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11 Bizarre American Driving Laws
Apr. 26, 2019 8:00 PM ET by Ian Wright Car Culture / 59 Comments You could be breaking some laws without even realizing. There are still some obscure laws on the books in many states across America. A good example is a law from Massachusetts that you'll often see repeated as making it illegal to transport a gorilla in the back of your car. The law actually reads: "No person shall transport an animal in the back of a motor vehicle in a space intended for a load on the vehicle on a public way unless such space is enclosed…" However, someone, somewhere, had a clickbait article to fill and decided Gorilla was funnier and now that 'fact' shows up everywhere. So, taking that into account, we've done our best to separate law from lore and bring up a list of actual weird driving regulations from around these United States. If you want to read about weird driving laws from around the world, we have a feature on that too. Nevada It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway
Don't worry Camel fans, you can ride your even-toed ungulate perfectly legally on a city street and through Nevadan residential areas. This law actually comes from the 1800s when camels were introduced to the desert state and put to use as work camels. They also became a form of personal transportation, hence the law. Alaska Don t attach your dog to the roof of your car
We can only assume at some point enough people were doing this for it to be legislated against. The full text of the law also states you can't secure your dog to the bed of a pickup truck either. We assume Mitt Romney has never road tripped through Alaska. Arkansas Don t honk your horn at a sandwich shop
Apparently, the city of Little Rock in Arkansas is remarkably protective of its sandwich shops. The actual code states: "no person shall sound the horn on a vehicle at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9:00 p.m." We're not sure why this law exists, but there's certainly zero ambiguity there. Minnesota Clean your tires
Both the city of Minnetonka and Delano in Minnesota appear to have truly OCD lawmakers, or maybe the street cleaners got tired of people driving over their freshly washed roads after getting stuck in the mud. Either way, driving a truck with dirty tires is considered a public nuisance. The law forbids: "a truck or other vehicle whose wheels or tires deposit mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or other material on any street or highway." California If your windshield wipers are on then your headlights should be too
This may surprise people outside California as well as many inside. It is written into the California vehicle code and states in the Department of Motor Vehicles' California Driver Handbook that, "You must turn on your headlights if snow, rain, fog, dust, or low visibility (1,000 feet or less) requires the use of windshield wipers." As you can imagine, the law is not followed much because people are too busy wondering what that stuff falling out of the sky is. If that's not weird enough for you, it can also end in a steep fine for a woman to drive around wearing a bathrobe. 14 States won t allow you to buy a car on Sunday
In 2015, that number was 18 but at last count, it was 14. For some states where they can open on a Sunday, their hours of business are restricted. In some states, like Illinois, Texas, and New Jersey, lawmakers have tried to relax the laws. However, some car dealerships have actually pushed back on the basis that the banks being closed makes it hard to do business and it makes hiring and retaining quality employees difficult, and neither of those factors is good for customers. New Jersey Make sure your pets buckle up
Well, they can wear a seat belt or be confined to a carrier. New Jersey law requires pet owners to restrain their pets as they are considered a distraction. A representative of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission cited people that drive with a cat or dog in their lap as one of the reasons the law passed. South Dakota 14-year-olds can drive on the road
South Dakota has the lowest age restriction on driving. Once they've completed a state-approved driver education program, they can apply for a restricted minor's permit. With that, and having passed the vision, knowledge and driving tests, teens can drive unaccompanied between 6 am and 10 pm with the permission of a parent or guardian. Alabama You can legally drive the wrong way down a one-way street
This is an old law that still exists. All you have to do is have a lantern attached to the front of your car. Conversely, in Alabama, they feel it needs to be written into law that a driver cannot be blindfolded while operating a vehicle, and that windshield wipers are a legal requirement. Ohio It s a misdemeanor offense to run out of gas
Specifically, this is in Youngstown, Ohio. You can actually find yourself being down on your luck, and then being ticketed and fined for it. Just how many tickets have been issued we don't know, but it would take a particularly hard-ass cop to actually do that to someone. New Jersey You can t pump your own gas
Until recently, New Jersey wasn't the only state that wouldn't allow drivers to pump their own gas, but now it's the only holdout state. The law reads like this: "Because of the fire hazards directly associated with dispensing fuel, it is in the public interest that gasoline station operators have the control needed over that activity to ensure compliance with appropriate safety procedures, including turning off vehicle engines and refraining from smoking while fuel is dispensed." In 2015, New Jersey General Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon introduced a bill to rescind the legislation, saying: "I am offended by people that argue that New Jerseyans are mentally incapable of pumping their own gas without setting themselves on fire." Enough politicians didn't agree or had their own interests to protect and the law remains. Oregon was the other previous holdout, and when they made it legal to pump their own gas in some places, there were some weird claims.
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Ford Focus Electric Toyota Prius Ian Wright Associate Editor After working his way through several loosely related careers, Ian finally took the hint and became an automotive journalist and photographer. He spent a few years freelancing before joining up with CarBuzz to combine his love of writing, photography, and cars into one neat package. When Ian is not staring down a lens or into a computer screen writing reviews and features, you can find him in Southern California enjoying winding mountain and canyon roads. If you can’t find him, he’s probably off-roading in the desert. Contact Ian @BothHandDrive @BothHandDrive LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top