'Dangerous' driver sparks fury after placing 'insane' note on back window

02 February 2023 , 16:01

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A handwritten note urging other motorists to overtake was seen in Melbourne (Image: reddit.com/user/Famous_Paramedic7562)

A "dangerous" driver sparked fury on social media after putting a handwritten note on the back window of their car, which some have described as "insane".

A photo of the note, urging other motorists to overtake the vehicle, was posted on the discussion website Reddit.

The message, spotted in the back window of a red Mazda in Melbourne, Australia, says: "If drive is slow, kindly overtake."

The person who posted the photo on Reddit said they "appreciated the heads up", but some social media users were not impressed and criticised the message, saying it could put other road users at risk.

One wrote: "Driving significantly below the speed limit is dangerous just like driving over the speed limit is, nobody should be going that far under the limit that they need a sign like this on the back of their car."

Pet owners driving with dogs face £5,000 fine if they break these rules

The note was spotted in Melbourne (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Another added: "What I really don't get is why people seem to drive 20 km below the speed limit anywhere they are."

A person wrote that people driving slowly are "more annoying than speeders", saying: "It's more annoying than speeders. The recommended speed limit is exactly that. It's not good for traffic flow to be going 20km slower than recommended."

One more person added: "If they’re temporarily driving slow enough to warrant a sign because of the circumstances (precious cargo, problem with gears etc.), this is great.

There are strict rules around overtaking other vehicles in Australia (Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

"If they’re driving slow enough to warrant a sign because of lack of confidence, they shouldn’t be driving."

No matter where you are in Australia, you are generally required to overtake on the right, explains Allianz.

However, you may overtake on the left if you are driving on a multi-lane road and the vehicle can be safely overtaken on the left, you are directed by an authorised person, the vehicle in the right lane is stationary and it is safe to do so or the vehicle is indicating that it is turning right or making a U-turn.

Drivers are not allowed to overtake another car when driving down a road with double continuous centre lines, or a single continuous centre line on their side.

It is allowed to overtake if there are broken lines on your side of the road, even if there is a single continuous centre line on the other side.

In Tasmania, the road rules state that you should not overtake a vehicle both when driving next to or approaching dividing lines that do not allow overtaking.

Chiara Fiorillo