Skateboarding - Basic legal FAQ
The laws of skateboarding. Taken from the Australian Road Rules as approved by the Australian Transport Council and published by the Australian Transport Commission Feb 2009.
The Australian Transport council was setup to streamline national road rules under agreement by all states and territories' transport and roads Ministers. Under agreement of the Australian Transport Council all states and territories are obliged to create legislation that is constant with the National Road Rules 2009. Given that our members come from all over Australia this is the most relevant document.
In the absence of local exceptions the following information should be considered the law:
Q - What is a skateboard under the law?
A - For the Australian Road Rules, a person in or on a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy is a pedestrian, not a rider (as in cyclist) and not a vehicle. The laws that relate to skateboards apply within Part 14 (Rules for pedestrians) of the Australian Road Rules. Part 14 - Division 1 is about pedestrian laws. Division 2 relates to pedestrians of wheeled recreational devices.
Q - Where and when can I use this toy?
A - On roads that satisfy these conditions:
- a road with no dividing line and no median strip; and
- a road on which the speed-limit is equal to or less than 50 kilometres per hour; and
- a one-way road with less than 2 marked lanes.
note 2: You are permitted to be on a prohibited road on your skateboard for the purpose of crossing that road and only when taking the shortest possible route. You are not required to get off your skateboard to do this
Q - When can I use my skateboard?
A - During daylight hours
Q - How can I skate?
A - When on a road you can skate as fast as you want with as many people as you want but you must not be any more than 2 abreast with other riders. You must also stay to the left of the road.
Q - Can I skate on the footpath?
A - Yes. However you must keep to the left of the footpath or shared path unless it is impracticable to do so; and you must give way to any pedestrian (except a person traveling in or on a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy) who is on the footpath or shared path. On a footpath or shared path bicycle riders must give way to skateboarders.
note: You must not skate on a footpath that has been specifically signposted as no wheeled toys allowed.
Q - Skitching looks fun, am I allowed to do that?
A - NO. A skateboard cannot be towed by a car nor can a skateboarder hold onto a car if it is moving. A skateboarder also cannot travel within 2m of a car continuously for any distance over 200m
Q - Do I have to be wearing a helmet?
A - No, but you might be considered stupid not to. (Except in SA where a bicycle helmet is mandatory)
Q - Can the Police or a security guard confiscate by skateboard?
A - NO. For the state to confiscate your property there has to be special legislation or the item in question must be illegal to possess. ie drugs, knives. The only time they can confiscate something that it is legal to own is in the circumstance where special legislation allows or when a magistrate rules on this ie. the car hoon laws and this is tightly regulated as in they can't confiscate your car because you ran a red light or because of a minor traffic offense. A security guard is just another public citizen and has no special or implied powers.
The illegal dispossession of somebodies personal property is considered theft be that by Police, security guards, or any other person in the community.
The exception to this rule is in Tasmania where the state has special laws that allow you to either pay the fine or hand your skateboard over to police for 7 days but not both
Q - What should I do if the police bust me for breaking skateboard laws?
A - Be polite. If your are issued a fine than cop it like a man and move on. The fine is similar to a cheap or medium quality set of bearings ($40-$60) so don't whinge or sook about it.
Q - What is the penalty for committing one of the above offeneces?
A - Fines vary from state to state:
---- NSW - $54
---- QLD - $40
---- ACT - $67
---- SA - $87
---- VIC -$60
---- TAS - $35-$50 or except 7 day confiscation with no financial penalty
---- WA - $50
Attached is a full copy of the Australian Road Rules 2009
Tags: FAQ, Laws, Skateboard laws, cops, lawyer, lawyers, legal, police, road rules, rules
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by harold jackson on
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if they did they must av been breaking the road rules like failing to give way or breaking the speed limit. The town i was in posted an article about the legality of Skating in general in the local news paper and whether it was allowed. The police reply stated "all skaters (14yrs and older) have the legal right to use the roads as licenced road users". Thing that confused me, not that im complaining about it, was what if u dont hav a drivers licence. U can get ur car licence when ur 15yrs old over their.Im hoping the laws stay as they are. I only pray the skaters over their dont fuk things up an force the laws to change like the cunt it is here in ozz. Im gonna hav to make sure i INDICATE everytime i pull over an stop least i get a ticket for failing to indicate.
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Permalink Reply by Timothy Shu on
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Ha .....I hope you didnt pay the fine, that cunt cant give you a ticket. Only road traffic aurthority can issue a traffic infingement notice. Their two separate police departments he was suppose to call a Traffic Cop to the scene so the ticket could be issued, unlike here in ozz any cop can give u a ticket. Im hoping you lot took the cunt to court over the mater, u need witnesses, a lawyer, lots of money etc etc. ....its the principle of the mater. U literally got a ticket for dangerous driving. Im hoping u fought it and got of it.
There are assholes out there and u gotta be willing to put the cunts in their place.
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Permalink Reply by Robbo on
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Correction made on the helmet in SA. I was not aware of that, do you know when this amendment to the traffic act was made? This would theoretically make most skate helmets sold in SA illegal and would be a first for an Australian state. It is very vague but I assume this would also make skating in a skate park without a helmet illegal. (unless you are sikh and wear a turban which seems to exempt you from the law i n SA)
On the seizure front I would like a bit more info about that. Police seizure laws are usually very specific and require special laws. Police often do things that are illegal and when presented to a court of law they often lose. Police can seize illegal items but cannot simply seize an item that is legal because you have done something illegal with it. There are laws in most states that allow police to seize a car under car hoon laws but they cannot seize your car after a speeding ticket just because they think you may speed again.
Graeme Hoy said:hi,
re question
Q - Do I have to be wearing a helmet?
A - No, but you might be considered stupid not to.You do have to wear a helmet, read Road Traffic Act. Section 162C and the helmet is defined as a bicycle helmet.
Fines can be found under the regulations
Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 1999
Both the above apply to S.A. you also have to add on $60 for what they call Victims of Crime levy. so no helmet = $87 + $60 = $147
Had board taken. They can, they don' confiscate it, they seize it - this is different. They do it cos they say once I leave you will skate again so to stop that I am seizing it and for evidence. Once fine is paid then you can get it back as the evidence is no longer needed as you have not contested in court just paid.
Graeme.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Grant on
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Harold you can't ride on freeways (motorways) in New Zealand but you can ride on state highway one or expressways. If you ride on freeways (motorways) you will get a huge fine. The basic rule in NZ is if cyclists are allowed on that road skaters are too.
Bylaws in NZ can ban skateboarding on roads in certain places and you can get fined for skateboarding on roads. The cops will fine you with something stupid like reckless use and that fine is quite big but is not widespread only only happens if the cops are power hungry or the area has got lots of public attention like one spot in Christchurch.
I won't go into Gabes fine but will say that if you think you can't get fined in NZ your dreaming. Yes its legal on the majority of roads but the fines are big if the cop decides to be a dick (speeding, reckless use etc) and its up to the skater to fight it in court.
harold jackson said:I just got back from NZ and you wont believe this but in New Zealand skate boards are classed as vehicles.......and fuk me your ALLOWED TO RIDE ON THE ROAD.............. restricted speed zones, open roads, Freeways the lot......your allowed on them ALL, you just gotta stick to the speed limits and abide by the road rules. BRILLIANT. unbelievable. The cops here can get stuffed. Any1 interested in buttboarding NZ this xmass let me know........ps they dont like it if u ride on the footpaths but Goddam it u can go jump on the freeway! I LOVE IT.
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well I'll let u all know how i go at xmas time, Im going to do the Bombay hill/freeway in Auckland.....the law doesnt mention anything about Freeways.
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Harold the south side of the bombays are an expressway which you can legally skate but I would advise you to get in and get out as quickly as possible. There was alot of heat due to the media finding a video of the first NZ tour doing that road and the police pretty much said they would crack down on us if they caught us in the act.
You might want to get your terminology down too if you plan on debating with the cops. We don't have freeways in NZ the main arterial routes are either motorways, express ways, state highways or just plain roads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgVo1IAVrDM shows you the best place to start and finish the bombay run
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Thanks Daniel, yep i wasnt planning on hanging around at the bottom and i'll prob apply for my NZ car licence b4 i go back.. You blokes are dam lucky the laws werent changed when those videos showing that STUPID canadian hit the media. He did sweat FA for your public image. How would the brainless prick like it if we did that sort of shit in his home town?
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Skittles on -
Just got picked up by the cops at a local hill. He greeted me with, 'Get in the car. Are you a fucking idiot?' (Swearing in public is still an offence under QLD law)
Through the conversation he told me that a skateboarder is classed as a car driver... WRONG, and assumed that I was crossing the lanes every corner. I corrected him and he replied with, 'I find that hard to believe'.
He knew nothing of the skateboarding laws which was in my favour because he had nothing to fine me with, but as a constable, I think he should really get his laws re-learnt...
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Permalink Reply by Ben Wa on
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There's one dude who always keeps a copy the relevant section of the Australian Road Rules in his backpack... Could pull that out and teach them about Wheeled Recreational Devices? Mind you they may take it badly and become even more aggro... oh well.
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The cops are not your enemy, just be friendly and courteous and they will be more willing to hear your arguement. If you're being a dick to them by bringing the law into question, they're going to destroy you because they're fucking cops.
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Robbo,
not a lawyer so don use this in court. They tol me that they seized the board to stop further offences adn as evidence. No skate board no evidence? I dun no but that is what they say.
I have committed an offence so if they give me fine (which I can take to court) they have to have evidence of the offence in case I don pay fine but go to court. They have ta prove it. If I pay fine then no need for evidence any more. They can take photo's then give board back but they dont carry cameras. But they say I will keep skatin, thats true, when they leave so to stop that they take board. Cos they can arrest u for any offence if they think u will commit again or more.
look here? it looks like I would take the fine cos they can arrest you for jus about anything dunno if they would tho cos might cause a stink
http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/SUMMARY%20OFFENCES%20ACT%20...
Summary Offences Act
number 75 on page 75 in south australia
Robbo said:Correction made on the helmet in SA. I was not aware of that, do you know when this amendment to the traffic act was made? This would theoretically make most skate helmets sold in SA illegal and would be a first for an Australian state. It is very vague but I assume this would also make skating in a skate park without a helmet illegal. (unless you are sikh and wear a turban which seems to exempt you from the law i n SA)
On the seizure front I would like a bit more info about that. Police seizure laws are usually very specific and require special laws. Police often do things that are illegal and when presented to a court of law they often lose. Police can seize illegal items but cannot simply seize an item that is legal because you have done something illegal with it. There are laws in most states that allow police to seize a car under car hoon laws but they cannot seize your car after a speeding ticket just because they think you may speed again.
Graeme Hoy said:hi,
re question
Q - Do I have to be wearing a helmet?
A - No, but you might be considered stupid not to.You do have to wear a helmet, read Road Traffic Act. Section 162C and the helmet is defined as a bicycle helmet.
Fines can be found under the regulations
Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 1999
Both the above apply to S.A. you also have to add on $60 for what they call Victims of Crime levy. so no helmet = $87 + $60 = $147
Had board taken. They can, they don' confiscate it, they seize it - this is different. They do it cos they say once I leave you will skate again so to stop that I am seizing it and for evidence. Once fine is paid then you can get it back as the evidence is no longer needed as you have not contested in court just paid.
Graeme.
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