Road Rules 2019

A driver (except the rider of a bicycle) must not drive on a path, unless subrule (2) or (3) applies to the driver. Fine not exceeding 5 penalty units.Bicycle is defined in the dictionary and path is defined in subrule (6).

A driver may drive on a path if the driver is – driving on a part of the path indicated by information on or with a traffic control device as a part where vehicles may drive; or driving on the path to enter or leave, by the shortest practicable route, a road-related area or adjacent land and there is not a part of the path indicated by information on or with a traffic control device as a part where vehicles may drive; or permitted to drive on the path under another law of this jurisdiction.Adjacent land, traffic control device and with are defined in the dictionary, and road-related area is defined in rule 13. See clause 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 for jurisdictional qualifications.

A driver may drive a motorised wheelchair on a path if – the unladen mass of the wheelchair is not over 150 kilograms; and the wheelchair is not travelling over 10 kilometres per hour; and because of the driver’s physical condition, the driver has a reasonable need to use a wheelchair.Wheelchair is defined in the dictionary. Subrule (3)(a) sets the maximum unladen mass of the wheelchair as 150 kilograms. The equivalent paragraph in the Australian road rules sets the maximum unladen mass of the wheelchair as 110 kilograms.

A driver on a path (except the rider of a bicycle, or a driver driving on the path to enter a road from a road-related area or adjacent land, or to enter a road-related area or adjacent land from a road) must give way to all other road users, and to animals, on the path. Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.Road user is defined in rule 14. For this subrule, give way means the driver must slow down and, if necessary, stop to avoid a collision – see the definition in the dictionary. Rules 74 and 75 deal with drivers giving way when crossing a footpath or other path to enter or leave a road-related area or adjacent land. Rules 249 to 251 deal with bicycle riders riding on footpaths, separated paths and shared paths.

This rule does not apply to the rider of an animal riding the animal on a footpath.Footpath is defined in the dictionary. The rider of an animal on a footpath must give way to a pedestrian on the path – see rule 302.

This rule does not apply to the rider of a motor bike (with or without a trailer attached) that is a postal vehicle if – the rider gives way to pedestrians and other vehicles and takes reasonable precautions to avoid collision or danger or obstruction to any person or thing on or next to the path; and the rider does not exceed 10 kilometres per hour; and the motor bike has an engine capacity not exceeding 125 cc.Motor bike and postal vehicle are defined in the dictionary.

In this rule – path means a bicycle path, footpath or shared path.Bicycle path is defined in rule 239, footpath is defined in the dictionary and shared path is defined in rule 242.