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 Lucas Fowler on
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Thanks for the help, it was a less than 50 km/h. i just wanted to check to make sure we weren't in fact breaking any laws
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Lucas,
due care :-( it is in all road traffic rules and menas that you gotta use the road with care, car drivers get done for it all the time, if they have a prang.
Same with you if have stack. If the board goes on down the road then you are open to been done.
Read this as they have written it just for boards so you can't sue them but you can get in trouble. in SA Road Traffic Act number 99B the first bit and then where they have no responsibility bit 4. It says below. I dunno how to paste this shit properly so sorry about weard appearunce
99B—Wheeled recreational devices and wheeled toys
(1) A person must not ride a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy on a road without
due care or attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the
road.
(2) A person must not, on a footpath or other road-related area, ride a wheeled
recreational device or wheeled toy abreast of a vehicle or another wheeled recreational
device or wheeled toy.
(3) A person who is riding a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy on a footpath or
other road-related area must, where it is necessary to do so for the purpose of averting
danger, give warning (by a warning device or other means) to pedestrians or other
persons using the footpath or other road-related area.
(4) A road authority incurs no civil liability because of an act or omission on its part in the
design, construction, maintenance or management of a road to take account of the fact
that the users or potential users of the road include riders of wheeled recreational
devices or wheeled toys.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Sinanian on
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Hey Nick i know that guy. he's fucking crazy. Me and 2 others entered the carpark and we barely got to the second floor down before we had some crazy security chasing us, screaming, making a scene and threatening to take our boards. It was our first time for us so it's not as though we've been persistent "criminals". I wouldnt put it past him to grab someone's neck.
Nick Drummond said:a security guard took my board that my friend was using when we were riding in the carpark at St Leonards station. we got it back on the same day, but would that be still considered theft? He also grabbed my friend by the neck
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by haggy on -
Lucas
You aren't breaking any laws skating on that hill. Keep it up and skate as much as you can!!
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Permalink Reply by Cameron Golding on
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50km or less that sucks becuz there a sweet hill near mine and its 60 :/ but i've done it already tho haha
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Permalink Reply by Ben freifeld on
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do cityrail car parks count as private property?
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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by Bugs on -
Hmm, I think that could be quite a difficult and technical question even though it seems like it should be simple.
And the fact that it's not simple means that police and security guards won't know the answer, but you can be sure that they'll think they know the answer.
ben freifeld said:do cityrail car parks count as private property?
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unless they ask you not to do it you can but if they ask you to leave be polite about it because most of the time they will tell you to leave and if its not private property they will call police to find something you did to get you into trouble basicly rule 1 for skaters is be polite dont act like ruffians on maby private property
Bugs said:Hmm, I think that could be quite a difficult and technical question even though it seems like it should be simple.
And the fact that it's not simple means that police and security guards won't know the answer, but you can be sure that they'll think they know the answer.
ben freifeld said:do cityrail car parks count as private property?
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by The Dave on -
I'm still not totally clear on one thing. If, _hypothetically_ I were to be skating on a (legal) unlined road with a _vehicular_ speed limit of 50 but doing, say, 70, is there any way a speeding charge could be applied or would they just have to resort to something like Reckless Endangerment? Given the road is legal I can't be fined for using it (technically) but neither does the speed limit apply to non-vehicular traffic as far as I'm aware. Am I wrong here?
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Dani on -
No, your right. There is nowhere that says we have to abide by any speed limit. At the same time though they would have to get your speed on a radar in order to prove it and because the law does state we have to ride (on a legal road) with 'due care' I am sure that they would/could take you to court on those grounds if you were proved to be speeding.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by w. morph on -
yea that whole due care thing is a pretty dicy situation! had a cop the other day show up at a legal spot and start telling us he could fine us for "riding without due care" if we were obeying all the road rules and a car in the other lane (other side of the road) altered their driving habits because of our presence. however upon in depth questioning on the subject he refused to answer any more questions and left. this cop is already a know asshole to skaters in adelaide anyone know if we could complain about him on a discrimination basis?
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"Due care" and "Reckless Endangerment" go hand in hand. The main variation in the definitions of these two points is that "Reckless Endangerment" is a witnessed/sighted point, however "Due Care" can be applied even if it isn't stated in a situation...how?....because it is "implied" in all the road rules, etc.
If an authority figure, Police, Council, etc, (even though Council can't apply penalties, they just make a phone call which carries more sway than your own), sights you on a road, which is deemed "legal", and, for example, you cross onto the wrong side of the road, and there's no cars or pedestrians present/in your path, you will get pulled over because of the "implied due care": if you do it when there's no car there, you will probably/possibly do it when there is a car, and thats the logic that will be applied. It might be cock-eyed, but thats how it works. If cyclists get busted for it, so will a toyed recreational vehicle.
Another way to look at it, if a pedestrian walks onto the wrong side of the road in front of a car, or meandering in the opposite lane, car or not, they get pulled over and fined, for above stated reasons: skateboards are viewed as the same as pedestrians, so the same rules apply.
"Implied" scenario's do stand up in Court.
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