It just shows the contempt that the pollies and bureaucrats from council level to federal level have for the nations people. About bloody time we had a royal commission into Australia's transport system with a view to standardising it from state to state. Common sense so it wont happen. How the hell can you drive 100 yards into another state and be put off the road for a vehicle that meets all criteria in the state 100yards back but not in this one?.. 
There is a standard set of road rules for Australia. Same as there is a standard set of vehicle compliance rules for the whole of Australia.
But each state must adopt these standard rules into their state legislation as states have legislative responsibility for road laws and vehicle compliance laws.
What happens in real life, is that the states pick and choose which parts of the national rules that they adopt. Hence different speed limits in the NT, different towing speeds in WA, etc, etc. Most of these differences are caused by individuals or groups lobbying their local state members who in turn lobby the respective ministers who then change the national rules to suit their own party’s political agendas.
From past practical experience in a previous working life, I would guess the vast majority of these state changes are against the advice of both the transport and the police department’s technical advisor’s recommendations.
Yes, we need uniform national guidelines to be adopted by politicians with enough guts to do the right thing. That will never happen, and a RC wouldn’t make it happen either.
KB
