Confusing road rule of two cars merging simultaneously leaves Queensland drivers completely baffled

Drivers have been left scratching their heads at one of the most confusing lane change rules on Australian roads.

A scenario shared by the Queensland Department of Roads and Traffic on Monday left motorists baffled at who had right of way.

The situation shared to the roads authority's social media page shows a three-lane highway with a car in the outside lanes with the middle lane vacant.

Drivers have been left baffled by this scenario, showing two cars on the outside lanes indicating to move to the middle simultaneously

However, both cars have their indicators on to move into the middle lane, posing the question of who has the right of way.

Hundreds of motorists commented on the post to voice their opinions, many of which were surprised to be told they were wrong.

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Majority said the car in the right lane had the right of way, given the driving adage that you should always give way to the right.

Others said the car whose indicator went on first should move first.

The answer, however, surprised many motorists, since neither car actually has the right of way.

Motorists online incorrectly pointed out the orange car on the left should give way to the right

In this scenario, the cars should wait until the other makes a move first and proceed carefully from there, making for a potentially precarious merge.

The Department clarified: 'When changing lanes, you must give way to any vehicle in the lane you are moving into.

'In this instance, both vehicles must give way to each other.

'The drivers need to wait until it becomes clear that it is safe for one of them to continue to complete the lane change.'

The correct answer to the situation is that neither car actually has right of way, and the car that moves first should wait until it is safe to complete the merge

While the instance was potentially hazardous, many pointed out it was actually very unlikely to happen.

'Why would the left car merge into middle lane anyway?' one person asked.

'No car in front so not overtaking anything. Then, why for crying out loud is the car in the right lane?! Not overtaking anything either.'

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Reinaldo Massengill

Update: 2024-03-06

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