Driving in the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory provides a wondrous and truly unique driving experience, but it also requires a lot more care and understanding of the surrounding landscapes to ensure your trip is a safe and enjoyable one. Our road safety page for the Northern Territory is focused on providing you with key information to help you in preparing and planning well for your travel adventures. Take some time to gather information and to do some research to better equip you with knowledge on how to navigate and understand the driving environment of the Northern Territory.

Top Safety Tips

Here are two great tips to keep in mind when planning your travels within the Northern Territory.

• Pack Water
  The Northern Territory experiences hot and dry weather conditions that can affect travellers that are not use to the hot weather. Always pack enough water to help you keep hydrated even in the event of a break down (packing more than 20 litres is advised).
• Plan Your Trip Well
  Towns and service facilities can be located far apart. Ensure you plan your trip by referring to well detailed maps to know distances between locations so you can determine fuel requirements and access help should it be needed. Make sure you also inform people of your plans as a safety precaution.

Safely Sharing the Road With Road Trains

Take extra care sharing the road with road trains. Check out our safety tips below and be aware of your surroundings.

• Road trains are a prominent heavy vehicle on the roads in the Northern Territory.
• Keep a safe distance at all times when travelling on unsealed roads.
• Gravel and dust can impede your driving ability and road trains can create problems for drivers if extra care is not taken.
• Slow down and stop to allow an oncoming road train to pass safely – please see video ‘Dirt Roads’ in the link below for further information.
• Be extra vigilant of the size of road trains when overtaking.

Basic Driving Tips

Different driving environments means different things to consider when travelling.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind for your Northern Territory journey.

• No speed limits for roads outside of towns and cities.
• You must abide by traffic signs, lights, and road markings.
• Watch out for animals and livestock crossing the roads such as, kangaroos, horses, and cattle.
• Take extra care on gravel and unsealed roads.
• Although the legal alcohol limit is 0.05, it is advised to not consume any alcohol if you plan to drive. The hot weather conditions can contribute to the effects of alcohol being more readily experienced.