100 mistakes in the official K53 learner manuals

How we counted

The manuals are Rules of the Road, Road Traffic Signs and Vehicle Components and Controls, published by the Department of Transport and dated June 2012: 115 pages in all. We logged three kinds of spot.

• Misprint. A word is missing or wrong, so the sentence does not say what was plainly meant. Example: the driving-view rule (Rules of the Road, page 18) has lost its "not".
• Disagreement. Two passages answer the same question differently. Example: Road Traffic Signs says to stop behind the stop line (page 4) and behind the stop sign (page 48).
• Copy error. A passage plainly belongs to another sign or rule. Example: the Bus stop reservation sign (Road Traffic Signs, page 19) is described as a stop for minibuses.

We did not count clumsy wording, rules that seem odd in real life, or two different signs with similar meanings.

The first pass logged 144 spots: 67 misprints, 67 disagreements and 10 copy errors. On a second reading we set aside 38 where the passages fit together after all or the fault was in our own notes, and 6 that were one spot logged twice. That leaves 100.

Below are the 40 clearest. Each quotation was rechecked against the page before publication. Page numbers are those printed at the foot of the page.

Rules of the Road: 16 examples

• Driving view (page 18): nobody may operate a vehicle "if the driver/rider thereof have a full and clear view of the roadway ahead". With "not" missing, the rule bans driving with a clear view.
• Emergency triangle (page 23): the duty to carry one is "(excluding motor cars, ambulances and motorcycles)", yet when any motor vehicle is stationary on the roadway the "driver of such vehicle shall display at least one emergency warning sign".
• Parking (page 31): the list under "No person shall park a vehicle on the roadway of a public road" opens "with a direction given by a traffic officer". With "except" missing, an exception is printed as a ban.
• After an accident with death or injury (page 37): "no vehicle may not be moved" from where it came to rest. The double negative reverses the rule.
• Passing on the left (page 30): it is allowed where the roadway is "restricted to vehicles moving in one direction" and divided into lanes, which covers a dual-carriageway freeway. The section ends: "Vehicles must kept left and overtake to the right on any freeway."
• Seatbelts, adults (page 21): no adult shall "occupy a seat in any motor vehicle unless such person wears a seatbelt". The next line allows a seat "which is not fitted with a seatbelt" once the belted seats in that row are taken.
• Seatbelts, who is covered (pages 20 and 21): the rule only "covers persons 3 years of age and older", yet the driver must ensure that "all persons travelling in such motor vehicle" wear one.
• Code 3 learner's licence (page 13): Code 3 repeats the Code 2 limit, "of such vehicle, or vehicles exceeds 3500 kilograms", yet its label covers light and heavy motor vehicles.
• Helmets (page 21): on a motorcycle fitted with seatbelts, rider and passenger "may not wear a protective helmet". The sense requires "need not".
• Motorcycle tyres (page 37): "You may not ride a motorcycle on a public road-" is followed by a line in which every "tyre displays throughout" a visible pattern. With "unless" missing, the line bans tyres that have tread.
• What a motorcycle is (pages 5 and 10): a motorcycle "means a motor vehicle that has two wheels", but the abbreviation MC "means Motorcycle that includes a motorcycle, tricycle and quadrucycle".
• Following distance (page 32): a note that is not part of the rule is printed inside it, ending "See Australia Drivers Handbook Crash Facts (Rear end Crashes)".
• Professional driving permit (page 15): the exemption for learners ends "and unless he or she keeps such professional driving permit with him or her" in the vehicle. That clause repeats the sentence before it and is absent from the same passage on page 7.
• Under the influence (page 38): "while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug having a narcotic effect" is printed as a third banned act, not as the condition on the two above it.
• Sirens (page 20): "Sirens or warning devices that play a tune may not be used in private vehicles." This ban is printed as a third condition under "You may not use a light motor vehicle on a public road unless-".
• Reporting an accident (page 37): "and the registration number a traffic officer at the scene of the accident". The word "to" is missing.

Road Traffic Signs: 23 examples

• Stop line (RTM1) (page 48): "Stop with the front of your vehicle behind the stop sign." The Stop sign entry on page 4 says "Bring your vehicle to a stop behind the stop line."
• Bus stop reservation (R325) (page 19): "To allow minibuses to take up and drop passengers off." The entry repeats the Minibus stop reservation (R326) text below it, word for word.
• Six prohibition signs (R226 to R231) (page 14): "Do not enter this area if you are driving motorcar." Printed under signs that bar midibuses, buses, delivery vehicles, goods vehicles and construction vehicles.
• Sharp curve chevrons (page 34): the name line reads "Left (W405, TW405),(W407)(TW407)"; the purpose line reads "to the left (W406, W408, TW406, TW408)". The codes for left and right are swapped.
• Stopping prohibited (R217) (page 12): "Do not stop unless to obey a traffic light or a traffic officer" or to avoid a collision. The no stopping line that may accompany it (RM12, page 51) gives a different exception: "Except in any emergency, do not stop at these lines."
• No parking line (RM13) (page 51): the purpose is "To prevent drivers from stopping", repeated from the no stopping lines above it, yet the action says "you may stop for short periods".
• Overhead arrestor bed exit and overhead lane use control (page 45): both carry the action "Do not turn in at such a road" unless you are going to a destination in the road that ends. That is the Cul-de-sac action from page 46.
• Overhead freeway direction (GC3U) (page 43): drivers are told to be in the right-hand lane if they want "to turn right to join the freeway". The sign stands "On any freeway." The wording belongs to the on-ramp signs above it.
• Yield at traffic circle (R2.2) (page 5): "To warn you that there is a traffic circle ahead where they must expect to yield." The same entry places the sign "At traffic circles, particularly mini circles." Warning of a circle ahead is the job of sign W201 (page 25).
• TR201-315 (page 37): one code, listed twice, as "Vehicles exceeding mass only- Construction vehicles (temporary)" and as "Speed limit - construction vehicles (temporary)".
• TR132-510 (page 37): "Switch headlamps on - reduced visibility (temporary)". R132 is Pay toll (page 9); Switch headlamps on is R133 (page 10).
• R201-60-510 (page 22): "R201-60-510 – Speed limit, time period". Plate 510 is Reduced visibility on page 20.
• Plate IN11.3 (page 21): "R132+IN11.3 – Pay toll (on high visibility background), for a distance". On pages 35 and 36 this plate and its temporary version always mean "a distance ahead".
• Hitch-hiking prohibited (R207) (page 11): "To prohibit pedestrians and stationary vehicles." The line is cut short and describes a different ban.
• U-turn prohibited (R213) (page 12): "To vehicles from turning around so that it faces the opposite direction." The verb is missing.
• Stopping prohibited (R217), purpose (page 12): "prevent that driver’s views are not impaired" by stationary vehicles. The double negative reverses the meaning.
• Bicycle lane lines (RM14) (page 51): "Do no drive in the demarcated area." The word "no" stands where "not" is meant.
• Railway crossing (W403, W404) (page 34): "To that there is a railway crossing". The word "warn" is missing.
• Pedal cycle lane reservation (R304) (page 16): "To inform you that a parking area is reserved for bicycles only." The entry covers a lane sign and a parking sign but gives only the parking purpose.
• Definition of parking, under RM13 (page 51): "for a longer period than is longer than that needed". Words are repeated.
• Width (W360) (page 33): "Do not continue of your vehicle is wider than indicated on the sign." The word "of" stands where "if" is meant.
• Collision (TW353) (page 32): "If there is enough or professional help". A word is missing after "enough".
• Rickshaws prohibited (R234) (page 15): "Do not enter this area if you are a rickshaw." The instruction addresses the vehicle; the purpose line speaks of "a person pulling a rickshaw".

Vehicle Components and Controls: 1 example

This manual is short, and we logged few spots in it.

• Control 6 (pages 9, 10 and 12): "Gear level" on pages 9 and 12, "Gear lever" on page 10. One control has two names.

What this means if you are studying for your learner's

• Keep studying the manuals. The test is marked against them, and most of what they say is right: 100 spots in 115 pages, most of them small.
• Where a word is plainly missing, learn the obvious meaning. A driver must have a full and clear view of the road.
• Where two passages disagree, learn the part both agree on. Both stop-line passages agree that the vehicle comes to a standstill at the line. Both triangle passages agree that goods vehicles, minibuses and buses must carry one.
• Where a sign carries another sign's text, go by the sign's own name. A bus stop is for buses.
• Do not panic. None of this is a reason to put off your test.

An invitation to correct the next edition

We invite the Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation to correct these spots in the next edition of the manuals.

Our full list of 100 gives the manual, the page, the words as printed and a one-line note for each spot. It is available on request through k53tutor.com to either body, and to any driving school or journalist.

If we have misread a passage, tell us and we will correct this article.