Baffling road rules divides the internet as drivers argue about speed limit rules

A road rules question has divided the public over the speed limit in streets without maximum limit signs.

The Facebook post by RACQ posed a scenario where a driver had turned into a street in a built-up area and asked the public to answer what the the appropriate speed limit was.

The scenario had a driver turning from a street with 60km/h signs into a ‘built up area’ without signs – with the official answer being 50km/h.

This was the scenario that RACQ posed to the public – they asked the public to name the speed limit if the blue car had just turned into a built-up area without a speed limit sign

The question read: ‘The blue vehicle was travelling on a 60km/h road and has just turned into a new road in a built-up area without a speed limit sign. What is the speed limit on this road?’

While the large majority picked the right answer of 50km/h some questioned the lack of signage and asked why there was no sign.

‘Why can’t they paint the speed limit on the road?,’ one wrote. 

The answer posted by RACQ said: ‘In this situation the 50km/h default speed limit for a built-up area applies.’

Another confused driver wrote that their speed limit is constantly changing as she spends her time trying to find out.  

‘On our roads the speed limit is constantly changing, l spend half my time looking for signs or asking my passenger what the speed limit it here,’ they wrote.

The same user also hinted that the police had been trying to catch drivers out.

‘They (the authorities) change the limit over night and put in cameras, like in Hurstville a few years back, oh and that bit on the top road where all of a sudden 100 turned to 60,’ they wrote.

Some users took to a lighter-hearted approach when questioning the speed limit change between streets.

‘Depends what car you have, no sign means no limit so the faster the car the higher the speed limit I guess,’ one joked.

The Northern Territory is the only state or territory that still has a speed limit of 60km/h in built up areas

‘No signs = autobahn, Free for all. No excuses for no signage,’ agreed another.

The current rule where speed limits change without a new sign date back to 2001 when the law was changed to reduce the speed in built up areas from 60km/h down to 50km/h.

It comes after that a report published by the National Road Transport Commission found one third of fatalities and injuries took place on local streets.

After this original change, states and territories began to follow suit and implement it themselves, although the Northern Territory still has a speed limit of 60km/h for built up areas.