Logic prevails as road rules come into force

The first few hours of new intersection road rules appeared to have passed late yesterday without incident in Hawke's Bay, with one police officer saying it's a matter of logic.

Constable Ben Howat, of Hastings, spent much of a day-shift observing driver-behaviour in relation to the changes which came into effect at 5am, hopefully ending confusion which had reigned ever since the old rules were implemented more than two decades ago.

Primarily, Stop and Give Way signs and road markings take precedence.

But where there is confusion with two turning vehicles (as in two oncoming cars) a right turning vehicle gives way to a vehicle to turning to the left, while a vehicle entering a T intersection from the bottom of the T gives way to all traffic on the cross of the T.

There are a range of nine situations presented in a Give Way Rule Quiz on the New Zealand Transport Agency website (www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/around-nz/give-way-resources).

Mr Howat said the first phase of the introduction of the changes was educational, and motorists rather than being ticketed for breaches would get reading material.

"A lot of motorists were obviously being cautious as we expect with people getting used to to the changes," he said.

"Perhaps the most interesting thing was that many people seemed to think all Give Way rules had changed ... but once people get the hang of it it'll all make sense."