New dictionary published for Aussie drivers

Having trouble deciphering what other drivers are trying to tell you? Or are your signals being misinterpreted when out on the road?

Following a nationwide survey of road users, a new dictionary has been released showing the most common understandings of each signal – with the idea to help standardise an Australian road language.

According to Continental – tyre manufacturer and the publisher of the Code of the Road – more than half of Australians are expressive on the road, using a combination of hand signals, lights, and polite horn honks to communicate.

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But while 72 per cent of those will use a honk to prompt someone sitting ahead of them at a green light, the study found that those on the receiving end can consider it helpful or aggressive, or may completely misread the intention.

“There’s clearly a lot of goodwill on the road, but we’re not always speaking the same language,” Continental Tyres Australia managing director Mitchell Golledge said at the announcement of the dictionary.

“The Continental Code of the Road Dictionary is about bringing some clarity to the small moments behind the wheel that can actually make a big difference.”