Most arguments about road rules are between two people quoting versions they learned years apart. There is a current version, and it is published.
The handbook is the place to look
The NSW Government’s Road User Handbook covers the main rules for driving legally and safely on NSW roads. The page says it is essential reading for anyone applying for a licence or learning to drive, and that it prepares you for the Driver Knowledge Test. It can be read as a PDF or bought from a Service NSW centre, and it is published in eight community languages besides English.
Which handbook is yours
The same page links a Motorcycle Rider Handbook and a Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook. If you ride, or drive something heavy, the general handbook is not the whole answer for you.
Do not rely on what applies to somebody else’s licence
Conditions attach to licence classes, so a rule someone else drives under is not necessarily the rule you drive under. This is why nothing here restates a rule about phones, following distances or anything else: the one you need is the current one for your licence, and it is in the handbook rather than in an article about the handbook.
Knowing the rules is not a guarantee
Rules reduce risk. They do not prevent collisions, and nothing in the handbook says otherwise.
If you are seeing someone about a traffic matter
Bring the notice or court paperwork exactly as it was given to you, including the date on it. Know which licence you hold and how long you have held it. Write down what happened while you still remember it, in order, with times. Bring anything official you have already received about your driving record. And say at the start what you are hoping to achieve, which is often the fastest way to find out whether it is available.
Practitioners are listed by practice area in the directory, and the guides explain how the directory is put together.
General information, not legal advice. It does not take your circumstances into account and does not create a lawyer and client relationship. Lawyers of Sydney is operated by Jameson Law; listings describe individual practitioners and firms, and a listing is not a recommendation.