As the law-abiding citizens we are, we make it a point to stay abreast of all the rules of the road. It turns out, however, that’s easier said than done sometimes.
You see, individual states and towns have their own traffic rules and regulations. The vast majority of these laws are similar from place to place and, most would agree, rules that should indeed be on the books. But every so often there’s a driving law that stands out. Whether it’s oddly specific, mindbogglingly random, painfully archaic or just downright silly, they all can be categorized as bizarre traffic laws.
Let’s take a cruise around the country to see what bizarre laws about driving that states have come up with, starting in our neck of the woods.
In the Northeast
Connecticut
- You must grant right-of-way to any person guiding cattle across the roadway.
Maine
- It’s illegal to sell a motor vehicle on Sunday.
- In South Berwick, parking in front of Dunkin’ Donuts is prohibited.
Massachusetts
- In Milford, peeping into the windows of automobiles is against the law.
- It is illegal to travel on a roadway with a sleigh or sled drawn by a horse, unless there are at least three bells attached to some part of the harness.
New Hampshire
- It’s against the law to inhale car fumes with the intent of inducing euphoria.
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- Only in New Jersey is there a statewide ban on drivers pumping their own gas (it’s also prohibited in parts of Oregon).
- Like in Massachusetts, you can’t drive a horse-drawn sleigh on a highway unless there are a sufficient number of bells attached to the horse’s harness.
Rhode Island
- Section 11-22-11 of Rhode Island law says it’s illegal to ride a horse on a highway for the purpose of racing or testing the speed of the horse. Doing so could cost you $20.
- You cannot operate a motorized tricycle on a Rhode Island interstate.
Around the Country
Alaska
- In Anchorage, it’s illegal to tie a dog to the roof of a car.
Arkansas
- In Little Rock, it’s against the law to honk your horn after 9 p.m. “at any place where cold drinks and/or sandwiches are served.”
California
- It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle – unless your target is a whale.
- It can be illegal for a woman to drive while wearing a bathrobe.
Colorado
- It’s illegal to drive in circles in Westminster, or, more specifically, to drive “past a traffic control point three times in the same direction within any three-hour period.”
Georgia
- In Marietta, it’s illegal to spit from a car or bus. Spitting from a truck, however, is perfectly fine.
Illinois
- You can claim roadkill, so long as you don’t owe child support.
Iowa
- In Tiffin, you’re prohibited from throwing stones, bricks, or missiles of any kind into the street – unless you get written permission first.
Maryland
- You cannot use profanity on any street, highway or sidewalk. Doing so will cost you up to $100.
Minnesota
- In Minnetonka, it can be illegal to have dirty tires or wheels.
Missouri
- You are not allowed to leave your keys in your car in University City.
Montana
- It’s illegal to have a sheep in your truck without a chaperone.
- Don’t let your sprinkler get the street wet in Kalispell – it’s against the law.
Nevada
- Camels are prohibited from walking on public highways.
Ohio
- In Youngstown, running out of gas is a misdemeanor.
- Cincinnati taxi drivers can only wear shorts from May 16 through Labor Day.
South Carolina
- In Hilton Head, it’s illegal to accumulate garbage in your car.
Washington
- It’s against the law to hug someone while you’re driving.
Which of these bizarre laws made you laugh the most? Tell us in the comments.
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Illinois: you can claim “roadkill” unless you owe child support? Huh?
Colorado!! I had to think about that one.
It’s illegal to drive in circles in Westminster, or, more specifically, to drive “past a traffic control point three times in the same direction within any three-hour period.”
Also agree, wish some of these were enforced in NJ…
Georgia’s no spitting from cars and buses, but trucks okay?
Makes no sense at all !!
In Little Rock, it’s against the law to honk your horn after 9 p.m. “at any place where cold drinks and/or sandwiches are served.”
It’s illegal to run out of gas in Ohio🤣🤣🤣
Really a chaperone for sheep on a truck? Which qualifies: A mother sheep, Father Sheep or a shepherd?
I laughed and shook my head over the sheep in the truck needing a chaperone. What??
Wish some of these laws were enforced in New Jersey.
There’s intelligent reasons why these laws were all passed.
Just “Google” some of the reasons as to why, and you’ll forfeit the laughter.
The California laws were the funniest:
It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle – unless your target is a whale.
It can be illegal for a woman to drive while wearing a bathrobe.
A couple of recent laws here in Massachusetts pertaining to winter driving:
– It’s illegal to let your car idle to warm up the engine on a cold morning
– Cars must be completely cleared of snow. (The police actively look for drivers with snow on their car roof).
the on that made me laugh loudest is a toss-up between Montana where a sheep in a truck requires a chaperone and Alaska where you may not tie a dog to the car roof. Might on assume that in these locations those actions are legal with other animals?
Both of those laws in Massachusetts are very good laws. People have been injured or even killed by snow, flying off the roof of a vehicle running down the road in front of them driven by somebody who was too lazy to clear the snow off their car. I personally wish more of these clones were nailed by the police, and not getting away with it did not continuing to endanger others.
How does one transport one’s Camel in Nevada, if you cannot have them walk on public highways? Isn’t there an exception even on hump day? Sheesh!
The article omitted a RI law: It’s illegal to use turn signals. Most RI drivers obey this law.
Some of the above make a great deal of sense, some of course are nonsense.
In rural areas it is quite common for farmers to lead cattle across the highway. The Connecticut law makes sense to me.
Do you really need that law in Alaska? Who does that anyway?
Denver, CO has a funky law where it is illegal to pull into a drive, parking lot or street and turn around to go back the way you came in without turning the vehicle off and dismounting before continuing the turnaround.
There should be a law which would not be so bizarre but the act itself is. That is, driving with pets on your lap. Besides it is just as unsafe for the pet to unharnessed as it is for a person to be unbelted.
Allowing a dog to hang its head out the open window is also a bad idea. A big dog’s head could block the driver’s side view mirror if the dog is on the driver’s side of the car.
I was stopped once in Georgia for having snow tires on the car! It’s illegal to have spiked tires. Fortynately, mine did not have spikes!
I’m reminded of one of those old laws that are still on the books in some parts of the country: If a car comes upon a horse and the horse is frightened by the car, the driver must turn the engine off. If that does not calm the horse sufficiently, the driver must take the car apart and hide the pieces in the grass until the horse has gone. Yeeeesh!
The ILLINOIS law made me laugh the most followed by the California whale one.
Minnesota,
The dirty tires & wheels, it must be a clean state!
I got a ticket on I-5 in Washington for “hugging”…actually, my wife was just snuggled up next to me on the bench seat of my Studebaker station wagon. The ticket stuck, though. Guess we’ll never do THAT again.
I find it bizarre that the CT law on granting right of way to cattle is considered bizarre. Are people so uninformed about farming and where their food comes from these days that they don’t understand the need for such a law. Next time you’re enjoying that milk, ice cream, steak, or burger thank the farmer who was crossing his cattle. Kind of goes along with people who move somewhere rural to get out of the city and then the first thing they do is complain about their farm neighbors.
Amusement park rides in Massachusetts are considered ‘ moving vehicles’, and as such require a license plate AND seatbelts. The carousel cannot start without all adults and children properly belted in.
That may explain why traffic courts are so busy and jails are overcrowded– so many traffic rules– too many to remember.
Regarding “no leaving your keys in a running car” in University City, MO (suburb of St. Louis on the western city line), it’s still enforced. I used to live there. One cold winter morning, I stopped to pick up my dry cleaning on the way to work and left the engine running to keep the car warm. I thought I was doing the right thing by locking the car and taking the valet key with me so no one could take off with my car. In the less than five minutes I was in the cleaners, an officer pulled in, came inside and asked whose car it was. Upon admitting it was mine, I was written a ticket. I was furious and stupified but tried to keep my cool (and manners) for fear of being given another ticket!
And here I thought that was a pretty smart law. I know people who’s cars have been stolen because they were “just running in for a minute” and they left their cars running. Oops!
That law should be in every state – it’s probably the biggest source of car thefts. Get remote start. You shut off, exit and lock the car, then remote start it (if your state allows you to run an engine while parked).
The Rhode Island law prohibiting riding a motorized tricycle on an Interstate highway is not odd. A motorized tricycle is a slow vehicle incapable of maintaining the minimum speed limit on an interstate highway. Details of definitions of vehicle types may require a separate provision prohibiting their use on an interstate highway. Note however that bicycles are permitted on the shoulders of interstate highways in a number of western states where the interstate is the only connecting road, and this is safe and reasonable if the shoulder is wide.
I used to drive, once in a while, a NYPD Cushman 3 wheeler. I don’t think it could get over 35, and if you leaned over far enough could tip over. But for what we used it for, it was great. No real speed required.
Was that Montana law a response to the old saw, “Montana: where men are men and sheep are nervous.” ?
But can I legally have a gorilla in the FRONT seat in Massachusetts? Just asking for a friend…
As long as he’s/she’s wearing a seat belt– don’t forget many states have seat belt laws.
Tying a dog to the roof of a car. I mean that goes without saying I’d think
Yes. I believe that would be cruelty to animals.
In Anchorage, it’s illegal to tie a dog to the roof of a car. How about the hood lol
NY State – parking within 30 feet approaching a stop sign is illegal.
Years ago in Vermont they had a law on the books that you had to light a sky display, when driving a horse drawn carriage, to warn cars you are coming.
According to the Boston Globe, it is illegal to have gorillas in the back seat of a car. I do not think I have room for more than one.
Your whale is having a whale of a Time
In New Jersey it is illegal to get gas when your tank is more than half full.
This law was passed during the 1970’s gas shortage. Many motorist would top off their car gas tank at any gas station that was still open. This would increase the already long lines and use the gas that others really needed.
Glad this isn’t being enforced. Have to top off the tank on the cars I rent in NJ every other week so as to return them full.
Right?
Massachusetts
It is illegal to travel on a roadway with a sleigh or sled drawn by a horse, unless there are at least three bells attached to some part of the harness.
Makes sense, The song Jingle Bells was written about the sleigh races on Salem St in Medford, MA 1860s ish. 🙂
> The song Jingle Bells was written about the sleigh races on Salem St in Medford, MA 1860s ish
From Snopes.com::
If you pause to analyze the lyrics, you’ll notice no reference to Christmas or December. Written by James Lord Pierpont, it was initially copyrighted in 1857 under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh.” According to Snopes, the song isn’t a Christmas ditty at all, but rather an ode to Pierpont’s native Massachusetts.
State Law in California says that the only substances you can legally throw out of a moving vehicle are (1) water, and (2) feathers from a live chicken. The second one is a head-scratcher until you consider that CA is an agricultural state; when transporting chickens, an open or well-ventilated truck must be used to avoid suffocating the birds. The wind will blow some of the birds’ feathers onto the highway, so this exemption from the littering laws is intended to prevent animal cruelty. NOTE: discarding a McDonald’s “Crispy Chicken Sandwich” wrapper does not get you off the hook. 🙂
You could be driving on a coastal road and see a whale and shoot it. These are old laws, as it is against the law to kill a whale.
I like this one from South Carolina. “In Hilton Head, it’s illegal to accumulate garbage in your car.” That will force many car owners to keep their cars clean and have unobstructed side and rearview mirrors. I have seen garbage literarily up in the roof of a car, i.e. empty soda cans, newspapers, magazines, clothes, shoes.
It is not a dumb law to give the right-of-way to farmers guiding cattle across
the road. Its always been this way in rural areas as far as I know.
Yes sounds weird. I guess the idea is that the law is redundant. It’ll be crazy to crash against a cow and farmers always let the cows cross first!
Some cows escaped in NJ and got onto Rt 80 where my friend hit one just hard enough to crack the turn signal lens. The cow was reported as being OK.
To this day (25+ years later) we still sometimes give her cow related gifts. 😉
When we lived in Conn. our home was across the street from a dairy farm. The cows frequently got and some wandered into a very busy road we bordered on. I saw them blocking traffic one day and said if I hit one I was keeping the carcass. I was told that was against the law and that I would also have to pay the farmer for the cow (as well as damage to my car).
I had a hearty laugh over the Montana Laws, say no more. I think the stores in many states will run out of sleigh bells after reading this.
It is also illegal to pump your own gas in Weymouth Massachusetts.
Also in Milford, MA lol
As also in New Jersey, it’s actually a nice service especially in winter!
Provided you get someone who puts in the right fuel grade so as not to set off your check engine light, puts the pump in properly so as not to spill gas all down the side of your car, or someone who doesn’t keep damaging your gas cap so you don’t have to pay $35/pop to replace. I only go to stations that allow me to pump my own gas in NJ.
This whole article’s another testament to the intellect of our political system.
Agree
As the funny but very astute Robin Williams said in “Moscow on the Hudson”, the movie, “Wat eh kountree!”
I agree with Montana. The exploitation of un chaperoned sheep is an affront to our sense of decency. ????????????
Disappointed I can’t take my horse-drawn sleigh on the roads of Massachusetts, as I don’t have the bells. I’m sure those bells would make all the difference in safety with Mass drivers — haha! (I wonder if Anyone told Santa about this law, though maybe it doesn’t apply to reindeer…)
Alaska – tying a dog to the roof of a vehicle should be illegal everywhere.
Illinois – roadkill? really? No thanks.
Nevada – Are there that many camels in Nevada?
Apparently not any more…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/whatever-happened-wild-camels-american-west-180956176/
California women cannot drive wearing a bathrobe. Hilarious! This prevents embarrassing
kids when dropping them off at school I suppose.
Exactly how to the enforce the “no camels” ordinance in NV? I think I might have seen a camel eat a citation, but they certainly can’t get into a courthouse to appeal it! LOL
“It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle – unless your target is a whale.”
But isn’t the targeting of whales itself, illegal? 😀
What would a whale be doing on the road anyway?!????
Perhaps the moving vehicle is a boat.
Than it would be a vessel
What the heck was going on in Montana, to make them pass that sheep and chaperone law, lollllllll?!!!
It’s a sheeperone
Only grandfathers can make such puns!
I like sheeperone. It’s a good ewe phemism.
Good one Patrick!
I herd that!
Shear madness!
I live in Connecticut and have had to stop for a cattle crossing on several occasions and even helped out twice. But, as far as the chaperone goes I would say that’s a good idea. We have had llamas, sleep, goats and one time a cougar in our van or Subaru. It can cause a scene if they get agitated.
You don’t want to know!
Got worried for a second. Thought I was going to have to cancel my whale hunting trip to California. What the hell?!?! LOL
Yes. For me the whale one took the cake… LOL!!!
You can claim roadkill, so long as you don’t owe child support. What?
And can the chaperone be a ram? How about a sheep dog? Is there a definition of chaperone at all?