Warning levels
Storm, flood, cyclone and bushfire warnings use the three levels of the Australian Warning System. Queensland Disaster Management explains them:
- Advice (yellow): "An incident has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in case the situation changes."
- Watch and Act (orange): "There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family."
- Emergency Warning (red): "An Emergency Warning is the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk."
Each warning also carries a call to action, such as "Stay informed". Roadbeat shows it as the warning states it.
Road closures and restrictions
These explanations come from the Queensland Government's page on flood and road signs, unless another source is named.
- Road closed to all traffic: on the flood road closed sign, "This sign means that the road is temporarily closed to all traffic."
- Road restricted: "Restricted road use notices limit the use of the road." QLDTraffic names the restriction, such as four-wheel drives only or a mass limit.
- Mass limits, such as "Subject to a 5 tonne GVM limit": the sign for one "limits the use of the road by weight—only vehicles weighing less than 5 tonnes can use the road. The weight limit will change depending on how damaged the road is."
- GVM (gross vehicle mass): the Heavy Vehicle National Law says "GVM (gross vehicle mass), of a vehicle, means the maximum loaded mass of the vehicle— (a) if the registration authority has specified the vehicle's maximum loaded mass—specified by the registration authority; or (b) otherwise—stated by the vehicle's manufacturer."
- Axle and axle group: the same law says "axle means 1 or more shafts positioned in a line across a vehicle, on which 1 or more wheels intended to support the vehicle turn", and "axle group means a tandem axle group, twinsteer axle group, tri-axle group or quad-axle group."
- One lane closed and partial lane closures: QLDTraffic files these under "Closures", but its map gives them a lane closure icon rather than a road closed one, and so does Roadbeat.
Floodwater
From the Queensland Government's flood driving advice: "Any amount of swift flowing water can sweep away your car, no matter what you drive. Don't risk it. If it's flooded, forget it."
Times on a road event
- Updated: when QLDTraffic last updated the event.
- Next inspection: when QLDTraffic has scheduled the road to be inspected next, where it gives one.
- Not updated by QLDTraffic for … days: Roadbeat adds this to a crash, hazard, congestion or flooding event QLDTraffic hasn't updated for 7 days or more, and to any event whose next inspection has passed with no update since. It doesn't mean the event has cleared.
Terms without an official definition
QLDTraffic publishes these in its feed without saying what each one means, so Roadbeat shows them as written and doesn't define them itself:
- The event types: Hazard, Crash, Congestion, Roadworks, Special event and Flooding.
- The priorities: Red Alert, High, Medium and Low. Red Alert is the highest.
- Road closed to through traffic.
- Lanes affected, Lane or lanes reduced, All lanes affected, Single lane in operation, Lanes blocked and No blockage.
- Restricted to four wheel drive vehicles only, and Restricted to high clearance vehicles only.
If you're not sure what one means for your trip, ask the Department of Transport and Main Roads on 13 19 40.
Sources
For where each of Roadbeat's feeds comes from and how often it's read, see About and Feed status.
Quotes from qld.gov.au and disaster.qld.gov.au are © The State of Queensland, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The Heavy Vehicle National Law definitions were sourced from the Queensland Legislation website on 19 October 2026. For the latest information on Queensland Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au.