Drivers driving alongside emergency vehicles will be required to follow new speed limits in New South Wales from September 26 2019.
Motorists who do not follow the new rule will lose three demerit points and be fined $457, the NSW government release said.
What is the new rule?
The new rules pertain to driving alongside emergency vehicles in NSW. These generally include fire brigade, ambulance and police vehicles but the rule has been expanded to include tow trucks and breakdown assistance vehicles.
While driving alongside these said emergency vehicles, the motorist will have to slow down to 40 km/h on roads with speed limits of 80 km/h or under.
Roads with speed limits of 90 km/h or more will no longer have to slow down to 40 km/h. Instead, they will be required to slow down safely to a speed that is reasonable for the circumstances.
On such roads, the drivers will have to keep enough space between their vehicle and the breakdown assistance or emergency vehicle workers.
The rule is to ‘improve safety conditions for roadside workers as well as other users’.
NSW Minister for Regional Roads Paul Toole said the changes are about slowing down safely.
“If you are driving on roads 90km/h or over you will need to consider how close you are to the stationary vehicle and slow to a safer speed and give as much space to the vehicle as you can,” Mr Toole said.
The update comes after months of lobbying and debate around how safe the law actually was, with many arguing that slowing down from a high speed caused more accidents, and endangered motorists.
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