A British expat has taken to social media to complain about the annoying habit of Australian motorists.
Erika White, who lives on the Gold Coast, recently used TikTok to highlight the impatience of motorists who immediately honked at the first driver to stop at the traffic lights.
‘Why is that in Australia when you’re driving and you’re at the traffic lights and as soon as that light turns green and it takes more than two seconds, the person behind you beeps,” Ms White asked.
“They have no patience here in Australia,” she said.
The video, which has been viewed more than 186,000 times, left many Aussies divided as they flooded the post with thousands of comments.
“Because there’s no reason to take more than half a second to take off on a green,” one social media user commented.
“If you’re the first, you have a big responsibility to go as soon as it’s green,” wrote another social media user.
“The longer you wait, the fewer people will get through.”
However, others said it is unsafe to press the accelerator as soon as the traffic light turns green as it could create a hazard on the road.
“Even if the light is green, if you always pay attention to red light first (runners), then go,” said one social media user.
“I’m waiting… haven’t you seen how many people run red lights?” another user wrote.
“When I was in Melbourne, the millisecond it turned green, (people) were beeping, it’s so unnecessary.”
British expat Erika White (pictured) says she struggles to understand why drivers in Australia beep at traffic lights at the driver in the front of the traffic if they don’t immediately move when it turns green
“If you’re the first, you have a big responsibility to go as soon as it’s green,” one social media user wrote in response. ‘The longer you wait, the fewer people get through’ (stock image)
Motorists are encouraged to check that an intersection is clear before proceeding, even if the lights turn green, so that traffic is not blocked.
Drivers should also slow down when the lights turn amber and come to a stop before the white line if safe to do so.
Motorists in Australia can be fined if they fail to stop when traffic lights turn orange.
Queensland drivers who commit the offense will face the most expensive fine, with a $575 fine and three demerit points.