Australia traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Driving is on the left-hand side of the road. Do not overtake on the left-hand side and do not overtake if there are solid white lines. At roundabouts, you must give way to vehicles already on the roundabout and select your lane early.

Speed Limit

There are speed limits of 100-130 km/h on freeways and 50 km/h in built-up areas.

Traffic Signs

These are some specific signs you may encounter and be unfamiliar with when driving in Australia. Even though most of them are self-explanatory, it is strongly advised to make sure you can understand them before taking the road.

Australian regulatory signs have different shapes.

Give Way

Stop

No U-turn

50 km/h Speed Limit

Speed Derestriction

Warning signs are diamond-shaped and mostly with a yellow background.

Speed Limit Ahead (Used in Western Australia)

Steep Descent

Two-way Traffic Ahead

Pedestrians

Railway Level Crossing on Road Ahead

Railway Level Crossing on Road Ahead (Skewed) (Left)

Railway Level Crossing on Road Ahead (Skewed) (Right)

Information signs are rectangular with red or green backgrounds.

Exit	Reduce Speed Now

For a complete traffic and road signs, you may refer to this Australia road user handbook.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

All passengers are required to have their seatbelt fastened at all times when the vehicle is moving. Failure to do so can result in a fine of AU$250.

Booster Seat Laws

Babies up to 6 months must be installed on a rear-facing car seat, and children from 6 months to 4 years are allowed on both forward and rear-facing seats.

Please be aware that children up to 4 years old cannot travel on the front seat unless the car is a two-seater.

Finally, a booster seat or forward facing seat must be used for children between 4 and 7 years old. A child of this age is only allowed on the front seat if there is no other seat available for them.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

· Forbidden Parking

Cars are not allowed to be parked on the following spots as doing so can result in a fine:

- On the footpath or nature strip as these places are for people.

- On a yellow line.

- In a way that blocks other cars from entering or exiting the driveway. In an emergency, the car may be towed away.

- Less than10 metres (approximately 2 large car lengths) from an intersection so that other cars can safely pass without causing danger.

- In a place that has been marked with ‘No Stopping’ or ‘No Standing’. A ‘No Standing’ sign indicates motorist may not park a car unless they remain in the vehicle and for no more than three minutes.

· Parking Signs

Parking signs in Australia may specify multiple times, places, durations, restrictions and vehicle categories in a condensed form on a single sign. Letter P signs are 'permissive' parking signs where parking is permitted for the time specified. A guide to the most common parking signs is below:

- '1/2P', '1P', '3P': Vehicles can be parked here for half an hour, one hour, or three hours.

- '630AM-730 PM Mon-Fri': Vehicles may be parked here only at the specified times - in this case, between 06:30 and 19:30 from Monday to Friday.

- 'P'(no number): Permissive parking zone

- '15 minute', '20 minute', '45 minute': Vehicles may be parked here only for the specified number of minutes

· Paid Parking

There are municipal parking garages and lots, metered parking alongside the road and ticket machine parking in most towns and cities.

Australia Parking Metre (Image from alphaairportparking.com.au)

Fuel Prices

The average value for Australia gasoline price during July to October 2017 is AU$1.26, while diesel is 3 cents higher.

Toll

Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne are the only three cities in Australia featuring toll roads. Toll roads in Australia use free-flowing tolling, with no toll booth along the entire length of the system to optimize traffic flow. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead.

If you plan to use toll roads in Australia, we suggest you rent an e-toll/e-pass device from the car hire company, enabling an automatic payment of the toll fee directly from your credit card. Please note that e-toll/e-pass devices are subject to availability at the rental desk. Australia E-Toll Device (Image from australiahereandnow.com)

If you have any question related to your toll fee billing, feel free to contact QEEQ' 24/7 customer service team for assistance.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

In all states of Australia, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for drivers is below 0.05%. Drink driving is treated as a major offence and any person driving a vehicle over the legal limit may face penalties ranging from the suspension, disqualification or cancellation of their licence, fines to imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the offence.

Traffic Fines

Failure to pay the road or parking violation fines can have some long-term consequences, especially for international travellers. Not paying fines could affect your next visit to Australia as infringement notice are inserted into the Police Central Names Index (CNI) and the National Names Index (NNI).

However, paying fines is not a challenge for renters since the car hire company will pass on the offence information to the authorities and a post or email notification will be sent to you if some traffic laws have been breached. Note that the fine usually comes with a service/administration fee as well.

It is advisable for you to contact EasryRentCars' 24/7 customer service team if you have any question on this matter.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

Foreigners on short-term visit may rent a car and drive with a valid foreign driving licence for up to 3 months in Australia. Longer than that, you need to get an Australian driving licence from an Australian state. To drive in Australia, the licence should be a full driving licence held for at least 2 years with no major endorsements.

To hire a car in Australia you must be at least 21 years old (age may vary by car category). If you are 21-25, you are likely to have to pay a young driver fee. There is no maximum driving age in Australia.

Guest reviews

1 /

J.Hughes

April 24, 2024

Destination: Melbourne

8.3Very good

The car was generally well presented. I did however find some damage to the front bumper that had been sprayed over but washed off. In fairness I mentioned this and they accepted it and promised to repair it properly

D.Esteven

Destination: Mascot

10Best first time experience

Great customer service and car condition

Destination: Sydney

9Best experience you could fund

Great experience overall

K.Bannister

10Excellent

Great service and helpful staff. Not yet heard on any extra charges which is always the decider!

J.Charles

April 23, 2024

Destination: Hobart

10Drove approx 1000km great trip

Great service friendly staff Free upgrade

LesM

April 22, 2024

10Great experience with QEEQ and Bargain Car Rental

Bargain Car Rental dealings was superb, excellent staff, car was clean and ran well for the hire period.

Donita Bell

Destination: Brisbane

8Smooth

Very helpful at the desk .. although the insurance we bought online was explained as a waste of time . Won’t do that again .

April 21, 2024

7.3Engine is not good

We had difficulties with starting the engine so many times… the condition is not good.

9.7All worked very well.

All went well and the car was great. I drive a Toyota at home as well.

G.Potter

Destination: Gold Coast

Brilliant

April 20, 2024

10Awesome!

Smooth operations for pick up and drop off.

C.Strahan

10Would have been better had I been tech savy. Would be better if phone communications were direct.

Car needed sat nav.

9.7Excellent

All OK

J.Griffiths

April 16, 2024

9one price no hidden cost

When we went to collect the vehicle, we had to pay for the Insurance, mathew was very helpful .

Tina Z

April 15, 2024

7Good

They didn’t take clear car photos and set me in trap to at a wind screen chip but it was present when we received the car. They charged me $1000 deposit and didn’t refund it to me yet after I show them the clear pics when we received the car. I am still wait for deposit refund. Very Frustrating.

natesh N S

Good

H.Sandford

Destination: Launceston

10Very impressed, and great Value for money

Apex staff were lovely and helpful and the car was great!

I.Lord

April 14, 2024

Destination: Adelaide

10A perfect experience.

Staff really helpful, good price and a nice car.

A.Jones

Destination: Maroochydore

10Easy Peasy

Everything worked fine. It took me a while to figure out the cruise control. My problem, not the car’s. LOL

J.Suvitie

April 13, 2024

Drop-off place hard to find. We got up-grading to Toyota Camry

Rhodesy

8Great/simple experience to what can be a hassle of a booking

Quick check in/out, car was ready for collection and smooth process

C.Kornkasem

10excellent process and friendliness of the staff

Not the comments but complimentary for well structure process and hospitality given to us by the staffs, it was impressive

S Agarwal

April 8, 2024

Excellent car and experience

9.3Very smooth experience.

We got an upgrade to a good diesel 4x4 which was good. The counter staff member (pretty sure it was Denise) was great. The car was pretty dirty but they had some issues with getting cars delivered in time so the staff were managing everyone really well.

10Great experience, highly recommended!

Super helpful staff, no push to upsell, hidden charges etc. Vehicle was clean, fully fuelled and ready to go. Toll roads were automatically billed as used. Highly recommended!

A.TANAKA

Destination: Cairns

The location was a bit away from downtown area, so I used taxi to get there, not walking distance.

S.Girvan

April 4, 2024

9Excellent

Took awhile to contact them by phone from airport After that the service was exceptional.

Avnish Bhakoo

6.7Average

The conditions of seat was really bad. All the seats had stains. They need steam cleaning or need to get seat covers change. The car seats looks really unhygienic

Y.Teo

March 31, 2024

10Good service and new car

The car is a new version and bigger size model. Condition of the car is good and the smell is pleasant upon entering the car. Free baby seats and additional driver are bonus as well

W.Heneker

Destination: Perth

10The perfect hire car experience

The ability to pre register made picking up the car a breeze. We were away in less than 10 minutes. Counter staff were super friendly and helpful and shuttle bus was quick and easy. We would definitely book with City Centre Car Hire again

9.7Super experience with

The car was in excellent conditions and performed very well

A.King

9.7Very satisfied customer

The car was great. The staff were very friendly and helpful at pickup and drop off . Very good experience

5Very poorly

The office installations where very poorly looking, walls peeling off, etc. The staff wasn't very friendly and the person who process my documents took pictures of my credit card front and back, which I found very doggy as the security code is on it, when asking, he said it was for their own security, which I completely disagree, but he didn't give me other option.

C.MacLeod

March 28, 2024

10Excellent friendly service. Look forward to using this service again.

Very nice car suited for city driving and long trips. Not good on the hills needs more grunt. But it was easy to drive and very comfortable over long distances.

C.Walters

8Good Experience.

Car was good, small air leak in the rear left but wasn’t an issue and I let the hirer know about it.

I.Clement

10Smooth Ride

Very happy and impressed with the car. I assumed we were going to get an older model for the price however it was a later model. Great car to drive.

S.Sullivan

March 26, 2024

9.3Straightforward and good value.

Excellent customer service. Comfortable car.

Dan Madden

March 25, 2024

Appalling service. Not the car I booked. I booked a hybrid. When I realised and asked for car I booked I was told I would have to wait 1 hr.

E.Vaele

10I WOULD FULLY RECOMEND TO ALL

Its was an awesome car and excellent Customer service

F.Tana

March 21, 2024

10Seamless, value, and good car

Could not fault......water bottle nice extra.

Harry

March 20, 2024

7Be alert take photos of the whole car before you leave

Watch out they are trying to find the damage on the car which is really unnoticeable

D.Baker

March 19, 2024

9.3Grea

Car was great but still had rubbish in from previous rental

G.Davis

10Easy, great value, exceptional service.

Excellent customer experience from the team at Apex. Very easy to complete pickup and drop off. Would highly recommend Apex and especially Ian who dealt with our hire with exceptional quality

10Great service!

Great service- insurance explained clearly; we had to wait for our car to be ready (only about 5 mins0 but noted we'd been upgraded. very happy with service - would use them again

March 13, 2024

9.7Was great to have the vehicle at a good price.

the car struggled on inclines as MG not a strong car! But did the job, so all good.

9.7Fantastic. Really made seeing the country side possible.

The customer service and shuttle drivers were excellent and helpful. There was some confusion on my pick up point as they were under the thought my flight was a domestic one, but they contacted me, rearranged pick up, and gave me easy, specific directions on where to meet the driver. Overall very pleased with the service.

Destination: Darwin

10Top service and car

The service was exemplary, the car excellent.

C.Ang

9.7Love it! Easy to use

I like the convenience of the branch office that's right next to Perth International Airport. The staff is very friendly and helpful too. The drop-off of the car key is easy too. No need to go through the office & counter. The car is good.

Din Don Dolphin

March 12, 2024

We were offered a free upgrade to a bigger car. Very spacious and comfortable but fuel consumption is high.

B.Sloper

March 11, 2024

7.3OK could do better

Did not get car booked, seemed very casual during car collection Car return very good & efficient

Australia Car Rentals

The Complete Australia Driving and Rental Guide