I saw this on DBW and thought it may be of interest here.

Ian

Originally Posted by Carparkracer 
If i ride down a track of 4wd width then it becomes a nasty (great) single track am i illlegally riding "off-road". Can anyone answer this?

In Victoria, you can consider it a legal road if it was formed for the passage of a four wheeled vehicle and it is open for public use. Not all roads are legally formed, and some roads which were legally formed for temporary use (eg. access to logging coupe) have been left open when they should have been closed after their legal use has expired.

So, when you go out riding, you'll come upon three broad categories of road or track.

1. Open public roads: these are recognised by the land managers, receive some sort of maintenance (depending on their classification), usually appear on maps, and should be signposted
2. Roads (ie originally formed for the passage of four-wheel vehicles) but not legally part of the official road network, not maintained, may have been officially formed for a temporary use but not properly closed and rehabilitated after the temporary use expired. These tracks are commonly used by trail bike riders, and also 4 x 4 drivers in some cases.
3. Single-track: narrow tracks not formed for the passage of four-wheeled vehicles. There should be no confusion about the status of these tracks: they are not part of the legal track network.

Riding is clearly legal on category 1, clearly illegal on category 3, and grey on category 2. DSE has to close the category 2 road before you will be booked for using it. If a rider ignores a road closure (barrier/sign) they can be fined in the same way riders can be fined for riding single-track.

Roger Pitt
Trail Bike Project Manager
DSE