The 'Red X' above a lane or lanes
The ‘Red X’ is used to protect an incident site or to free a lane of traffic and help emergency services get through.
To protect road users, emergency responders and maintenance workers, the overhead electronic signs alert road users that the lane has been closed. This may be due to a potential incident ahead, such as a crash, breakdown or debris on the freeway.
If a lane is closed, road users will see a ‘Red X’ on the sign above that lane. This means you must not enter that lane. If you’re already in that lane, you must leave it as soon as you can safely do so.
Lanes are closed and marked with a ‘Red X’ for safety reasons, so it’s important not to enter or stay in a ‘Red X’ lane.
The ‘Red X’ is a regulatory sign under the Highway Traffic Act, road users ignoring the regulated signs may be subject to prosecution and/or infringement if caught breaching them, just as they would be on any other part of the road network.
The ‘Red X’ is used to ensure safety on the freeway, particularly when there is already an interruption to the traffic flow due to an incident, crash or debris ahead.
The ‘Red X’ is generally not used in isolation; speed limits are also reduced and preceding overhead electronic signs direct traffic out of the closed lane.
No, the overhead electronic sign speed limits will always be consistent across all open lanes.
However, a red diagonal cross signifies that motorists must not drive in that lane.
A white arrow indicates that motorists must leave the lane as soon as safe to do so, prior to the red cross. The direction of an angled arrow provides guidance for the direction in which a motorist should change lanes or exit.