Shocking fines for pedestrians who break the law
For the most part, pedestrians have the right of way over cars in Australia, but there are rules that they must obey to avoid being slogged with steep fines. Do you know all of these rules?
No pedestrian access signs
Pedestrians must not walk past areas with signs specifying pedestrian’s must not cross, according to NSW. These signs are usually spotted on freeways.
If you do get caught walking on part of a road where it’s stated you shouldn’t be, you can be hit with a $76 fine in NSW.
Breaking the rule in Victoria is much steeper, as you’ll be hit with $289. For Tasmania, it’s $126, $50 in Western Australia, $51 in South Australia and $53 in Queensland.
Jaywalking at a crossing
“Jaywalking” is where a person crosses an intersection without complying with the road rules.
“If the pedestrian lights show a red pedestrian light... the pedestrian must not start to cross until the pedestrian lights change to green,” the NSW legislation says.
Sometimes pedestrians cross the road when the lights start flashing red, which is known as jaywalking.
If you’re caught jaywalking, you’re hit with a $53 fine in Queensland, $50 in Western Australia, $42 in Tasmania, $83 in Victoria, $51 in South Australia and $76 in NSW.
Walking across level crossings
Pedestrians can also get done by ignoring warnings and walking through level crossings. Level crossings are where the crossings go down to protect cars and pedestrians from being hit by oncoming trains.
It is illegal to walk across train tracks unless a pedestrian crosses at the designated spot where it is safe to do so.
According to the South Australian Government, dangerous pedestrian behaviour includes not looking both ways before crossing the tracks, taking shortcuts between train tracks and platforms, running in front of an approaching train and forcing open an active pedestrian barrier.
“These behaviours are resulting mainly from impatience, inattention, complacency, distractions and lack of awareness as to the rules, dangers and penalties surrounding rail crossing use,” the South Australian government says on its website.
If you get caught, it comes with a $83 fine in Victoria, $126 fine in Tasmania, $76 fine in NSW and $100 in Western Australia.
Fines for South Australians are $51, and Queenslanders get hit with a $53 fine.
It has also been announced by the NSW Government that pedestrians will be fined for crossing illegally at light rail crossings.