Confusing Australian road rule leaves drivers stumped

Aussie drivers were left absolutely stumped by a confusing road rule test uploaded to Facebook earlier this week. 

The quiz was published by The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) on Tuesday and caused much frustration among road users as they argued over which order cars should drive in.

In the animated image shows four cars in all different colours that are positioned at an intersection. Each car is trying to navigate a difficult corner. Arrows are used to show which way they are intending to travel.

The blue car is shown wanting to continue straight with its right indicator on, while the yellow car wants to turn right. Meanwhile, the red and orange cars wait behind a give way sign, each wanting to turn right.

“In which order should these cars go in?” RACQ asked.

For some who may have found themselves in a similar situation on the road, the answer would be obvious. Others were left scratching their heads as they tried to figure out what was the correct answer.

“What a confusing intersection. I would have said blue but it’s yellow from the road markings and then blue, then the other two,” one person commented. They added: “If you’ve never driven through that intersection it would be downright confusing the first time unless very very well signed”.

Another claimed even though they knew the answer, many would not follow the right rules anyway. “Well on paper it’s yellow, blue, red and then orange. However, in the real world, like it or not, blue will floor it, yellow will hesitate and maybe go after blue, red will go and as long as there’s no more cars coming, orange will go”.

While a third expressed concern over the number of people who answered incorrectly. “Can you please make the people that don’t get the correct answer do another driving test please! I don’t want to be on the road with them,” they exclaimed.

After all the fuss, RACQ eventually shared the correct answer.

“The order is yellow, blue, red, orange,” the roadside assistance wrote on the post. “The give way sign at this intersection makes the path the yellow vehicle is on the continuing road, which curves to the right. The red and orange vehicles are facing a give way sign and must give way to all other traffic. Therefore, the yellow goes first, the blue goes second as it is effectively turning right off the continuing road and the red and orange vehicles follow.”

Unfortunately, this only confused some even more.

“Since when does the straight ahead vehicle (blue) have to give way to a car coming out of a street on his left ?” one person queried. While another added: “Why does blue have it’s indicator on?”

Read more: One in three road accidents caused by tailgating: Report

The quiz was posted just days before national insurer AAMI revealed the most common accident types across the country. According to the new data, one third all road accidents are caused by nose-to-tail collisions, which is often linked to tailgating and driver distraction.

It also found 23 per cent of accidents resulted from a driver’s failure to give way and 18 per cent of crashes are caused by colliding with a stationary object. Collisions while reversing and with a parked car were also common incidents.

How did you go on the quiz? What order did you think the cars should have gone in?