Queensland

Queensland road rules: The weirdest rules you have never heard of

Some unusual and obscure laws are hidden away in Queensland's road rules, which ban the riding of bikes backwards, as well as games being played in the street.

Here are some of the strangest banned activities road users may not even know they were not allowed to do. 

It is illegal to crack or use a whip so as to annoy, interfere with or endanger a person, or frighten or interfere with an animal - other than an animal the whip-wielder is using - while on a Queensland road. 

But only one person has been fined for the offence in the first six months of 2016, according to RACQ figures.

People are not allowed to fire a gun or throw a stone or missile, make a bonfire, throw or set fire to any firework on a road.

Playing a game on a Queensland road is illegal, so that rules out a street hockey match, even if the players are careful to yell out "car" and "game on", a la Wayne's World

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One person was fined for playing games on the road in the first six months of 2016.

The word "game" was not defined in the Traffic Regulation 1962.

One might think taking the dog for a walk while riding a bicycle is harmless exercise - but think again.

Bicycle riders must not lead an animal, including by tethering the animal to the bicycle.

There was one person fined.

The rules spell out it is illegal to drive on a traffic island - unless it is the central island in a roundabout or designed to be driven on.

There were 58 people fined for driving on traffic islands.

Drivers should be careful not to forget to turn off their indicators - 11 people were fined for failing to cancel their change of direction signal.

Failing to give way to a "restive horse" is also an offence but no one was fined for that in the first six months of 2016.

Restive means restless, uneasy or likely to balk.

The rule applies if the person in charge of the horse gives a signal, by raising a hand and pointing to the horse, which means the driver must keep as far left as possible on the road, stop the engine and not move the vehicle until there is no reasonable likelihood the noise of the motor or movement of the vehicle will "aggravate the restiveness of the horse".

Ten cyclists were fined for failing to keep at least one hand on the handlebar. 

Also, cyclists must ride facing forwards and if the bicycle is equipped with a seat, they must not ride the bicycle seated in any other position on the bicycle.

The maximum penalty for the above offences is 20 penalty units or $2438.

Last week, Fairfax Media revealed Brisbane bus drivers were being abused over a road rule of which many motorists appeared to be oblivious: the requirement to give way to buses.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said people should educate themselves about the road rules as ignorance was not an excuse, and media coverage hopefully helped publicise some of the more obscure regulations.

Ms Ritchie said playing games on the road was an unusual offence to be fined for.

"But if you think about the safety elements of people or children playing games on roads, it's about safety," she said.

The restive horse rules were unlikely to come into play in Brisbane's CBD, Ms Ritchie said.

"But outside of south-east Queensland, in regional and rural areas, this is going to be an occurrence and motorists need to share the road with all sorts of different parties," she said.

"If you can do your best by pulling over, slow down and stop and allow the horse to move on, that's the safest for the horse and the rider and you as a motorist."

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said while some road rules might have seemed a little unusual, they reflected Queensland's diverse road environment.

"For example, a pedestrian playing a game on a road puts themselves in a dangerous situation and at risk of becoming a traffic hazard to other road users," Mr Bailey said.

Mr Bailey said the government had developed an action plan which focused on communicating road rule information through social media channels, advertising campaigns and Queensland government websites.

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