Victorian Road Rules Renters and Newcomers Get Wrong

Most Victorian road rules will feel familiar if you've driven elsewhere in Australia, because Victoria's Road Safety Road Rules 2017 follow the same national model as the other states. The rules that catch out renters, new arrivals and interstate drivers are a short list: hook turns in the city, slowing to 40 km/h past stopped emergency and roadside vehicles, strict phone rules, default speed limits on unsigned roads, and toll roads with no booths. This guide covers each one, with the fines that apply as at 1 July 2026.

It's written for people driving a car they don't own, so the last section explains what happens when a fine is issued to a rental car.

Which Victorian road rules differ from other states?

These are the rules people new to Victoria most often don't expect. Each has its own section below.

Default speed limits and school zones

You must follow the speed limit on the signs. Where there's no sign, a default applies. Transport Victoria's speed zone guide says local streets in built-up areas are 50 km/h where they're unsigned, and rural roads are 100 km/h where they're unsigned. Some other typical limits:

• 40 km/h: shopping strips and activity centres, school zones, and some local streets in built-up areas.
• 30 km/h or lower: areas where cars mix closely with people walking and cycling, and some school zones. Car parks and similar shared areas can be 20 km/h or 10 km/h.
• 110 km/h: freeways and tollways in non-built-up areas that are designed for high speeds.

Speed cameras are common, and the penalties are indexed each July. For a full licence holder in a car, the penalties as at 1 July 2026 are:

Note the last row: on a 110 km/h road, 20 km/h over brings a licence suspension, not just points. Running a red light or red arrow costs $523 and 3 demerit points.

Mobile phones: what is legal while driving?

Victoria's device rules depend on your licence.

With a full licence, Transport Victoria says you can use a phone for calls, audio and GPS navigation only if it is properly mounted in a commercially made holder, or built into the car. You can touch a mounted phone briefly to answer or end a call, play audio, change the volume or use navigation. You must not:

• touch an unmounted phone at all, even if it's switched off, or hold it on your lap
• type, scroll, or view texts, social media, emails, websites or photos
• watch videos, play games or take video calls
• pass a phone to a passenger or take one from them.

Learner and probationary drivers, red or green, can't use a phone or portable device for anything while driving, not even for calls or navigation, and not by voice control either. Navigation on a mounted device is allowed only if it's set up before the trip starts, and you can't touch it during the drive, even at traffic lights. To change anything, pull over and park.

Victoria uses cameras that detect phone use and seatbelt offences. Using a portable device while driving costs $627 and 4 demerit points, and not wearing a seatbelt correctly costs $418 and 3 points.

How do hook turns work in Melbourne's CBD?

A hook turn is a right turn made from the left-hand lane. It keeps the middle of the intersection clear for trams. You must do one wherever a hook turn sign is shown, and they're most common in the CBD and inner suburbs. Transport Victoria's steps for drivers:

1. Move into the left lane and indicate right.
2. Watch for bicycle and e-scooter riders and other vehicles.
3. Enter the intersection and keep to the far left, without blocking any pedestrian crossing.
4. Follow any road markings. Otherwise, stop at the point where you'd turn right.
5. Wait until the traffic lights on the road you're turning into turn green.
6. Check there are no vehicles moving in the lane on your right, then turn right.

The common mistake is turning as soon as your own light changes. The trigger is the light for the road you're turning into. If you're driving from Dandenong, you won't meet hook turns until you reach the inner city, so it's worth reading the steps once before your first trip in.

Roundabouts, giving way and emergency vehicles

Roundabouts

Before entering a roundabout, give way to any vehicle already in it and to any tram entering or approaching it. Keep left of the central island. To turn left, indicate left as you approach and keep indicating until you leave. To turn right, indicate right as you approach and, if you can, indicate left just before you exit. Going straight, don't indicate on approach, but signal left as you exit if you can. On multi-lane roundabouts, approach from the left lane to turn left and the right lane to turn right, and stay in that lane.

Slowing to 40 km/h

This is the rule visitors miss most. You must slow to 40 km/h when passing an emergency, enforcement, incident response or roadside assistance vehicle that is stopped or moving slower than 10 km/h with flashing lights (red, blue, magenta or amber) or an alarm sounding. That includes tow trucks, breakdown and roadside assistance vehicles, and freeway incident response vehicles.

• It applies on every road, including freeways, and in both directions where the road is divided only by white lines.
• It doesn't apply on the other side of a median strip, such as grass, a wire rope barrier, a concrete barrier or a painted island.
• Check your mirror and slow down gradually. Don't brake hard on a high-speed road.
• Pass at 40 km/h and be ready to stop if directed. Speed up again once you're a safe distance past the scene.

Ignoring the rule can bring a fine of up to 5 penalty units, with no demerit points.

Sirens and flashing lights

If a moving emergency or police vehicle has its lights or siren on, get out of its way safely. Give way, and stop if you need to, even if your light is green. You may enter an intersection against a red light only if it's safe and it's the only way to make room. You must also stop at twin flashing red lights, such as outside a fire or ambulance station.

P-plate and overseas licence rules

Licence conditions follow the driver, not the car. Transport Victoria says interstate drivers in Victoria must still follow the conditions on their licence, including learner and probationary conditions. For Victorian P-platers, red and green, that means a zero blood alcohol limit, no phone use at all, P-plates displayed front and back and visible from 20 metres, and no probationary prohibited vehicles unless an exemption applies. P1 drivers also can't carry more than one passenger aged 16 to 21, with exceptions for a partner and siblings.

On an overseas licence, VicRoads says you can drive if the licence is current, covers the vehicle type, and you've lived in Victoria for less than six months. Carry your licence whenever you drive, plus an English translation or International Driving Permit if it isn't in English. Our checklist on what you need to rent a car in Australia covers how these rules affect renting.

Toll roads with no cash booths

Victoria has three toll roads: CityLink, EastLink and the West Gate Tunnel. CityLink connects the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash freeways. EastLink connects the Eastern, Monash and Frankston freeways and Peninsula Link. You'll recognise them by blue signs with yellow lettering.

There are no toll booths. You pay electronically, either by buying a pass or by opening an account with the operator. If you do neither, a toll invoice follows with fees on top. From our base in Dandenong South, EastLink is the toll road you're most likely to use without noticing, because it runs right past. Use your navigation app's "avoid tolls" setting if you'd rather stay off toll roads, and sort out payment before the trip if you'll use them.

What happens when a fine is issued to a rental car?

Camera fines go to the registered operator, which for a rental car is the rental company. For operator onus offences such as speeding and red-light offences, the company must nominate the person who was driving. Fines Victoria says a company that fails to nominate is liable for a penalty of $4,182. Once you're nominated, the fine is reissued to you at the normal amount for the offence, with any demerit points.

Under our rental agreement, you're responsible for tolls, parking and traffic fines during the rental. We may nominate you as the driver, and any administrative fee for doing so is disclosed to you in advance. Tolls left unpaid when you return the car can be deducted from your bond, with an itemised statement; see how rental bonds work.

Make sure the address you give us is one where you'll still receive mail weeks later. A reissued fine goes to that address, and late fees are added if the first notice is missed.

For everything else about renting in Melbourne's south-east, read our complete guide to car rental in Melbourne, or go back to the home page to browse cars with weekly rent and bond shown on every listing.

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