Last week we had a comment posted by John Foster whose plight was that, as a Canadian resident, he was not permitted to drive a US rented vehicle into Canada. US residents driving a US rental vehicle into Canada? Fine. Canadian residents driving a US rental vehicle into Canada? That’s not fine! Barmy, but then hey who am I to comment on Canadian law?!
This got me thinking about what other strange or unusual laws exist that might affect our customers renting and driving a car around world. Having conducted some quick research I found out that it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama, USA (I must remember to take off my blindfold the next time I’m driving there). In a state nearby, it is illegal in Arkansas for a person to honk the horn on a vehicle at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9pm.
So to help our customers avoid any inadvertent misdemeanours when driving a car in a foreign country, I thought we could use this blog post as a central resource for collecting information on any strange or unusual or simply less obvious driving laws in various countries. They don’t all have to be funny, some may be quite genuine. For example, in the US you are allowed to turn right at a junction even if the there is a red light (of course it applies only if the road is clear and you need to come to a stop first). In the UK however, a red light means that you simply cannot go and there is no grey area around this.
So if you know of any such laws then please post it as a comment here. I look forward to reading any responses we may get! And if you fancy a bit of a laugh then check out the Times website which has a listed the top 25 most ridiculous laws in the world. Some of them are hilarious!
Loading ...
A good one from my home country:
“It is illegal to kiss on railways in France.”
so much for french romantism!
Xavier
Apparently, in Connecticut it’s illegal to hunt from cars. I guess the law is about wild animals rather than other drivers…
What about these ones:
“California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.” !??!
“In Missouri, a man must have a permit to shave.”
I have hired cars in several countries and have been driving abroad for 40years and been fortunate to have been accident free. However I have never been offered a copy of any country,s Highway code when hiring.as I am a regular visitor to the usa I tried to buy a book like the UK Highway code but bookshops were unable to help
Could Avis be the first to include a local” Highway code “in their hire pack or at least have copies at their rental desk ?
Interesting idea. I’ll pass on to our Service Excellence team and see if this is something we can implement.