Rules and Regulations of Australian Road Transport Authority

Australia having a low population density compared to the large area, road transport plays an important role here. Another reason for this dependence on road transport is that the rail network has not been scientifically developed. Hence road is the main way for transporting goods and raw materials from place to place and contributes largely on the economy of the continent. rnDifferent types of roads are there in Australia. The freeways are the main roads with more than one loan traffic. The traffic is directed in each direction and designed for the higher speed operation. However, some toll roads are often called tollways as a difficulty arises in charging people for using freeways. In most Australian capital cities like Sydney or New South Wells, there are one or more freeways. These ways are suitable for heavy combination trucks only drivers with heavy combination license can drive on freeways. The national highway network in Australia is partly financed by the Australian Federal Government with the main portion coming from the individual states. The highways include National Routes and State Routes. Each Australian state government maintains own network of roads connecting the main towns. However, in remote areas of Australia, some highways are not sealed for high traffic volumes. These are not suitable for all range of weather conditions also. These are vastly maintained by the local governments of the places. In urban area the minor roads are mostly sealed. They have maximum speed limit of 50km/h and hence mostly suitable for semi trucks. Hence semi truck license is a must for urban roads. In rural areas, the roads are not always sealed but built with a gravel base. Ferries are another important mode of transport in Australia. These are heart of Australia and it provides a road link between Tasmania and mainland. Another important ferry service is there across the opening of the Prot Phillip Sorrento and Queenscliff. Apart from these, Kangaroo Island is also connected to Cape Jervis through SeaLink service. Trucks play the important local carriage tasks since their introduction to Australian roads. However, till 1970s it was the main transport for Australian roads. The major vehicles in Australia are right-hand drive, and travel on the left side of the road. The usual speed limit that should be maintained on road is 100km/h outside of urban areas. The speed limits are constantly enforced with mobile and fixed cameras. However, licensing plays the major role for Australia. Different license categories are available in Australia for driving the different categories of vehicles. According to the vehicle class the license are light rigid license, medium rigid and heavy rigid license are the most common license categories on Australian roads. Along with these, heavy combination and multi combination licenses are also common on Australian roads. rnHowever, in most states, including New South Wells, QLD and WA, the age limit for obtaining the license is 17. The Australian commonwealth government has statutory authorities such as transport council and the National Transport Commission. On the other hand, the state government is coordinated through National Association of State Road Authorities.