PART IV | 45. Before you drive any motor vehicle on the road you must have a current driving licence, and be covered by valid insurance permitting you to drive the vehicle. |
| 46. Before you move off, look around, even though you may have looked in your mirror, to see that no one is about to overtake you. Give the proper signal before moving off, and only move off when you can do so safely and without inconvenience to other road users. Give way to passing and overtaking vehicles. |
| 47. Do not exceed legal speed limits. Always obey the “Reduce Speed Now” sign. |
| 48. Adjust your speed to the conditions of the road on which you are travelling. Such adjustment will enable you to stop in any emergency without skidding or losing control. |
49. A good driver automatically reduces his speed when —| (a) | entering a built-up area; | | (b) | approaching a school or a bus with children alighting or boarding; | | (c) | travelling on narrow, winding roads; | | (d) | approaching children who are playing; or | | (e) | approaching a bend, brow of a hill, or any other obstruction that limits his view. |
|
| 50. When driving along, keep well to the left and as near as practicable to the edge of the road, except when you intend to overtake or turn right. Do not hug the middle of the road. This applies to dual carriageways as well. |
| 51. You must not cross the centre line at bends, near the crest of a rise or anywhere else where you cannot clearly see the road ahead. |
| 52. Where continuous double white lines are painted on a road to separate traffic flowing in opposite directions, you may not overtake at the double white lines unless you keep entirely to the left of such lines. |
| 53. Never cross double white lines. Making a U-turn or a right turn is not allowed on a road where such lines are painted. |
| 54. Never cross a single continuous or broken white line along the middle of the road unless you can see that the road ahead is clear. |
| 55. You must obey the directions indicated by arrows or words marked in the lanes. See illustration above. You must not change lanes so suddenly as to inconvenience or endanger other traffic. |
| 56. In traffic hold-ups, do not “jump the queue”. |
| 57. Well before you reach a junction, make sure that you are in the appropriate lane. |
| 58. On a two-lane carriageway, keep to the left-hand lane except when overtaking. |
| 59. On a three-lane carriageway, you may keep to the central lane when the left-hand lane is occupied by slower moving vehicles. The outer (right-hand) lane is for overtaking only; do not stay in it longer than necessary after overtaking vehicles in the centre lane. |
| 60. Never overtake unless you can do so without danger to yourself or others. Be specially careful at night, and in heavy rain and mist, as it is more difficult to judge speed and distance at such times. |
61. This rule does not apply —| (a) | when the driver in front has signalled his intention to turn right, in which case you can overtake him on his left; | | (b) | when you are filtering to the left before a junction; or | | (c) | when there is slow-moving congested traffic and the vehicles on your right are moving more slowly than your vehicle. |
|
| 62. Return to the appropriate lane on the road as soon as practicable after overtaking, but do not cut in sharply in front of the vehicle you have just overtaken. |
63. Do not overtake when you are at, or when you are approaching —| (a) | a pedestrian crossing; | | (b) | a road junction; | | (c) | a corner or bend; | | (d) | the brow of a hill; or | | (e) | a double white line. |
|
64. Do not overtake —| (a) | where the road narrows; | | (b) | if it would force another vehicle to swerve or reduce speed; or | | (c) | if in doubt. |
|
| 65. When being overtaken, never increase speed to prevent another driver from passing. |
| 66. Do not make a U-turn at any road intersection, junction or any opening in a road divider unless permitted to do so by a traffic sign. |
| 67. To be able to adjust your speed so that you can stop within the space between you and the vehicle in front, you must allow at least one car length for every 16 km/h of your speed. |
| 68. Watch for the stop light on the car in front and the traffic ahead of the car in front. |
| 69. It takes a longer distance to stop a moving vehicle than most people think. You must study and remember the information given in the chart in paragraph 67. |
| 70. When approaching a junction with a major road, slow down gradually and give way to traffic on the major road. Where there is a “STOP” sign, stop at the major road. |
| 71. Where there are no traffic lights, give way signs or stop signs, give way to all traffic on your right, including cyclists. See illustrations in paragraph 69. |
| 72. At a junction look right, then left, then right again. Do not go on until you are sure that it is safe to do so. Do not rely on signals to go ahead given by unauthorised persons. |
| 73. Well before you turn right at a junction, take full account of the position and movement of traffic behind you. Signal your intention and take up a position just left of the middle of the road. Wait there until there is a safe distance between you and any approaching vehicle before you complete your turn. |
| 74. If you intend to turn left, keep to the left, signal in good time, and do not swing out to the right either before or after making the turn. |
| 75. When turning left or right, drivers must always give way to vehicles going straight on and to pedestrians. |
76. Slow down when approaching a roundabout, and give way to traffic on your right. | | Remember — you must always give way to traffic approaching from your right. The general rule is that — |
| | | traffic from Lane A in this illustration goes to ‘A’; |
|
| | | traffic from Lane B goes to ‘B’; and |
|
| | | traffic from Lane C goes to ‘C’. |
|
|
|
| If, however, you find your correct lane overcrowded, you may use another lane to reach your destination: Provided that — |
| (a) | you give clear signals showing your intention in good time; | | (b) | you obey the right-hand rule; | | (c) | you do not inconvenience other drivers; | | (d) | you use your mirror intelligently to see that you do not obstruct the path of vehicles behind you. |
|
| 77. Pedestrians have the right of way on pedestrian crossings. |
| 78. When approaching a pedestrian crossing slow down and do not overtake other vehicles. |
79. When approaching a pedestrian crossing always —| (a) | be ready to slow down or stop so as to give way to pedestrians; | | (b) | signal to other drivers your intention to slow down or stop; and | | (c) | allow yourself more time to stop when road is wet. |
|
| 80. At a pedestrian crossing controlled by light signals or by a policeman, give way to pedestrians who are crossing when the signal to stop is given. |
| 81. When a school patrol sign is extended at a pedestrian crossing, vehicles travelling in both directions must stop and remain stationary until the whole crossing is clear and the sign has been removed. |
| 82. Watch for the pedestrian who comes out suddenly from behind stationary vehicles and other obstructions. Be very careful near schools and bus stops. When turning at a road junction, give way to pedestrians who are crossing. |
| 83. On rural roads watch out for pedestrians and give them plenty of room. |
| 84. Before you reverse make sure that there are no children or other pedestrians or obstructions in the blind area behind you. |
| 85. Do not reverse from a side road onto a main road. |
| 86. If your view to the rear is restricted, get help when reversing. |
|
| 87. Keep a watch on the traffic behind you by glancing in your mirror. |
88. Well before you change direction, overtake or stop —| (a) | look into your mirror (if you are a motor-cyclist glance to the side or behind); | | (b) | make sure that it is safe; and | | (c) | give a clear signal to indicate that you intend to do so. |
|
| 89. Everytime you intend to turn, stop or slow down, give the correct signal. Signal in good time and maintain the signal long enough to enable others to anticipate your movement. Make sure that your direction indicator gives the signal intended, and that it is cancelled immediately after use. |
| 90. Hand signals are given not only for the benefit of following traffic but also for oncoming traffic, traffic waiting in side streets and pedestrians. Most cars today have signalling devices but in broad daylight hand signalling is more readily seen and understood. Do not allow passengers to give hand signals. See that children do not hold their arms or dangle toys out of the windows of the car, for their arms or toys may be mistaken for hand signals. It is also dangerous for children to do this. |
|
91. Do not park (which means to bring a motor vehicle to a stationary position and cause it to wait for any purpose) or let your vehicle stand —| (a) | at a bend, the brow of a hill or a bridge; | | (b) | on a footway or cycle track; | | (c) | near traffic lights or pedestrian crossings; | | (d) | on a main road or on a road carrying fast-moving traffic; | | (e) | opposite or nearly opposite another stationary vehicle across the road, opposite a refuge or other obstruction (e.g. road repairs); | | (f) | abreast of another vehicle; | | (g) | opposite a continuous white line, double white lines or any other traffic sign prohibiting parking; | | (h) | near any road side on which a single yellow line (from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.) or double yellow lines are painted; | | (i) | within 6 metres of a junction or within 9 metres on either side of a bus stop or within 3 metres on either side of a fire hydrant, or where it will obscure a traffic sign or obstruct any entrance; | | (j) | facing oncoming traffic; | | (k) | on any slip road or filter lane; | | (l) | on a fly-over, underpass or the ramps leading to any fly-over or underpass; | | (m) | on the grass verge of a road; | | (n) | in any bus lane; or | | (o) | at any designated taxi stop. |
|
| 92. Before opening the door of a vehicle make sure that it will not endanger or inconvenience anybody on the road or footpath. Get out on the side nearest to the kerb whenever it is possible. |
| 93. When you have to stop, pull in as close as possible to the edge of the road. This applies especially to drivers of buses when setting down or picking up passengers. |
| 94. Do remember that you are not allowed to leave any broken-down or wrecked vehicle on any public road. If your vehicle breaks down on the road, push it into a break down bay if there is one, otherwise push it as close to the side of the road as possible and arrange for it to be towed away immediately so as not to cause obstruction to the free flow of traffic. |
| 95. At night always drive well within the limit of your lights. |
| 96. Use dipped headlights at night in built-up areas where the street lighting is poor, or during rainy weather. |
| 97. On unlit roads always use your headlights. When meeting other vehicles and cyclists, dip your headlights. If you are dazzled by the lights of another vehicle, slow down and stop if necessary. |
| 98. When driving behind another vehicle, dip your headlights. |
| 99. In daytime whenever visibility is poor or if it is raining, switch on your lights. This will enable other road users to see you. |
| 100. It is advisable when parking in unlit or poorly lit roads at night to leave your side or parking lights on. |
|
| 101. Large vehicles obstruct the view of drivers of following cars and make overtaking difficult. Drivers of large vehicles should watch their rear view mirrors and give a signal immediately it is safe for them to be overtaken. Keep close to the left-hand side of the road to allow overtaking vehicles as much room as possible to overtake. |
| 102. Open lorries are not designed to carry passengers. When passengers are carried they should be made to sit down. |
| 103. Drivers of lorries or pick-ups intending to carry a projecting load should apply for a special permit from the Traffic Police. |
|
| 104. All vehicles must be maintained in such a condition and driven in such a manner as to eliminate the emission of smoke, which is a nuisance and which may obscure the view of drivers of vehicles following or approaching from the opposite direction. Smoke is also hazardous to health. |
| 105. All vehicles must be maintained in such a condition and in such a manner as to eliminate excessive noise. |
|
106. Maintain your vehicle in a roadworthy condition. You should pay attention to the following matters, in regard to maintenance, which, if attended to, will prevent fatal accidents: | | | Keep your tyres up to the correct pressure. Tyres that have worn smooth should be replaced. Smooth tyres cause skids when you brake hard in an emergency, whether the road is wet or dry. |
|
| | | | Have your brakes checked regularly, particularly hydraulic brakes for any slight leakage of oil may indicate that a serious fault is developing. |
|
| | | | The steering assembly of your car should be regularly checked and kept in good condition. A car that does not steer straight on the road because of faulty steering is as dangerous as a car driven by a drunken driver. |
|
| | | | Check all your lights, including parking lights and signalling lights. |
|
| | (e) | Signalling lights and traffic indicators |
|
| | | Keep your signalling devices in order by checking them frequently. Signalling lights that do not light up when required may involve you in an accident. |
|
|
|
|
|
| 107. Sounding your horn when driving is unnecessary, except as a warning. In some areas it is an offence to use the horn, except to avoid an accident. You should not sound your horn near a hospital, except in an emergency. |
| 108. You must pull in to the side of the road to allow free passage to a Fire Engine, Ambulance, Military, Police or Civil Defence Vehicle which is sounding a warning siren or bell. |
| 109. Often a driver sees a situation building up which may lead to an accident, but goes on obstinately until it is too late to take any effective action. |
| 110. When you are driving, keep your attention on the road ahead except, of course, for necessary glances at the rear view mirror and panel of the car. Do not turn your head to talk with your passengers or to light a cigarette. Children should not be allowed to obstruct or distract the driver, and parents should train them not to do so. |
| 111. Go slowly when driving past animals, and give them plenty of room. Stop if necessary or if signalled to do so. Be prepared to stop to avoid animals coming towards you on your side of the road, especially on a left hand bend. |
|
|
