Is it illegal to drive with one hand?

Is it illegal to drive with one hand in Australia?

While here at Drive we recommend a two-handed grip – ideally at nine o'clock and three o'clock – plenty of people drive with one hand at least some of the time.

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And if you own a manual car, you don’t have a choice – one-handing it on the open road is life.

But did you know driving with only one hand could get you in trouble?

While it’s unlikely you’ll get fined for specifically driving one-handed – especially if you’re not drawing attention to yourself – there are laws of which you could fall foul.

In this article, we break down the rules by state and territory.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and should be considered a general guide only. Individual circumstances may vary.

New South Wales has no specific laws discriminating against the one-handed drivers among us.

However, a spokesperson for Transport for NSW told Drive that road users must always have proper control of the vehicle – it’s an actual Road Rule, number 297 in fact, and breaching it could land you a $481 fine and three demerit points.

If an individual can’t drive two-handed for medical purposes, they must notify Transport for NSW, which could require them to take a ‘fitness to drive’ test, a medical test and an actual driving test.

Depending on how you go, you might have conditions placed on your licence or be required to have certain aids fitted to your car.

Like NSW, there are no road rules in Victoria that require you to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times; however, Road Rule 297 also applies in Victoria – meaning a driver must have proper control of a vehicle.

A spokesperson for the Victoria Department of Transport and Planning told Drive if you are found to not have full control of your vehicle at all times, you could be stung to the tune of $277 and a maximum of five court penalty units (currently $925).

Get yourself really unstuck and you could be up for a careless driving offence, which will reduce your hard-earned savings by $444 and add three demerit points to your licence.

There’s also a maximum 12 court penalty units (currently $2219), but if it’s not your first careless driving offence, that rises to 25 court penalty units – currently a wince-inducing $4623.

A Queensland Transport and Main Roads spokesperson told Drive that road users “must maintain proper control of their vehicle at all times".

"To maintain proper control, drivers are encouraged to keep a comfortable and firm grip of the steering wheel with both hands," the spokesperson added.

Driving with one hand is allowed when changing gears in a manual car, of course, however “drivers should avoid taking a hand off the steering wheel to undertake other tasks that distract from driving, for example, eating, drinking, or adjusting the radio or air conditioning”.

It's possible that if a Queensland police officer saw you driving erratically one-handed they might get you with “driving without due care and attention” – a $619 fine, with three demerit points.

Drive one-handed in the nation’s capital and you won’t be branded a criminal; however, an ACT Road Policing spokesperson told Drive that “a driver must maintain proper control of their vehicle at all times".

"If an officer sees a driver with only one hand on their steering wheel, and believes that driver is not in full control of their vehicle, an infringement can be issued," the spokesperson said.

That would mean a fine of $420, unless the officer-on-duty deemed you to be driving negligently, in which case it’ll be $632 and three demerit points.

A Senior Constable from South Australia Police told Drive that “it is legal to drive with one hand on the provision that the driver is taking due care and is in full control of their motor vehicle”.

However, if you fail to drive without due care, you face a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison and you could lose your licence for more than six months.

At the very least, “driving without due care or attention” could land you a fine up to $2500 and three demerit points.

Much like all the other states, a spokesperson for WA Police told Drive that it isn’t illegal to operate a car with one hand, “as long as you maintain proper control of the vehicle". 

"If driving one-handed makes you move around the lane or somehow negatively impacts your driving, then it could be regarded as Driving Without Undue Care and Attention (Careless Driving) and you could be fined, or if on P plates, lose your licence," a WA Police spokesperson said.

The maximum penalty for careless driving in WA is $600.

Want to drive with one hand in the Top End? Go for it, said a spokesperson for the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services. “I have had a discussion with the officer in charge of traffic and … can confidently say it is legal to drive with one hand,” they said. No beating around the bush there.

Although that’s not to say driving with only one hand won’t get you in trouble. Operate a vehicle carelessly for whatever reason and you could be up for an on-the-spot fine of $150.

A spokesperson for the Tasmania Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management told Drive “it is not illegal to drive with one hand as long as the driver has proper control of the vehicle”.

Improper control of the vehicle could single-handedly (sorry) land you in “negligent driving” territory, with fines up to $700.