-
Good driving tips
- Keep left
- Two-into-one merge
- Maintain a steady speed
- Maintain your lane
- Merge like a zip
- Safe following distances
- Don't tailgate
-
Merge of the Month
- Good merging habits can help improve safety on the road and reduce congestion. Check out our Merge of the Month videos for what to do, and what not to do when merging!
- April 2022 (SH1/59 at Linden edition)
- December 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021 (lockdown edition)
- July 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
-
Tailgate Watch
- Keeping the correct following distance can help improve safety and reduce congestion. Check out the inaugural Tailgate Watch for some great tips and no-so-great tailgating.
- November 2021
Good driving tips
Keep left
A good rule of thumb is to keep left unless you’re passing other cars. Keeping left helps improve safety and reduce congestion. You can use the right lane if the left lane is full, you’re passing vehicles, or you’re turning right. At all other times, keep left whenever possible.
Two-into-one merge
When two lanes reduce to one – like the end of a passing lane, or a lane closure for roadworks – vehicles in both lanes need to merge safely and efficiently.
When traffic’s heavy, it’s best to use all available road space by using both lanes and then merging like a zip at the end. Drivers using the right lane aren’t cheating or queue jumping, they’re actually helping everyone by using all the capacity on the road and not causing congestion further back.
Merging the wrong way can delay journeys and increase the risk of crashes. If everyone merges in a consistent way, it’ll improve travel times, reduce frustration, and improve safety for everyone.
Maintain a steady speed
Many things can cause traffic to back up. Sometimes one of those things is changing your speed when you see a gap ahead of you.
That’s because although you might speed up temporarily, you’ll likely have to slow down again by braking when you catch up to the vehicles in front.
This braking can create a ripple effect among following vehicles, resulting in harder braking that can cause traffic to back up and increases the risk of a crash.
Help keep traffic flowing smoothly for everyone by keeping your speed steady and avoiding heavy braking.
Maintain your lane
There are many factors that contribute to congestion on our roads. When it’s busy, lane-switching is one thing that can contribute to congestion and slower journeys.
That’s because moving into an already busy lane sometimes forces the following drivers to brake. This can cause a ripple effect of braking, causing traffic to back up and increasing the risk of a crash.
Maintaining your lane when the road is already busy is one way you can help reduce the impact of congestion.
Merge like a zip
There are many factors that contribute to congestion on our roads. Merging like a zip is one way we can help reduce the impact of congestion.
Sometimes on a road, two lanes will merge into one lane. On-ramps are another example of two lanes of traffic coming together. It’s important to make sure that all vehicles from both lanes have plenty of space to merge safely.
The best way to merge is like a zip – where a vehicle from the left lane goes and then a vehicle from the right lane goes, and so on.
As you merge, let one vehicle from the other lane go first, and then go.
Safe following distances
Keeping a safe following distance is one of the best ways you can help improve safety and reduce congestion.
In good driving conditions, count two seconds between the back of the vehicle in front of you and the front of yours. In poor conditions, low visibility, or if you’re on loose chip, increase it to four seconds.
Following the two- or four-second rules gives you time to react if something happens in front of you.
Help reduce the risk of a crash and minimise congestion by maintaining a safe following distance.
Don't tailgate
It’s pretty simple: following another car too closely increases your chances of a crash.
In good conditions you should leave a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front. In bad conditions, like when it’s raining, leave a four-second gap.
Merge of the Month
April 2022 (SH1/59 at Linden edition)
December 2021
September 2021
August 2021 (lockdown edition)
July 2021
June 2021
April 2021
Tailgate watch
February 2022
Don’t tailgate. It’s pretty simple: following another car too closely increases your chances of a crash.
In good conditions you should leave a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front. In bad conditions, like when it’s raining, leave a four-second gap.
