bicycles you might want to check out this link to Bicycle Network Tasmania: http://www.biketas.org.au/cycling_safety

Motorbikes

Do I have to wear a helmet?

Yes, it’s against the law if you don’t wear a helmet on a motorbike. This applies to both riders and passengers on motorbikes.   If you’re caught driving a motorbike without a helmet, you could be fined $140 as the driver.  If you’re carrying someone who isn’t wearing a helmet, you could both be fined $140! As the driver, you could also lose up to 3 demerit points!

Can I do lane filtering?

No.  While there’s no specific law against lane filtering in Tasmania, it’s against the law if you overtake a vehicle to the left (instead of the right), if you don’t indicate when crossing lane lines and if you don’t leave enough room when overtaking.  This means most types of lane filtering is probably going to break the law.

There are also special rules about riding a motorcycle if you’re an L or P plater.  Please check out our Licences page for more information about these rules.

For some tips on staying safe when riding motor bikes you might want to check out the Tasmanian Motorcycle Riders’ Handbook:

Scooters

Do I have to wear a helmet?

Yes, it’s against the law if you don’t wear an approved helmet on a scooter for both drivers and passengers, unless you are exempt.

There are also special rules about riding a scooter if you’re an L or P plater.  Please check out our Licences page for more information about these rules. You can also check out general rules for scooters here.

Can I use my mobile phone when driving?

The rules about using mobile phones while driving are very strict.

You can only use your phone to make or receive a phone call if:

• the phone is mounted in a special holder (like on your windscreen); or
• the phone is somewhere else and you don’t need to touch it to use it (for example you’re using a Bluetooth headset).

You can also use your phone for directions if it is mounted in a special holder and you don’t need to touch the phone to make it give you directions.

If you aren’t following these rules, you could be fined $300 and you could lose 3 demerit points.

Even though it’s legal to use your phone in Tasmania, it’s still much safer for you to pull over, park and then look at your phone.  

Skateboards, rollerblades and rollerskates

Do I have to wear a helmet?

No, in Tasmania you don’t have to wear a helmet while you are skateboarding, rollerblading or roller-skating. However, it’s still a good idea to wear one anyway for safety, as well as other protective gear like knee and elbow pads.

There are also some other rules to know when using a skateboard, rollerblade, or roller-skates:

• you are not allowed to skateboard, rollerblade or roller-skate on any road at night or any road which has a speed limit of more than 50km per hour
• you can’t use one if there’s a sign which bans them
• if you’re on a road, you must stay as far to the left as possible.

you are allowed to skateboard, rollerblade or roller-skate on footpaths and shared pathways, but you must give way to pedestrians.  

Number plates

When you’re driving a car or motorbike, your number plates must always be visible. If your number plates are not visible, you could be fined $140.

Speeding

Speeding is always against the law. If you’re caught speeding, you could lose your licence on the spot, depending on how fast you were going.  

If you’re on your L or P licence, there are special speeding laws that apply to you. In particular, when you are on your L licence or P1 licence on a motorbike, or L licence on a car, it is illegal to drive faster than 80 kilometres per hour.  Please check out our Licences page for more information.

More information about road rules

For more information about road rules and safety contact the:

Transport Division, Department of State Growth (Tas)

• Phone: 1300 851 225
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.transport.tas.gov.au

If you’re under 25 and you have a question about road rules that we haven’t answered here, please ask us a question here and we can give you some free information and advice.