Many riders straight-line a series of corners by crossing broken white lines, but Victorian Police warn it’s illegal and recently fined seven sports car drivers for doing just that.
VicPol recently recorded this video of a group of exotic sports cars straight-lining corners by crossing broken white lines on the Omeo Highway in north-east Victoria.
A VicPol spokeswoman confirmed they used the video evidence to issue more than $2000 in fines to the drivers of the four Ferraris, two Porsches and a Lotus Esprit.
The speed limit on the road is 100km/h, but the corners are tight and advisory speed signs are as low as 25km/h. However, none of the drivers was booked for speeding.
Instead, they were booked for failing to remain left of the road centre, even though the centre line is broken.
“Police do see motorists at times ‘straight-lining’ whereby a vehicle crosses the centre line in order to exit a bend quicker in the same way that a race driver does on a track,” the spokeswoman says.
“This is considered dangerous and drivers should remember that the road is not a race track.”
Crossing centre lines
The spokeswoman says the only times a motorist can cross white lines is to safely overtake “when line markings allow” (that is, when the line is broken) or to avoid an obstruction on the road.
None of the drivers in the video was overtaking or avoiding an obstruction.
“The road and line marking will determine the penalty which may range from $198 and two demerit points to $317 and three demerit points for offences such as fail to keep left of centre of road and drive on or over or to the right of dividing lines respectively,” the VicPol spokeswoman says.
The rules and penalties are similar in all states.
Straight-lining
ABC Gippsland posted the police video on their Facebook page, prompting angry responses from some riders who questioned whether it was illegal to cross broken white lines.
Others supported police saying they would not like to have been riding in the opposite direction to be confronted by a group of cars on the wrong side of the road.
In November 217, we posted this video and photos of vehicles dangerously crossing double white lines on the Oxley Highway.
It also prompted anger among riders saying it was common on twisting roads to see vehicles on the wrong side of the road.
Clarification for riders
We asked police in a couple of states to clarify when they deemed a rider to be crossing the centre line as some riders are so close to the centre in mid-corner their upper body crosses the line.
However, police say the bike’s tyres would have to cross the centre line to be illegal.
Still, it’s highly dangerous to have your head and body leaning over the line into the danger zone of oncoming traffic.
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