Is It Okay to Drive through a Servo (or Similar) to Avoid Traffic?

morse on 04/02/2021 - 19:44
Last edited 04/02/2021 - 20:05

I observed this morning, like on many occasions in different places, that sometimes people drive through a servo (or similar) in order to avoid traffic. Typically (but not always) this happens around a corner.

I have no strong feelings about this, but can’t recall ever doing it.

On one hand it slows down people moving in the same direction and can probably be considered ‘queue jumping’. However it also frees up space for people going in a different direction to the congestion to get through. I can’t imagine the servo or whatever business deals with it loves it.

Diagram here https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/175189/86711/5a3e2d84-… including google maps traffic. Blue line is conventional way to turn left, purple is through the servo and yellow for people who might get through the intersection quicker if people go through the servo. Other lines are the google traffic lines that pretty accurately show the peak time traffic at this intersection.

OzTraffic - what do you think? Is it okay?

Poll Options

  • 15
    Yes, it’s okay if it frees up traffic flow
  • 13
    Yes, it’s okay because I want to get where I’m going faster
  • 211
    No, not okay
Automotive

Comments

    • morse on 04/02/2021 - 19:52
      +3

      Ha! I searched and didn’t see this, OzFail for me

    • whooah1979 on 04/02/2021 - 20:51
      +3

      https://www.caradvice.com.au/918350/top-10-road-rules-you-mi…

      So you take a short cut. Except that’s illegal,
      The ticket falls under “drive on or over footpath”

      People shouldn't believe everything they read online before DYOR.

      http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/rr2014104…

      288 Driving on a path
      (2) A driver may drive on a path if the driver is—
      b) 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

      • Scrooge McDuck on 05/02/2021 - 02:51
        +1

        I was pulled over and breathalised by an unmarked police car immediately after doing this late at night through a corner pool store parking lot to circumvent a red traffic light. The policeman advised me to drive safely and sent me on my way.

        • papachris on 05/02/2021 - 20:32

          I suspect he was thinking "here's some kharma for you"…

    • SF3 on 04/02/2021 - 20:54

      Déjà vu in the Matrix, not a good sign.

    • brendanm on 04/02/2021 - 21:17
      +3

      Good luck to them trying to fine someone for that. "I was going to buy a mars bar but changed my mind". Not even enforceable.

      • whooah1979 on 04/02/2021 - 21:26
        +2

        Joshua Dowling as the editor doesn't even bother to quote the road rules other than calling it “drive on or over footpath”. Is this the quality of journalism nowadays or just a person being lazy?
        https://www.caradvice.com.au/918350/top-10-road-rules-you-mi…

        • brendanm on 04/02/2021 - 22:00
          +4

          It's just the quality of "journalism". Clickbait rubbish poorly/not at all researched.

  • Lichen6420 on 04/02/2021 - 19:52
    +6

    Although probably? entirely legal it is a bit of dick move because it introduces unnecessary traffic to what is a shared pedestrian and vehicle area.

    Driving needlessly in this type of environment increases the risk to pedestrians and increases the possibility you may hit someone when compared with driving on the road.

  • elgrande on 04/02/2021 - 19:57
    +13

    The trick is to slow down and pretend your considering to fill..

    • Nugs on 04/02/2021 - 20:29
      +24

      complete with exaggerated head shake when pretending to read the price?
      .

      • FireRunner on 04/02/2021 - 20:35
        +5

        Best to stop, get out of the car and as your reaching for the pump, read aloud the price followed by "forget it"

      • elgrande on 04/02/2021 - 20:41

        You have experience I can tell..

  • JKM on 04/02/2021 - 20:01
    +6

    I've seen a few near misses because of this - people go through the servo and almost smash into a car that's leaving after filling up. Not cool.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 05/02/2021 - 03:06
      +1

      That's an issue of generally unsafe driving rather than circumventing an intersection. There's nothing about parking and refueling which makes the route safer. People should drive to the conditions which includes slowing down approaching hazards, like stopped cars and pedestrians.

  • plmko on 04/02/2021 - 20:33
    -3

    No the police will arrest them.

  • Jugganautx on 04/02/2021 - 21:30
    +1

    It's not illegal. It's frowned upon, like masturbating on an airplane.

    • c64 on 04/02/2021 - 21:57
      +3

      that's why they issue blankets

      • Scrooge McDuck on 05/02/2021 - 03:07
        +2

        How else are you supposed to fall asleep?

  • askme69 on 04/02/2021 - 21:31

    Had a penalty issued for this. After reading the officers notes and the infringed version of events, i cancelled it. Would not have stood up in court, in this instance.

    But some do.

    • John Kimble on 04/02/2021 - 23:01
      +16

      Can you teach me how I go about cancelling my own penalty notices?

      • Scrooge McDuck on 05/02/2021 - 02:46
        +9

        If you poor water on it, it'll go limp and won't stand up in court.

  • c64 on 04/02/2021 - 22:18

    i had absolutely no idea about that traffic rule

  • Mechz on 04/02/2021 - 22:22

    It's illegal, but if you stop and wash your windscreen it's not.

  • franco cozzo on 05/02/2021 - 05:06
    +1

    the only people who do this are bogans & / or meth fueled tradies

    • mapax on 05/02/2021 - 07:21
      +1

      Maybe you live in a bogan area? In my area it’s mainly food delivery riders that do that.

    • whooah1979 on 05/02/2021 - 07:31

      That may be a Melbourne thing. Sydney has a good mix of drivers.

      • Baysew on 05/02/2021 - 10:12
        +1

        Mainly North Melbourne and Footscray?

      • Ghost47 on 05/02/2021 - 14:54

        As someone who has driven extensively in both cities this sort of thing happens in both. Sydney drivers are actually a lot worse than Melbourne as well.

        • papachris on 05/02/2021 - 20:39

          Agreed with your first sentence, not the second.

          Everyone tries to make a Sydney v Melbourne thing about everything, but it's almost all local parochial BS. Basically the larger (and less controlled) the city, the worse the driving - worldwide…

          • Ghost47 on 05/02/2021 - 20:53

            @papachris: Well from my experience I can say with certainty the amount of bad drivers I’ve seen in Sydney far outweigh those in Melbourne. And I’ve driven in both cities a fair amount so it’s not like I’m basing it off a small amount of hours driving.

  • Bob Svargis on 05/02/2021 - 10:15

    Happens at an intersection I use most mornings. What happens is that there's 2 lanes on a side street turning into Parramatta Rd in Sydney. Due to the fact that the road markings allow a right turn into Parramatta Rd from both lanes, those of us turning left are regularly held back when there's a left green arrow due to people turning right from the left lane who have a red right turn light. It's really frustrating but there's a lot of Parramatta Rd side streets set up this way.

    Next door there's a 7-11. Many left turners drive through here to get onto Parramatta Rd and avoid the wait.

    Is it illegal? No. Is it safe for the 7-11? I'd argue that it's unsafe because people do this often and they don't drive with the same care that they ought to in a servo - ie. they usually drive through the servo quickly with scant regard for pedestrians because they are trying to beat the lights (I was nearly cleaned up while filling up one time, due to some idiot speeding through to avoid the lights…)

  • OzHunterNSW on 05/02/2021 - 10:20
    -1

    No…. how dangerous is that… and to stop people from ding it, there are hefty fines imposed.

  • papachris on 05/02/2021 - 20:45
    +1

    As I post this comment, the spread is 10 - "Yes, it’s okay because I want to get where I’m going faster", 181 - "No, not okay".

    This approximates the percentage of population who are psychopaths, so it's about right.

    As for the 13 - "Yes, it’s okay if it frees up traffic flow", I have no idea…

    • morse on 05/02/2021 - 21:21

      Thank you, I was going to do this summary myself but you beat me to it.

      Interesting - by looking at baysew’s reference to the past poll, which was more like a 1:2 ratio it seems like the culture has changed to be more against the practice.

      I also reckon there’s a whole lot of people who do it and don’t own up to it (even in an anonymous online survey) based on what I saw the other day (I was there for ages in the ‘conventional’ lane) I watched at least 10-20% of people do it.

      • brendanm on 05/02/2021 - 23:18

        Thank you, I was going to do this summary myself but you beat me to it.

        I would have expected you to know better.

        • morse on 05/02/2021 - 23:41

          Don’t expect too much of anyone on ozB ( or anywhere) 😁. I just meant summarise the vote and comments. I’m not going to pretend to understand population norms for psychopaths, I doubt that’s quantifiable (nor diagnosable based on one behaviour).

          • brendanm on 06/02/2021 - 09:20

            @morse: I normally wouldn't, but as someone in the medical field I hoped you would immediately know that that posters claims are an extremely long way from correct. I now see you just meant a percentage breakdown.

    • rompastompa on 05/02/2021 - 21:29
      +1

      This approximates the percentage of population who are psychopaths, so it's about right.

      Are 5.52% of the population psychopaths?

      • papachris on 06/02/2021 - 20:33

        Between 3% and 10%, depending on which research you read/believe. A few years ago I asked my psychologist if 10% was the correct figure, as I had recently heard that from an expert and been surprised. He said more like 5%. I probably should have said "have antisocial personality disorder" rather than "are psychopaths"…

    • brendanm on 05/02/2021 - 23:17

      Well done. You don't know the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath, and don't know the population percentage for either.

      • papachris on 06/02/2021 - 20:26

        There is not a large variation between the two, both being diagnosed as antisocial personality disorder. The percentage of population varies between about 3% and 10%, depending on which studies or analyses you read. I clearly said "approximates", but given some of your other posts on this site, I understand comprehension is not your strong point.

        I'll give you a link anyway…

        • brendanm on 06/02/2021 - 20:49
          +1

          Jumping to psychopathy because someone drives through a servo to miss traffic is ridiculous.

          3% would generally be regarded as an upper limit for sociopaths, psychopaths and far less common.

          Your "approximates" for "psychopaths" are incorrect. They are also not the same thing.

          Sorry, I don't recognise you, so have no idea if wildly throwing out the term psychopath is normal for you.

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