Available 24/7
As Americans can do more and more, with lockdown restrictions finally being eased across the country, many people will be looking to get away for the first time in over a year – and we think the great American road trip is going to be the holiday of choice this summer. In fact, Goodyear published a report a few months ago stating that nearly three-quarters (73%) of Americans are planning to take a road trip this year*, and after the year we’ve just had; we might be tempted to join them!
As people begin their travels across America, undoubtedly crossing State lines along the way, there are specific rules and laws they’ll have to think about, and while most of these follow common sense, there are some which could catch a few people out. So, to help people navigate around these laws, we’ve created a list of the weirdest and most wonderful road laws in America.
To do this, our traffic collision researchers sifted through hundreds of road laws about every state in the U.S. to create a complete list of the 15 weirdest driving laws around.
The fifteen weirdest driving laws**, and the states they’re currently outlawed in, are:
1.
California
It’s unlawful for women to drive a vehicle in a housecoat
2.
Arizona
It’s illegal to drive a car in reverse on a public road
3.
Florida
Americans must pay for a parking ticket if they are parking an alligator, goat, or elephant
4.
North Dakota
Putting a penny in an automatic parking ticket machine is illegal
5.
Maine
Parking in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts in South Berwick is outlawed
6.
Delaware
You should not change clothes in your vehicle
7.
South Carolina
It’s unlawful to store trash in your car in Hilton Head
8.
Minnesota
You’re a public nuisance if you drive a truck in Minnetonka that leaves mud, dirt, or sticky substances on the road
9.
Indiana
You can’t stick your head through the sunroof of your car in South Bend
10.
Kansas
Derby residents are breaking the law if their tires screech
11.
Missouri
In Maryville, you can’t “cling” to a moving vehicle
12.
Ohio
You are legally not allowed to run out of gas in a congested district in Youngstown
13.
Marietta, Georgia
You can spit from a truck but not from a car or bus
14.
Indiana
It is against the law to sell cars on Sundays
15.
Vermont
It’s illegal for cars to backfire in Rutland
Looking deeper into America’s travel plans for the summer of 2021, a report from AAA Travel in May revealed that more than 37 million Americans planned to travel on the Memorial Day weekend***. This increased 60% from last year when 23 million traveled, the lowest recorded number since the AAA began recording in 2000. These numbers suggest that holiday travel is increasing once again in the United States.
We also looked at Google Trends and discovered that searches for terms such as; ‘staycation,’ ‘road trip, and ‘vacation’ have increased across the board compared with search numbers for the same period last year.
David Aylor, the founder of David Aylor Law Offices, said,
“Driving in the United States can be a complicated business, especially for people regularly crossing state lines – and when you start to dig into all of the laws for each state, it’s no wonder that thousands of people are caught out by these weird laws.
“At David Aylor Law Offices, we deal with hundreds of road collision and driving cases every year, and thought it was time to make a list of the strangest laws we’d seen, not only during our work on driving cases but also ones we’re still yet to see in a courtroom.”
Sources:
**Law references
- https://www.southberwickmaine.org/departments/police/town_ordinances.php
- https://www.schumachercargo.com/50-weird-driving-laws-us/#:~:text=North%20Dakota%20Weird%20Driving%20Law,currency%2C%20like%20a%20normal%20person.
- https://www.usinsuranceagents.com/weird-driving-laws
- https://santanderconsumerusa.com/blog/odd-laws-outlaws-excuse-park-alligator
- https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/vermont/illegal-vt/
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/blue-laws-by-state
- https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/georgia/crazy-laws-2-ga/
- https://library.municode.com/in/south_bend/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SUHITA_CH19TRVE_ART3PUPA_S19-64VEUSRE
- https://www.aristatek.com/Newsletter/FEB10/FEB10mh.pdf
