T-way fine, a caution for NSW drivers

Hi guys,

So I have made a mistake and drove into one of the so-called T-Way in Sydney. Got snapped by Camera. Was driving company car so fine is $1555, once a driver is nominated, fine will be reduced to $311 I think.

It was my first time in that hectic Northmead area, T-way was parallel to Old Windsor road. GPS told me to turn left on Old Windsor road, which was about 10-20 meters after T-Way entry. I turned into T-Way instead. Yes the road was painted red and I noticed that, but it was too late for me to reverse out.. Camera was right there to rake in more revenue for the RMS.

It was an honest mistake, at 1PM on a weekday, traffic on Old Windsor road was light so I have no intention to avoid traffic. I exited T-Way at the next possible exit. Plan to write a letter to ask for review / leniency but I highly doubt they will let me off. I don't have a 10 years clean record. Some guys on other forums said he mistakenly drove into T-Way at 11PM at night and they still wouldn't let him off. I heard a couple from Central Coast also got done on T-Way on their way to visit their son in Westmead hospital and they have never heard of T-Way before; they confused it with T2, T3 lanes.

So a caution for NSW drivers, new drivers and interstate drivers planning to travel to Sydney West, there are lots of T-Ways there that can confuse you, especially at night. It's 1 demerit point but over 300 dollars. Here are some locations with camera I got from RMS website:

Smithfield, Prairiewood, Bonnyrigg, Hinchinbrook, Liverpool, Northmead, Seven Hills, Glenwood, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Blacktown, Kings Langley

Happy motoring! * Fake smile *

Comments

  • +6

    For anyone else wondering what a T-Way is:
    It is a bus-only lane.
    Roads and Maritime link
    wikipedia

  • +1

    Camera was right there to rake in more revenue for the RMS.

    The camera is only there to catch people who drive on the T-Way.

    I turned into T-Way instead. Yes the road was painted red and I noticed that, but it was too late for me to reverse out.. Camera was right there to rake in more revenue for the RMS.

    So you kept driving? It's a similar situation to turning into an oncoming "One Way" street or driving down a "No Entry, Wrong Way Go Back" road.

    • +1

      I don't think it's safe to stop and reverse back out of a T-way entrance like that.. they're usually parallel to incredibly busy roads (hence needing a T-way to bypass all that traffic). I live in the North Western suburbs of Sydney where T-ways have sprung up everywhere due to the lack of train lines out here….

      They're pretty tricky if you're unfamiliar with the area. They can still be a bit tricky for someone familiar with the area! My dad got caught turning into one completely by mistake despite driving that area almost daily (though he'd never driven the exact route in which he got caught turning into the T-way, so the turn itself was unfamiliar to him). You get so used to turning a corner in a regular manner (90 degree turn) that if you're the only car there making the turn and it's either dark, or very very sunny and hard to see the road, or in my dad's case the T-way he turned into had very faded red paint on the road compared to the usual fresh bright red paint… it's not hard to see how people can accidentally turn into one.

      His fine was also over $300 like the OP. Same situation where he realised the very moment he'd turned into the T-way, but couldn't safely reverse back out (onto Sunnyholt Rd lol) so he kept driving along the T-way til the next available turn off.. which was about a block down, with a conveniently placed camera half way.

      IIRC there are no signs suggesting to 'go back' like the 'one way, no entry, go back' roads. Obviously if you turn down a one way street/road, the safest thing would be to get back out asap as all traffic would be oncoming… on a T-way, you'd be going with the traffic so you're not a huge danger (which you could potentially be if you try and reverse back out lol)

      I'd really like to know what the rules are surrounding situations where people turn into T-ways accidentally. TBH I don't know what we're officially expected to do - do we stop, wait until it's safe and then reverse out? Or keep going and cop the fine?

      • Did your dad have the option of a u-turn?

        In my case, the camera was right there when I turn into that road. And it was double line, so if I u-turn I reckon I will get snapped twice and also get another fine for illegal u-turn (assuming camera also pick that up) :D

        • +1

          Not sure about the U-turn. This was the intersection he got caught.

          He was on Dunstable Rd, turning onto Sunnyholt and was where that silver car is. He turned straight into the T-way. He knows it was his fault and he wasn't focused enough while making the turn - iirc, that turn into Bedford Road before Sunnyholt also threw him off as he sensed that turn off and thought it was the T-way (again, not concentrating enough).

          I assume he'd already passed the middle island on the T-way entrance and thus couldn't do a U-turn… otherwise he would've done in that first section of clear red road before the island starts.

        • @waterlogged turnip: Thank you for sharing the story. Oh boy, at that intersection, anyone not concentrating enough would easily turn into the T-way.. Did your dad appeal the fine or he just accepted it? I mean 300 is a lot for such mistake, its equivalent to driving over 10km/h in school zone, or driving without seat belt on.

          When I was anxiously cruising on that empty T-way looking for an exit, I was hoping the fine would be around 100 mark :(

        • @Azn310: Nah he didn't bother appealing because he knew he was at fault and wasn't paying enough attention to the turns. I didn't like his chances of having it waived either - he knows the area enough to be aware of the T-way being there - being mentally distracted isn't a great excuse lol.

          It's an expensive fine, for sure.

    • I tend to respect other road users, and avoid others honking at me, so I was a bit afraid to reverse out.

      Also heard story of a guy who did a U-turn and got snapped twice. He provided reason and get away with only one. I should have U-turned and hoped for the best, but I didn't. I did stop completely and wonder what the hell I was doing lol

  • +4

    Next time - pull over, get out of car and clutch chest, fall over in safe area, lie still till ambulance arrives. Or pay fine.

    • +1

      But then Medicare won't cover ambulance costs if they find you not in near-death situation..

      For those with road side assistance, maybe stop car, pop open your bonnet and give them a call? :D Worst case scenario, NRMA guy also get snapped

    • +4

      Paying a $300+ fine would most likely also result in you genuinely needing to clutch chest, fall over and lie still till ambulance arrives. lol

  • +1

    Hey OP,
    I did the EXACT same thing as you on that same road. Was following my GPS and because I wasn't familiar with the area at all, I paid attention to the GPS direction more than the road signs. And I knew the exact moment as soon as I turned to that lane, I did the wrong turn. :(
    I just paid the fine, and I just treated it as a very expensive lesson- $301 from what I remember.. :(
    I knew when I did that turn, that I wouldn't be the only case. It's so easy to make that mistake in that particular turn

  • +2

    So why aren't these just Bus Only Lanes? I had a look in the NSW Road Users' Handbook where there's a single mention of a T-way in 188 pages. Blink and you miss it. Definitely a revenue raiser, given that this rule applies to only two roads in the world.

    Interestingly, if you stop before the camera and reverse, the worst you'd be likely to be fined is Rule 296 (1) Not reverse vehicle safely, for only $173 but for 2 demerit points. That's assuming a cop comes along at that moment. Seems like the appropriate Ozbargain choice to me.

    Ah correction, I just researched further. Stopping in a T-way lane is another $311 fine, so reversing seems to be a safe option only if you can go from forward to reverse without stopping. :)

    Just to confuse matters, there's also an offence "Drive in truck lane", also for $311. I don't think I've ever seen a truck lane, but apparently the sign has a picture of a truck and the word lane under it.

    • +2

      lol it's all pretty amusing.

      I love the bus lane on Victoria Road. It's only a bus lane in peak hour (as clearly displayed on the signs and even on the road itself, as it says 'bus lane AM') but because the road is painted red like the T-way, everyone is too scared to drive on it when it isn't a bus lane.

      I regularly drive down Victoria Rd on weekends and it's bliss… I just cruise all the way down the bus lane, past all the traffic banked up in the two regular lanes.

      • Wait, so does 'Bus lane AM' rule apply to weekends or only weekdays?

        I think I'm one of those who are too scared to take my chances lol .. Knowing the RMS, they will erase the AM part one day without prior notice

        • Depends on the lane - I presume that every bus lane has it's own rules, so you need to read the signs along the bus lane. The one on Victoria Rd has very clear (and many) signs that tells you the times it is a bus lane… iirc it's only a bus lane during peak hour mornings and afternoons - but don't take my word for it, check the signs if you're driving there yourself.

          It's not a bus lane at all on weekends.

    • I think i have seen truck lanes on highways (like federal highway to canberra).

      I agree with what you've said. I mean you can tell from the name that its a revenue raiser, they could have named it BusWay, BusRoad, but no lets go for T-Way instead.

      Thank you for your research. I now look into ways to modify my car to go from forward to reverse without stopping :D

  • I was able to get off a fine on Sunnyholt T-way, but I had police records etc to back up my claim.

    • Was it a 10 year good driving record?

      • Certainly not. It was a missing persons file. (I had been notified that a child that was missing was walking along the T-way)

  • +1

    Sydney transport system is confusing. In Brisbane its called Busway, easy to understand. Tway is confusing for everyone.

    • +1

      Busways is the name of a bus operator in Sydney lol

      • Oh that explains..lol what about choochoo-way, forbidden-way.. Why Tway oh god why.. From now on, Tway is Ticket-way for me

  • Oh and by the way guys, I have just read the road user handbook NSW again. To add to the confusion, regarding bus lanes, there are 2 types:

    -Bus lane: bus, motorcycle, taxi, hire cars, bicycles, emergency vehicles can use
    -Bus ONLY lane: just for the bus. They dont even mention emergency vehicles!

    So motorcycle P platers, taxi drivers beware.. hire car people enjoys your smooth bus lane ride :)

  • +3

    Update: wrote a letter to ask for leniency, submitted online on the ground that "i was aware of mistake but it wasn't legal to correct it", along with other reasons. And they accepted it, no fines no demerit, only a caution on my record. I was so happy almost cried.

    • Holy sheet, that's great. Didn't think they'd let that one go.

      Nice one!

    • Im going to court in a few days for the exact same scenario. Applied for leniency but they didn't budge. Do you have a reference number for your case or something that I could use as proof that they have let this go in the past?

      • Did you have other traffic offences in a short period of time? They usually consider that as well when looking at the leniency letter

        • nothing recent, still have half my points, so not exactly squeaky clean. They rejected the letter but im going to court now. took some pics of other clearly marked turn offs, compared against my turn off that had one tiny sign which is obstructed by a shop awning.

    • Hello i have had the exact same problem and asked to have it removed but it wasnt. Please give me advice on what to put on the letter. I dont have the money to pay for it at all. And it was an honest mistake. If you can give me some tips please

  • Same scenario, ended up on Tway by accident(based on poor signage). going to court with it. if anyone has also been let off please let me know.

  • Had to join to comment on this. Absolute disgrace. Have never seen one of these things before and was in the car with partner when same thing happened. No 'BUS ONLY' sign or anything like it. In fact the way we were turning without a single car on the road it looked the right road was the OTHER/WRONG side of the road.

    We drive extensively all over the world and from the US - Europe - Africa and South America the international signal for HOV's (High Occupancy Vehicles) etc is (as it is everywhere else in Sydney and Australia "TRANSIT" which effectively reduces to T-WAY in the absence of everything else. This is an absolute travesty and entrapment pure and simple.

    We haven't got any paperwork (I wasn't driving) but I found this forum when we were on the road and a bus came towards us - it was weird there was no other traffic except for one bus. Then we saw the camera so used the next sign to get online (something only encouraged in Australia when driving) to look up what rule had possibly been broken and what the hell this weird new invention of an Australian fining body was collecting revenue under the guise of..

    Driving in this country is shock anyway, the appalling driving is encouraged by exactly this type of rubbish. You aren't concentrating on driving you are simply concentrating on speed and avoiding fines WHEN YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AROUND YOU OUTSIDE THE CAR.

    This inane money grabbing exercise needs to be changed ASAP. If it means BUS ONLY then bloody well say so and DO NOT use an internationally recognised word that everywhere else means 2+ persons in the car.

    FURIOUS DOES NOT DESCRIBE IT! I am this (' ') close to ditching my Aussie licence because of the infuriating attitude the Police, road 'safety' (who are not) and the various govts have to motor vehicles.

    • Sounds like you are too stressed by driving, please do hand in your licence.

      • What you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down.
        Or try a Snickers.

  • No. I need to go for a drive in a country that does not encourage appalling driving, actually have far less infuriating driving habits and don't suffer under Gestapo like Police. Let me think (just off the top of my head)… France, Holland, Luxembourg, Italy, Spian, USA, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa, Belize, Bahamas, Tahiti, Fiji, Argentina, Chile, Channel Island, Monaco, Switzerland, China (including Special Admin Reguons Macau and Hong Kong) Norway, Poland, Czechoslovakia, former USSR, Japan and Vietnam. I have probably driven in other places as well but their names escape me at the moment. I would suggest that from a traffic point of view, Australia is a backward little island with the most bizarre attitude to cars on the planet. There are no neighbouring states to show people how bad it is. In any vehicle I feel at home in Europe, especially Germany and Italy (NOTHING wrong with 220km:h + although personally I find 250 'uncomfortable') don't mind the U.S. (If you aren't doing 90mph in most 65 zones in early afternoon you will be squashed) and comfortable in most other places, but Australia is an exercise in working out how you can be fined in every single km you drive. All people are interested in is staring at their speedometer and paying zero attention to the task of actually driving. Sure it raises revenue - LOTS - but it also ruins anything that might pass for driving intelligence and skill. It is an absolute disgrace. Fortunately I drive enough overseas that I see the difference and can joke about it when away, but my god you put up with a lot when you brave the blacktop in Oz. Just as it became unnecessary to wear a yellow star if you were a certain religion in public under a past administration,, I live in hope that one day the same can be said of driving in Australia. Simply driving appropriately for the environment should not put you at risk of arrest…

    For those who question, look at this example. The RAF in WWII were crucified by the Luftwaffe because they flew (like Aussies drive) in very close formation staring at dials and not looking outside. 'Ze Germans' flew around 1km apart with their eyes constantly outside looking for danger. The RAF had to change tactics or be destroyed. Consider that when you drive up an Aussie tax/motorway where everyone is doing 109.9 and sitting inches from everyone else. Germany where 200+ is far from unusual (and I've been left standing doing same) everything is fluid and everyone leaves plenty of space. Driving safely is the goal, not reading stupid meaningless signs that offer society nothing more than raising taxes.

    • I agree with most of what you said. Just wanna add one thing, Australians under the age of 25 have to wait a year before they can get their P1 license (at least in NSW, not sure if it as changed for other states recently). While international drivers and students can come with their oversea license and be cruising on the road the next day, without having to learn about the road rules here, or be afraid of the so-called demirit points. That alone is, imho, outrageous.

      While most Oz families are ok with it because they will let their kids get the learner license at 16 and wait. There are cases like me, coming to Oz at the age of 23 without an oversea license, the wait was almost unbearable. I can't think of another country in the world with such rule.

      • That's on you. Most people I know were smart enough to get an overseas license BEFORE they came here.

        I do get where expatriates come from when they are appalled by Australian driving behaviour but for most of us who live here and only drive here, NSW is best of a very bad bunch.

        Be glad you dont live in VIctoria.

        OR be glad you werent here when Labor were in power where every offense is 3 points.

  • And there is NO better example of 'Yellow Star' mentality than 'P' Plates. A section of the community that cannot fight back, has no rights and is guilty before they get up each morning. And how much drama, congestion and unnecessary hazards do 'L' platers cause on an expressway limited to 80? They should be taught to drive WITH the traffic, not cause problems.

    Back to the entrapment mentality of this grossly misnamed T-Way nonsense… Got the paperwork yesterday - $319. Like getting a parking fine when you have spent 10 minutes deciphering the sign and convinced you are safe.

    I cannot stand this backward and pathetic attitude to driving!

  • Its the same for me. The old windor road is pretty confusing for a newbie and T ways are less known. I guess it would be better to
    have a Bus only indicator somewhere so it would be obvious instead of some international sign that no one knows about.

    My incident was the I turned into a T way and I was spotted by 4 cameras and 4 separate fines thrown on me.

    talk about paying a crazy amount for the same penalty of greater than $1200. :( and its so close to Christmas too. Money down the drain.

    So I guess it there were like a hundred cams around it would be 100*319 $. That's Crazy for a single penalty. I do admit I made a mistake and should pay a fine for it but It has to be for a single offence than it being accountable on the number of cameras it was spotted on.

    • Have you tried writing to seek leniency? It worked for me. That amount of fine is ridiculous. At the very least you can get it reduced to one fine, because its one incident, not 4 separate ones. Dont give up until u tried all. Good luck mate.

      I cant imagine how much money they make from those cameras. And trust me, if they dont make money, they will remove camera.

  • About 6 years ago, I asked my wife to go to Kellyville and gave her directions. I asked her to turn to right at Samantha Reily drive. She has seen the "No Right Turn"(from old Windsor Rd) board and has been driving trying to find somewhere to turn to right and finally was scared of been lost she has turned to T-Way and stopped to give me a call, just in front of the camera and I had to pay her fine. I was driving down Hoxton Park road in Liverpool and face the same issue. All roads say No Right turn in Big letters. It took me some time to notice the small letters ("to T-way"). RTA is very ambiguous in their road signs and directions. They were worse 25 years ago. People from other states can be easily mislead. The "T-Way" should be written in letters as big as "No Right Turn".Alternately replace the worlds "No Right Turn" with "To T-Way" I felt this was done purposely so that Cameras will be useful, to earn few dollars, once in a way.

  • Hi, i just got a notification of the offence 'drive in t-way when not authorised - camera recorded' in the same place, Northmead (Darcy & Briens road). However the notice said the camera detected the driver became aware of the situation and turned around and therefore have cancelled two offences.

    This is great, it sounds like a lot of you have been done by this, my question is slightly different - i have no recollection of this as i have no idea what a t-way is?!?! I was in this area on the day stated so it was me but it'd be nice to know what id did wrong? I've looked on Google street view and nothing springs to mind.

    cheers.

  • hi, I drove on a T Way lane mistakenly close to 128 briens rd northmeads, I wanted to take a left turn to Old windsor rd from briens rd northmead and just 50m away from the actual turn GPS voiced that turn left and i immediately turned left and quickly realized that i did a mistake so i did a u turn from other lane and saw camera just 26m away from my turning point, i am worried if i am captured or not. can you guys please tell from your experience about it i was not flashed that is the only hope i have about not captured. Thanks.

    • I just do like you. So what fine was you get. Thank you.

  • hey, I got the same mistake in Northmead, drive on a T Way lane between darcy rd and briens rd northmead. is the letter approved ?? i was following the direction by gps..

    • Yes it was approved. You just have to be very honest when writing the letter. I am sure they get a lot of letters about this every year..

  • I got fine of $1550 and reduced to $310 once I nominated myself as the driver of the vehicle. This is the first time (probably) I saw and realize what T-way is (very expensive way to learn though). I was following google maps to an area where I had never drove before (Blacktown) and it was night and already in pressure because of selecting wrong exit in one of the big roundabout with multiple exits somewhere there.

    I sent the letter but they replied with reduced cost because of nomination only. They didn't let me go without fine. :(

  • I accidentally drove into the T-way in Northmead and I received the penalty notices. I took it as a lesson and paid for the $337. But after 3 months I received an Overdue Fine and soon realized there were 2 fines at the T-way (Darcy - Briens Rd and Hammers - Briens Rd). It was only 1 minute apart for each fine. This is getting frustrating now, I wonder if I can get it to be reviewed for the 2nd fine as it was within the same offence?

  • All,

    Can we look into starting up this thread.

    The T-way issue has become ridiculous, according to the daily telegraph (link below), over 13,000 were pinned in the 12 months to November 2018. Clearly this is a revenue raising scheme by the NSW government, given that no steps have been taken to improve the conditions around T-ways.

    The design of some intersections is dis-orienting, clearly designed to coax drivers onto the T-way where there is no point of return. I am referring to
    - No signs prior to T-way entry
    - Faded red markings on T-way entry (even though the T-way exit across the road is bright red)
    - Being fined for using the left lane to turn left.

    This has gone far enough. Revenue NSW collect the fines, but palm off responsibility to RMS to fix the signs and road markings?

    I am in the process of starting a petition, will let anyone interested know once its up. A mate of mine was pinned recently, tried appealing but they would have none of it.

    https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/blacktown-advoca…

    • The faded red signs are useless at night. But yes I'm on old windsor often and… you get used to it.

  • Looks like I am the latest addition to this long victim list.

    FYI today I did,
    (1) turn into the same tway in briens road,
    (2) after realising, I did a u turn right after the island.

    As I'm already writing my draft of the request letter for leniency, I will keep updating this thread, so the next one can find it helpful.

    • Today, I received 2 penalty notices (each for 352.00). Then I checked online and it says "This penalty has been cancelled, and you do not need to take any actions regarding this" and Amount to be paid is 0.00. I have confirmed with few of my friends that these penalties have actually been cancelled, even though I received the notices. I can't express how relaxed I am now.

      This cancellation could be because of (1) they verified if I genuinely realised the mistake and did a u-turn and went back. (2) they considered the financial problems we go through during this lockdown.

      Anyway, I'm RELIEVED!!! :)

  • Just went to Westmead Hospital for Covid vaccination and accidentally turned to T way (left turn from Hawkesbury Road) and drove 100m down to next traffic light to turn to Westmead Hospital Main Entrance. Does anyone know if there is any T way camera or other traffic cameras around?
    Thanks

  • My wife just turned into the same tway in Briens Road Northmead today. May I know where to send the letter for leniency?
    Thanks.

  • I accidentally went into the same T way from old windsor road and kept on driving until I found an exit. It was an honest mistake. I have checked my Service NSW app and so far there is not fine or demerit. Should I wait for a fine to arrive and then appeal my case or should I appeal my case straightaway because I am not even sure if I got a fine? Further, what is the process of appealing for a fine ? I am a resident of NSW. Thanks

    • +1

      You will get a fine in the mail. Once you pay the fine, your demerit should update.

      T way fines are very unlikely to be waived, even if you do try to appeal.

      Details to appeal the fine are on the back of fine once rec'd in post.

Login or Join to leave a comment