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From 19 May 2025, a new law requires South Australian drivers passing a roadside assistance vehicle or a breakdown recovery vehicle with flashing amber lights to slow to 25km/h.
RAA has long advocated for this change to help keep our members, Patrols and Tow Truck operators safe at the roadside.
In SA, motorists already need to slow to 25km/h for blue and red flashing lights of Emergency Services vehicles. Now, this new legislation creates the same safety provision for breakdown vehicles displaying amber lights, too.
Please note, these MUST be displaying flashing amber lights – like rotating ‘beacon’ lights, light bars or similar.
Other vehicles like garbage trucks, council equipment, construction vehicles and others may use yellow lights but these are exempt from the rule.
From 19 May 2025, this new law requires drivers passing a roadside assistance vehicle or a breakdown recovery vehicle (such as road service vans, tow trucks or tilt-tray recovery trucks with flashing amber lights – not just hazard lights) to slow to 25km/h while passing (Rule 82A SA Road Traffic Act).
Drivers don’t always break down in convenient locations. As a result, roadside service and breakdown assistance providers often need to respond in potentially dangerous locations. There have been numerous incidents where RAA patrols and other recovery vehicle operators have been injured – or had near-misses – by passing vehicles while working at the roadside.
For some time, RAA has advocated for a lower speed limit in these situations to reduce the risk to our patrols, recovery vehicle operators and the driver and passengers of the vehicle that has broken down.
Drivers passing a roadside service vehicle or breakdown recovery vehicle with their amber lights flashing.
Please note, this rule does not include regular hazard lights or flashing yellow lights on the likes of garbage trucks.
No, this law only applies to roadside service vehicles or breakdown recovery vehicles (such as RAA Patrol vans or tow trucks).
Drivers travelling on the opposite side of the road to the breakdown (with flashing amber lights) are not required to slow down to 25km/h.
Note this is different to the requirements for drivers when they encounter emergency service vehicles (such as fire appliances, ambulances and police vehicles) with flashing red and blue lights. In these instances, drivers traveling in both directions must slow down to 25km/h unless there is a median dividing traffic. In that situation, drivers travelling in the opposite direction are not required to slow to 25km/h.
Vehicles engaged in maintenance or construction actives on a section of road or adjacent footpath establish a work zone under Australian Standard AS1742 (part 3). This may include barriers, cones and signs to indicate lane restrictions and a temporary lower speed limit on the approach to and through the work zone. Drivers must comply with any temporary changes to the speed limit and traffic conditions.
No. When a breakdown service vehicle is stationary without its flashing amber lights in operation, drivers are not required to slow to 25km/h when passing unless that is the existing speed limit on that particular section of road.
Yes, the law applies on roads with a higher speed limit.
On roads where a speed limit greater than 60km/h applies, drivers are required to slow down safely and provide sufficient space between their vehicle and the roadside assistance or breakdown recovery vehicle displaying flashing amber lights.
Yes, you must slow to 25km/h. A person must not drive a vehicle in excess of 25km/h while passing a breakdown services vehicle that has stopped on the road and is displaying a flashing amber light, even if it is parked on the road shoulder. If the breakdown service vehicle is parked in an adjacent area some distance away, motorists are no longer considered to be passing it and are not required to slow to 25 km/h.
No. When a breakdown service vehicle is stationary without its flashing amber lights in operation, drivers are not required to slow to 25km/h unless that is the prevailing speed limit on that particular section of road.
Drivers have a general duty to drive with due care and to the conditions of the road—it is an offence to drive a vehicle without due care or attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road. Always drive to the conditions of the road, which may have changed in the instance of a breakdown, e.g., vehicle obstructing traffic, people moving around a vehicle, broken glass, fuel spills.
The fines are the same as currently apply for drivers exceeding the 25km/h speed limit when passing emergency service vehicles. For example, exceeding the speed limit by more than 10km/h but less than 20km/h may incur a fine of $455 + $102 victims of Crime Levy together and incur 3 demerit points.
New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia currently have laws in place that require drivers to slow down to 40km/h when passing a stationary roadside assistance or breakdown recovery vehicle with flashing amber lights. The 40km/h limit is consistent with existing requirements when drivers pass emergency services vehicles with red and blue lights flashing in those states.
NSW and QLD laws also require drivers to leave sufficient space when passing which may require drivers to change lanes where it is safe to do so. South Australia’s 25km/h requirement is consistent with the speed limit past emergency service vehicles in this state, and the speed limit in school zones and school crossings.
No, SA Police has stated they will enforce these laws as from the day they come into effect.
The 25km/h speed limit is consistent with South Australia’s current requirement when passing emergency service vehicles with red and blue lights flashing.
A pedestrian has a much higher chance of surviving a collision at 25 km/h compared to 40 km/h. The risk of death increases significantly with higher speeds. The evidence suggests a 90% or greater survival rate for collisions at 25 km/h, but this drops to just 60% for collisions at 40 km/h.
SA was the first state to adopt a lower speed limit for drivers passing emergency service vehicles, which is also consistent with the temporary speed limit deployed when road maintenance workers are working in close proximity to passing traffic without a protective barrier. It is also consistent with the speed limit that applies to school zones and crossings in SA. Other states subsequently introduced laws covering emergency vehicles and breakdown service and recovery vehicles but adopted the 40km/h speed limit, which is consistent with the limit applicable to school zones and crossings in these jurisdictions.
Safety of themselves, the member/s they are assisting, and passing traffic is always a priority for RAA Patrols and tow truck operators. When attending a breakdown, they assess each situation individually and always try and move the vehicle to a safer location if possible. They deploy a number of safety devices such as hazard lights, flashing amber lightbars on top of their vehicles, cones to direct passing traffic around the breakdown scene, and wear high visibility clothing – all to draw attention to other motorists in the area. They also have the option to contact SAPOL of the Traffic Management Centre for assistance with traffic management to make to situation safer.
All roadside assistance and breakdown recovery vehicles will display stickers reminding passing drivers to slow down to 25km/h when the amber lights are flashing.
Any other questions? Reach out to our Road Safety team via roadsafety@raa.com.au or call us on 8202 4517.