Articles by Marcus Craft

How many passengers can a learner have?Learner drivers are permitted to carry passengers but the answer pertaining to the number of passengers permitted and the conditions that apply depends on the state or territory in which you live.But what is certain is that learner driver rules state that the learner driver, supervisor (an individual who holds a valid open licence for the class of vehicle the learner driver is driving and has held that licence for at least one year) and any passengers in the vehicle must be properly restrained by seat belts or approved child restraints.Are there exceptions? No.Of course, common sense dictates that the fewer passengers in a car when a learner drive is at the wheel, the fewer distractions there are within the vehicle for that learner driver…Anyway, here’s our state-by-state/territory guide to 'How many people can a learner have in the car?'Can learner drivers have passengers? Yes, as long as they and the driver are all properly restrained with seat belts or, where appropriate, government-approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in the ACT?A learner driver is permitted to carry up to the legal passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat – and that person must have a valid open licence for the class of vehicle the learner driver is driving and must have held that licence for at least one year.Does the age of passengers matter (e.g. babies)? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in NSW?A learner driver in NSW is permitted to carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but the driver of the vehicle and all passengers must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in the Northern Territory?There are no passenger restrictions for learners or provisional drivers in the NT, other than the learner driver is only permitted to carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, and they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in Queensland?A learner driver in Queensland may carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but the vehicle’s driver and all passengers must be wearing seat belts properly or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in South Australia?Learner's permit holders in South Australia are not subject to any passenger restrictions, other than the legal passenger-carrying capacity of the vehicle which they’re driving at the time.How many passengers can a learner driver have?A learner driver is permitted to carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in Tasmania?A learner driver is permitted to carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in Victoria?A learner driver is permitted to carry up to the passenger capacity of the vehicle they are driving, but they must have a supervising driver in the front passenger seat.Can a learner driver drive with a child in the car in Victoria? Yes, as long as that child is properly restrained with a government-approved age-appropriate child restraint.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved child restraints.How many passengers can a learner driver have in Western Australia?There is no restriction on the number of passengers a learner driver may have in a vehicle in WA, except, of course, the vehicle must only be carrying the number of passengers it is legally allowed to have onboard.Also, the learner driver, supervising driver and all passengers must be properly wearing properly wear seat belts or government-approved child restraints.Does the age of passengers matter? No, but everyone in the vehicle – the driver and all passengers – must be properly wearing seat belts or, if appropriate, approved baby seats or child restraints.

The popularity of 4X4s/4x4s/4WDs/4wds/off-roaders/whatever you want to call them has grown tremendously in the past 10 to 15 years and these vehicles regularly top national sales charts and they’re everywhere on our roads and bush tracks.

The D-Max Blade, a collaboration between Isuzu and the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, was developed locally as a hardcore four-wheel drive. It has 3mm steel bash plates, Aussie-tuned and lifted suspension, light truck construction all-terrain tyres and Blade-specific design enhancements. But, without extra power and torque, is the Blade actually worth $15,000 more than the LS-U+ on which it's based?

The 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado (aka the 250 Series) is big news: it's larger than previous versions of the Prado and it is now able to tow the industry standard 3500kg rather than the 3000kg the previous generation is limited to.It also looks a lot different to the softer style of Prados past. But does being bolder and bigger make it better?

Utes are incredibly popular in Australia as evidenced by the fact that the Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger consistently top the sale charts here.

Is it illegal to park on the nature strip in Australia?Yes, it is illegal to park on the nature strip in Australia. A driver is only legally permitted to park on a nature strip if they stop “at a place on a length of road, or in an area, to which a parking control sign applies and the driver is permitted to stop at that place under the Australian Road Rules; or the driver is permitted to stop under another law of this jurisdiction”, as stated by the Australian Road Rules.And that law applies no matter whether you’re in Qld, NSW, Vic or any other state or territory.Nature strip parking is generally frowned upon, no matter where you reside.A nature strip, also sometimes referred to as a road verge, is the public area of land between a property boundary and the road, and this area is usually covered in grass.In Australia, the local council of the area in which you reside owns the nature strips, but the owner or resident of each property adjoining each nature strip is ultimately responsible for the nature strip and that includes the maintenance of it, such as weeding, nature strip mowing and keeping edges neat where the grass meets the kerb and driveway.No. According to Australian Road Rules (Reg 197):“Stopping on a path, dividing strip, nature strip, painted island or traffic island(1) A driver must not stop on a bicycle path, footpath, shared path or dividing strip, or a nature strip adjacent to a length of road in a built-up area, unless—(a) the driver stops at a place on a length of road, or in an area, to which a parking control sign applies and the driver is permitted to stop at that place under the Australian Road Rules ; or(b) the driver is permitted to stop under another law of this jurisdiction.”As above: you may not park on a nature strip unless there is clear signage permitting you to do so for the period you are parked there, or “the driver is permitted to stop under another law of this jurisdiction” – check with your local council to make sure you have up-to-date information applicable to your specific situation.No, Australian Road Rules (Reg 197) apply throughout the country and if you do park on a nature strip, you may be fined by police or a council ranger. You may be lucky enough to be a rare example of an individual case of leniency, but it’s not worth the risk.Yes, there are penalties for illegally parking on a nature strip in Australia. The severity of those may differ between states, territories and local council areas but, as we all know, it’s not fun to cop a fine.Penrith City Council states that “the penalty for parking on the footpath or nature strip in a built-up area exceeds $257”, and that “the penalty for parking on a footpath or nature strip in a built-up area within a school zone exceeds $330 and 2 demerit points”.The fine for parking on a nature strip in Victoria varies from councils to council, but expect to pay between $110 and $580 for the offence.If you are fined for parking on a nature strip in Noosa Shire Council area, you may cop 20 penalty units. A penalty unit value in Queensland, as of 1 July 2024, is $161.30. That works out to be a total fine of $3226. Ouch.No. Parking on a nature strip is illegal. Having said that, some councils are known to take a more, shall we say, relaxed approach in that they’ll permit you to park on a nature strip without penalty as long as you have written permission from the adjoining property’s landowner to park there. But don’t tell them I said that…This is a tricky subject because you don’t want to cause friction with your neighbours but you also don’t want them parking on your nature strip. Contact your local council and let them know your concerns as soon as you’re aware of the issue. Then hopefully there’ll be a peaceful resolution to the problem.Contact your local council for up-to-date details on this and any other parking-related issues and you’ll, hopefully, stay on the correct side of the law.However, if you’re still asking at this point, “Are you allowed to park on the nature strip?”, or “Is it legal to park on the nature strip?”, then return to the top of this article and re-read it all.

Q: How far can you drive in a bicycle lane? A: You may drive in a bicycle lane for a maximum of 50 metres but you are permitted to do so for only a limited number of reasons, including to avoid obstacles, to turn left, or to enter or leave the road.

Is it illegal to lay down in the back seat of a car while driving? Yes, it is illegal to lay down in the back seat of a car while it’s being driven because if you’re laying down in the back seat while the car is being driven, you aren’t wearing your seat belt correctly.

The 2025 Land Rover Defender 130 is the biggest vehicle in the Defender range.And the P500 variant is the last of the V8s on offer in the line-up with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 pumping out 368kW and 610Nm.This upper large SUV is big but offers plenty of comfort, refinement and great driving.Which leaves us with the question: is the Defender 130 the best Defender for your family?

Every 2025 Kia Stonic is equipped with the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. And that's big news because that engine was, until now, only ever offered in the top-spec GT-Line. Small SUVs offer plenty of urban-driving appeal and carmakers like Kia have fine-tuned their compact vehicles into crowd-pleasing products. But is the new and improved Stonic worth your consideration?