General road laws
The road laws apply to all vehicles, including bicycles and electric scooters.
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Cyclists and riders of electric scooters, like other road users, must stop:
where indicated to do so by a red traffic light arrow (RR r 56) (10 pu);
at a stop sign or other traffic control signal (rr 67, 68) (10 pu, five pu respectively); or
where the lights are yellow, if it is possible to safely stop before reaching the lights or intersection (rr 57, 261) (five pu, 10 pu respectively).
The above also applies to shared footpaths, separated footpaths and bicycle paths, and where there are bicycle crossing lights (rr 260, 262) (10 pu, five pu respectively).
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Rule 163 (driving past the rear of a stopped tram at a tram stop) and rule 164 (stopping beside a stopped tram at a tram stop) of the Road Rules make it clear it is permissible to proceed past a stopped tram, at no more than 10 kph, once the doors are closed and there are no pedestrians crossing. Failing to comply with these rules carries a maximum penalty of 10 pu. Schedule 7 of the RS General Regulations imposes a 2.5 pu infringement penalty on these offences.
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All road users, including cyclists and riders of electric scooters, must give way:
when changing lanes (RR r 148) (five pu);
at intersections in accordance with rules 72 and 73 (five pu);
at give way signs or give way lines (rr 69–71) (for cyclists and riders of electric scooters: five pu; for any other vehicle: 10 pu);
to any vehicle leaving a roundabout, where the driver or cyclist is in the far left marked lane of a roundabout with two or more lanes (r 119) (three pu);
when making U-turns – except to a driver of a motor vehicle entering the road from a ‘road-related area’ (which includes the footpath, nature strip and shoulder) or from adjacent land (r 38) (five pu);
to buses merging into traffic after having recently stopped (r 77) (five pu);
to trams (r 76) (three pu);
to any vehicle already in a roundabout and to any tram that is entering or approaching the roundabout (r 114) (five pu);
to emergency vehicles with their flashing lights or sirens on (rr 78, 79) (five pu);
at marked foot crossings with flashing yellow traffic lights (r 65) (10 pu);
at any pedestrian crossing with a pedestrian on or entering the crossing (r 81(2)) (five pu). At ‘children’s crossings’ (which are defined in rule 80(6) and always have ‘stop lines’, i.e. a continuous line marked on the road with pedestrians on them) the driver or cyclist must come to a full stop and not proceed until the crossing is clear (r 80) (10 pu); and
to any pedestrian crossing the road to board, or alight from, a tram (r 164) (10 pu); once a tram’s doors have closed – and there are no pedestrians getting on the tram or crossing the road between the tram and the footpath – cyclists, riders and drivers can proceed past the tram at 10 kph or slower.
Also, drivers must give way to cyclists who are at or near an intersection that has bicycle crossing lights and who are crossing the road the driver is entering (r 62(1)(b)).
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‘Dooring’ is when someone causes a hazard to a cyclist by opening the door of a vehicle. Many bicycle crashes occur when the occupants of vehicles carelessly fail to check before opening their doors; cyclists can be hit by the door and even go into the path of oncoming traffic. Several cyclists have died from dooring incidents.
Dooring is an offence as Road Rule 269(3) states:
A person must not cause a hazard to any person or vehicle by opening a door of a vehicle, leaving a door of a vehicle open, or getting off, or out of, a vehicle. [10 pu]
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If you are involved in a crash with another cyclist, pedestrian or driver, in which someone is hurt or property is damaged, you must:
stop and help the injured person;
give your name and address to anyone involved, and to any police officers present; and
report the crash to the police.
Failing to stop and help is a serious offence (RS Act s 61A). For more information, see ‘What to do after a motor vehicle accident’ in Chapter 10.5: Motor vehicle accidents and insurance.
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Aggression towards cyclists is sadly a common experience for many cyclists in Victoria. Even in the absence of aggression, on average nine cyclists a year are killed on Victorian roads and over 400 require hospitalisation from road-related injuries annually.
One way of holding motorists to account is to report their driving behaviour to Victoria Police. If you are injured or impacted by a motorist, and you can remember their registration details, then you should consider making a statement at your nearest police station.
If the police officer is satisfied that your account of the reported incident provides reasonable grounds, then the officer may serve a notice on the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the incident (RS Act s 60). Under this section of the RS Act, the registered owner must provide details of who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged incident. If the officer is not satisfied with the driver’s account of the allegations, then they may choose to take further action.
If you have property damage or are injured, you might also want to consider bringing a civil action against the offender or, if you are eligible, lodging a claim with the TAC.
Of course, often this means it is your word against the driver’s (unless you can secure witness statements). However, taking these few steps may help to encourage drivers to consider their actions more carefully in the future, which may in turn help to make the roads safer for all cyclists in Victoria.
For more information, contact Victoria Police or make a report online via www.police.vic.gov.au/police-assistance-line-and-online-reporting.
General road laws
Chapter: 6.9: Road law for cyclists, skaters and scooters
Contributor: Dr Dru Marsh, Senior Adjunct Lecturer, Public Service Research Group, School of Business, UNSW Canberra; Night Service contributor, Fitzroy Legal Service, and Glenn Osboldstone, Senior Lawyer, DTP Legal
Current as of: 1 September 2024
Law Handbook Page: 600
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