These road rules for the Australian state of Queensland are old and the fines are out of date

The list was published in this Facebook post, on June 28, 2019. It has been shared more than 4,700 times. 

The caption states: “New Road rules in QLD" - serious - be careful out there...

"They kept these quiet, didn't they???...

"NEW Qld Road Rules as of now!!!...

"$256 + 0 points Driving with person or animal on lap
$44 + 0 points Reversing for longer than necessary
$256 + 1 point Following another vehicle too closely
$256 + 0 points Driving without a clear view in all directions
$66 + 2 points Driving in right-hand lane of a multi-lane road with an 80km/h or higher limit
$44 + 0 points Entering an intersection when the road beyond is blocked
$44 + 0 points Parking/stopping within 10m of an intersection without a traffic light
$88 + 0 points Making a U-turn at an intersection controlled by lights
$198 + 3 points Making a U-turn across a single or double continuous line
$352 + 2 points Playing loud music
$66 + 0 points Tooting the horn
$330 + 3 points Using mobile phone including use by cyclists
$44 + 0 points Leaving vehicle without handbrake left on

"Having Sat Nav in an impeding position - supposed to be in bottom right hand in front of driver (My understanding is that must not be in the area where the windscreen wipers Sweep)

"Failing to have a hand on the steering wheel while stopped at lights”.

Demerit points are used in Queensland to penalise drivers who commit offences. 

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

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The claim in the post is misleading; the road rules are not new and the fines listed in the post are years out of date.

A Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) spokesperson told AFP in an email on September 4: “All of the offences are currently listed under the Queensland Road Rules and have been covered by various transport regulations for some time.

“They are not new offences. Only the current penalties are out of date. This Facebook content has been posted regularly over recent years,” they wrote.

The spokesperson said the fines quoted in the misleading Facebook post “appear to be penalty rates from the 2013/14 financial year”.

“The current penalty rates came into effect on July 1 this year. Fines and penalties increase each year in line with the government indexation rate. These rules have been covered by transport regulations for some time, in many cases decades,” they added.

The TMR also sent AFP a document listing current fines as they correspond to the Facebook post. 

• Driving with person or animal on lap: $311, 0 demerit points
• Reversing for longer than necessary: $53, 0 demerit points
• Following another vehicle too closely: $311, 1 demerit point
• Driving without a clear view in all directions: $311, 0 demerit points
• Driving in right-hand lane of a multi-lane road with an 80km/h or higher limit: $80, 2 demerit points
• Entering an intersection when the road beyond is blocked: $204, 0 demerit points
• Parking/stopping within 10m of an intersection without a traffic light: $53, 0 demerit points
• Making a U-turn at an intersection controlled by lights: $106, 2 demerit points
• Making a U-turn across a single or double continuous line: $240, 3 demerit points
• Playing loud music: $427, 2 demerit points
• Tooting the horn: $80, 0 demerit points
• Using mobile phone including use by cyclists: $400, 3 demerit points
• Leaving vehicle without handbrake left on: $53, 0 demerit points
• Having Sat Nav in an impeding position – supposed to be in bottom right hand in front of driver: $311, 0 demerit points
• Failing to have a hand on the wheel while stopped at lights: $311, 0 demerit points

Below are screenshots of the list:

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A post with an identical claim to the misleading June 2019 appeared on Facebook here. It was published in 2013 and shared as recently as July 2019, as seen in the below screenshot:

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Another Facebook post here, also first published in 2013, has been shared as recently as March 2019.