SENIOR DRIVER SAFETY
Lane Changes for Older Drivers: Plan Early, Check, Signal and Move
A safe lane change begins well before the steering wheel moves. Planning early reduces pressure, gives more time to judge speed and distance, and allows the driver to remain in the current lane if no safe gap appears. Missing a turn is safer than making a late or forced lane change.
What the South Australian rules require
Under South Australian rules, a driver changing lanes must give way to vehicles already in the other lane and signal with sufficient warning. The Driving Companion also requires a suitable location, use of the System of Car Control and a check of the appropriate blind spot immediately before entering the new lane. Do not change lanes across a continuous lane line except where the road rules specifically allow it.
Reduce time in blind spots
Keep the vehicle offset from vehicles in the next lane where practical; travelling directly alongside another vehicle increases the time spent in each other’s blind spots. Around congested traffic and traffic lights, pay particular attention to motorcycles that may be filtering lawfully between slow or stationary traffic.
Use this sequence:
1–4
Read signs and navigation information early. Decide which lane is needed before the last moment.
- Check the centre mirror and the side mirror on the intended side.
- Judge the other vehicle’s position and closing speed, not just its current distance.
- Choose a gap large enough that the other driver will not need to brake, swerve or surrender a safe following distance.
5–8
Signal with sufficient warning.
- Immediately before moving, make a direct blind-spot check for vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles.
- Match the traffic speed without exceeding the limit, hold a stable path and move smoothly into the lane.
- Re-establish a safe following distance and cancel the signal.
Helpful adjustments for older drivers
Older drivers can reduce workload by setting the route before departure, listening to navigation rather than looking down at it, avoiding multi-lane roads at the busiest times and beginning lane planning earlier. Correct mirror adjustment and a comfortable seating position help, but the final direct blind-spot check remains important. If one gap closes, maintain the current lane and search for another opportunity.
Common unsafe habits
Common unsafe habits include signalling and moving at the same time, assuming another driver must let you in, using another vehicle’s safety gap as an overtaking gap, slowing sharply without reason, steering during the blind-spot check, crossing several lanes in one movement and forgetting to cancel the signal.
Plan early and keep another option
Plain-language test: if moving over would force the adjacent driver to brake, it is not a safe gap.
Safety information and official sources
Missing a turn is safer than making a late or forced lane change.
My Licence: The Driving Companion, Unit 3 Task 16
Driver’s Handbook: Lanes
Review date: 15 August 2026.