Where You Can & Can’t Drive Hire Cars

There is a saying in Australia, when you hit a dirt road that it is made for 4WD’s or hire cars. Of course it is said in jest.  Hire companies, with their 20 plus pages of terms and conditions combined with prominently displayed penalties are rightly a tad scary.

Most people therefore instinctively know that you cannot take your normal passenger hire car off road. But did you know that some hire companies also do not allow you to travel on any dirt roads in a passenger car or take the car to any island? The fact is that hire companies have quite a sizeable collection of ‘do nots’ contained within their terms and conditions. So in order to give you a straight answer to the question ‘where can I go?’ we have examined the documents and called the experts.

So where can’t you go?

Getting straight down to the detail, you are not allowed to take your hire car, regardless of make or model:

It is against all rules, even in a four-wheel drive to take it off road. Most simplistically, this is any road that is not labelled on a map with a street name, including fire trails, paddocks and sand.

A normal passenger car with Avis and Budget will allow you go on gravel roads that are graded and well maintained, whereas the others do not. It is important to check this before you hire as many parts of Australia still have stretches of dirt road away from the major city centres.

Islands are completely off limits wherever you need to cross to them by use of a car ferry. This includes Bruny Island, Kangaroo Island and Fraser Island. Most companies only list these three main islands, however the rule applies to all islands. If you can’t get there by bridge or tunnel, you are not permitted to take your hire car there.

Kangaroo Island does however, due to its larger size, have two hire companies located on it. Both Budget and Hertz offer car hire for driving on the Island only, but ensure you acquaint yourself with their conditions. Hertz, for example, restricts driving to daylight hours only.

If you wish to hire a car in these locations, you need to do it from within Tasmania or the Northern Territory. For Tasmania, this is because you cannot travel by ferry. The Northern Territory, however, is restricted due to the massive expanse of desert you will need to travel through in order to reach a city. Thrifty also applies this restriction to Western Australia.

All companies restrict you from taking one of their hire cars into any amount of moving water.

Beaches and sand, including any exposure to salt water is not permitted in a hire car.

With certain provision

The following are the grey areas, restricted by one company, but may be allowed by another. Before you do any of the following, ensure you have specifically covered it off with your car hire provider.

This is permitted with Hertz, Europcar and Thrifty car rentals on the condition that their ‘snow option’ has been purchased. Avis and Budget’s terms and conditions both restrict taking the car to the snow. On contacting both companies, they indicated that a ‘few’ of their offices located near the snow fields may offer the option.

Above the snow line is determined in Victoria as above Bright and in New South Wales as above Jindabyne.

Note: Even with a snow option you are liable for every day’s car hire that the car remains away from the provider, regardless of reason, including being snowed in.

Each company has some restrictions relating to the Northern Territory.

All prohibit driving the road to Jim Jim Gorge and Twin Falls and on the Tanami Track. It is worth checking directly with the hire company if you plan to go outside the major cities as there are many restrictions including, for Budget and Hertz, no night driving in certain locations.

Similar to the Northern Territory, WA has a number of restrictions. You should check directly with your car hire company if you want to travel north of Carnarvon. Most companies restrict this travel in its entirety, while others restrict the majority of roads and areas north of this point. Budget and Hertz both have restrictions on driving at night.

Avis and Budget restrict travel west of Chilagoe (Highway 27), south of Normanton (Highway 1) and north of Karumba. They both restrict travel north of Cooktown and Cape Tribulation or travel west past Lakeland if you are in a passenger vehicle or truck. Certain 4WD’s may travel the coast road between Helenvale to Cape Tribulation or from Laura to Lakeland.

Although Hertz and Thrifty do not specifically list these areas, their restrictions on dirt roads rule out a number of these roads. Europcar has a tighter set of regulations restricting a number of roads including the Savannah Way.

Understanding the why?

Most of these restrictions are in place because the hire company can’t obtain insurance for that particular activity.  If they can’t get cover, they will not provide it to the customer. This is particularly prevalent in the areas of car ferry travel and night driving (due to kangaroos). In addition remote areas are restricted due to the difficulty of vehicle retrieval.

Even though these restrictions are contained within the terms and conditions, you physically can still break the rules. Should you choose to do so, you will immediately become fully liable for ANY damage to that vehicle during that time, regardless of fault. For example if you took the hire car to Bruny Island then had an accident unrelated to the ferry trip, but which occurred later on the Island (hence the hire company will know you broke the rules), you will be liable for the FULL cost of repair.

Take the time when booking or when collecting your car to run through your travel plans, especially if it involves northern Queensland, Western Australia or anywhere in the Northern Territory, so you have a clear understanding of what is and is not allowed with your rental car. A little research beforehand can save you a whole lot of pain later.