Driving with trams

Trams are iconic to Melbourne.

In fact, we have the world's largest operational tram networkwith 250km of double track that provides over 5000 individual trips every day. Melbourne's tram network is unique, with 75% of pathways shared with other vehicles and road users.

This makes for a more complex road environment, especially if you are unfamiliar with sharing the road with trams.

Top tips for driving with trams

Trams share many of our roads, and incidents can result not only in an injury to yourself, but also to tram passengers, drivers and other road users. Be aware that trams are larger, heavier, and take longer to stop.

Here are some important road rules to keep you safe when driving around trams.

At roadside stops, you must stop behind the tram until the doors close and pedestrians finish crossing.
You must not move into the path of a moving tram.
You must not drive over raised dividing strips or double yellow lines.
You must not make a U-turn across a solid line.
You must give way to trams at roundabouts.

Remember:

When turning across tram tracks, watch for trams approaching from both directions. Remember to check your blind spots.
When passengers are boarding or alighting at roadside stops, you must stop behind the end of the tram. Only once the tram doors are closed and the road is clear of pedestrians, may you drive past at 10km/h.
Give way to trams and only drive on tramways and lanes if you need to avoid an obstacle and on tram lanes up to 50 metres when making a right-turn.

We can all share the road safely with trams

Tram Metro Fleet Port Junction 2017 305 TCS

Driving with trams

Victorian road rules ensure the safe operation of the road network, including roads shared with trams.

Familiarise yourself with some important rules for driving safely around trams.

Learn the road rules

There are things we can all do to get everyone safely from A to B. There's plenty of room on our roads for everyone, and we can all do our bit to make sure every road user's trip is enjoyable.

Check out some tips to help you share the road and look out for your fellow travellers.

Tips to help you share the road

Image of a young woman at a tram stop at night

Being safe as a pedestrian

Trams can take much longer and farther to stop than you may think.

It’s important to be extra careful when crossing tram lines whether you’re a pedestrian, motorist, or cyclist. Here are some tips for crossing safely.

Discover tips for crossing safely

Public awareness

Our public awareness campaigns aim to educate drivers and other road users on how to share the road safely with trams, to help prevent deaths, injuries and near-misses around our public transport network.

When a tram stops, you stop

Our Tram Stop You Stop campaign aims to educate motorists about the need to stop when trams stop to keep passengers safe when boarding and alighting trams at roadside tram stops. Here you'll find a list of resources to help communicate this important message.

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop Facebook tile (JPG) 367 KB

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop Twitter tile (JPG) 279 KB

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop Instagram tile (JPG) 554 KB

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop LinkedIn tile (JPG) 366 KB

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop A3 poster (PDF) 2.6 MB

Radio ad

> Listen to our Tram Stop You Stop radio ad (MP3) 1.1 MB

> Download the Tram Stop You Stop radio script (DOCX) 13 KB