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Most police officers wonSearching in the [http://www.austlii.edu.au Australian law database], hitchwiki contributors have been able to find two distinct law texts. The first one features in the Australian Road Rules and has come up in searches for Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territory, the second one concerns Western Australia only. === Australian Road Rules === All the following has been taken from [http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/ntctlarrr2006947/sch1.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=hitchhike this website]. 236 Pedestrians not to cause a traffic hazard or obstruction:(4) A pedestrian must not stand on, or move onto, a road--::(b) to hitchhike [...]:(7) In this rule: road includes any shoulder of the road, and any median strip, painted island or traffic island, but does not include any other road-related area. The definition of "road-related area" here is<br> 13 What is a road-related area<br>:(1) A road-related area is any of the following::(a) an area that divides a road;::(b) a footpath or nature strip adjacent to a road;::(c) an area that is not a road and that is open to the public and designated for use by cyclists or animals;::(d) an area that is not a road and that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles. The definiton of "shoulder" here is:12 What is a road :(3) The shoulder of the road includes any part of the road that is not designed to be used by motor vehicles in travelling along the road, and includes:::(a) for a kerbed road -- any part of the kerb; and::(b) for a sealed road -- any unsealed part of the road, and any sealed part of the road outside an edge line on the road As a conclusion: It is very clearly regulated where you can stand as a hitchhiker and where you cannot. You can't harass youstand on a shoulder, but some cops might tell you can stand on most other kinds of surface next to the road. === Western Australia === 259. Selling papers and cars, hitch‑hiking etc.:(1) A person shall not, while on a carriageway or median strip::(a) solicit contributions, employment or a ride from an occupant of a vehicle [...] The carriageway is here defined as following: "carriageway" means a portion of a road that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, and includes the shoulders, and areas, including embayments, at the side or centre of the carriageway, used for the stopping or parking of vehicles [...] In conclusion: in WA, it's illegal to stand on the shoulder of the highway; however you may hitchhike from a footpath or off the shoulder. A law enforcement officer might not be aware of this, though. The source is to be found in Australia[http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/legis/wa/consol_reg/rtc2000113/s259.html?query=hitch%20hike this] website. Don't show your thumb when you see a cop car === Practical Situation === In practice, Australian police are fairly relaxed about hitchhikers. [[User:Zenit|Zenit]] has hitchhiked some 13000 kilometers in all states except WA and Tasmania and if they has never been bothered; he has heard stories about police in WA being more touchy, however. Keep in mind that it is also illegal to incite a vehicle to stopin a non stopping zone. Such zones include bridges (and 30 odd meters either side, road edges with an unbroken white or yellow line, just tell them that spots within 30 meters of an intersection, etc. In any event choose your hitching site carefully so not to place yourself or others in danger; as always look for somewhere well lit, with plenty of room for approaching vehicles to see you're waiting well in advance and room for a ride share them to pull on to the shoulder without blocking traffic. It should be noted that should most freeways and motorways (as opposed to highways) have showed up a lot earlierlimited-access rules barring pedestrians or bicycles from entering them. === Experiences ===
Exact legislation can be found at Austlii;
[http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/legis/wa/consol_reg/rtc2000113/s259.html?query=hitch%20hike WA]
[http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/rr2008104/s236.html?query=Road%20Rules%202008%20REG%20236 NSW]
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In the eastern states (QLD, NSW, VIC, SA) more than the west (WA & NT), recent changes to [[insurance]] costs throughout the western world, have meant that trucks face stricter and stricter insurance limitations, one of which is that they are commonly not allowed to have any unlisted passengers in their vehicles. These rules are normally enforced by larger companies, where all riders sign in at the depot prior to the trucks' departure. If you personally know a driver it is often possible for them to sign you in and take you along to help keep them awake. These rules don't really apply to owner/operators, unless on long term contract to a particular company. Unfortunately it's hard for you to know which trucks it will or won't apply to, though you can be confident that the big name trucks like Australia Post, Woolworths etc this is absolutely the case. All of this does not mean you can't get a ride in a truck. What it does mean is that our global fear of strangers has gone up here as much as elsewhere, and the amount of trucks picking up 'strangers' is greatly diminished. I have had some great lifts with road trains, Australia Post trucks etc etc, though they seem less and less common. In fact my first go at driving a road train was on a hitch across the Nullabor Desert, a truly mad but memorable experience of driving 50 tonnes of rolling monster across the midnight plains. (Dave Hodgkin)
== Police & Law ==Laws regarding hitchhiking come under State, not Federal jurisdiction, I have been arrested and charged with hitchhiking in Queensland, though charges were later dropped (long story). Throughout Australia, it is however illegal to incite a vehicle to stop in a non stopping zone. Such zones include bridges (and 30 odd meters either side, road edges with an unbroken white or yellow line, spots within 30 meters of an intersection, etc. Compared to some countries, Australian police are fairly relaxed, more so in the country than the city, but they will get toey if they believe your actions are placing yourself or others in danger. Choose your hitching site carefully, as always look for somewhere well lit, with plenty of room for approaching vehicles to see you well in advance and room for them to pull on to the shoulder without blocking traffic. It should be noted that most freeways and motorways (as opposed to highways) often have limited (if any) street lights, have little, if any, shoulder on the side of the road.
:''It is illegal but I've had police stop twice, once to tell me go back to town and catch a bus (but left me alone besides telling to do that) and the second time the cop gave me a lift about 40 or 50km to the border of Victoria/South Australia.''
:''[[User:Bernhard|Bernhard]] had a chat with a crime prevention officer from the Queensland police and the officer said the following: "The hitch hiking legislation in Queensland says that a person can not stand on the roadway to solicit a ride. Meaning that if they stand on the footpath or away from the roadway they are not comitting an offence. One of the main reasons we do stop people standing on the road hitching a ride is for their own safety and the safety of the motorists driving. So some roads are very busy and its an offence to stand on the roadway and solicit a ride and it is a 40 dollar fine if the policeman chooses to give you a infringement notice for that offence." He also said that it is possible to stand on the footpath and hitch a ride, when there is enough space for a car to pull over. Police may stop a hitchhiker and ask for an ID, mostly to check on his records and WHY he is hitching a ride (is he running away from a crime? Is he in trouble? Does he need help?). Police officers want to know who is going through their area, so if a hitchhiker is on the footpath and not soliciting a ride at a dangerous spot, they will question him about his story but then let him go.''
== Australia Particular Advice ==
