The top 10 weirdest traffic laws

[SVT_Power]

Driving through New Brunswick? Better stay off the roads ? it?s apparently against the law to drive on them.

Wait, what?

Obscure and silly road laws are nothing new. In fact, there are plenty of weird statutes around the world that continue to leave many motorists scratching their heads, even if these laws are seldom enforced or obeyed.

Below are 10 places with some of the weirdest traffic laws:

10. Montreal: If you live in Montreal, you?d better be careful about where you leave your car when you get home. It?s against the law to park your car in such a way that it is blocking your own driveway. And forget about washing your car while it?s parked on the street, that?s against the law, too. If you?re an Ontarian passing through Montreal, make sure to remember that turning right on a red light is not allowed in the city ? something that is largely legal in the rest of the country. Doing so will fetch you a traffic ticket.

9. Denmark: Checking all areas of your car before hitting the road is a good rule of thumb. But in Denmark, it?s the law. Motorists are required to check all lights, brakes, steering, and honk the horn every time they get in the car. Drivers are also required by law to check underneath the car to ensure there are no sleeping children.

8. Beijing: We know smog is a problem in many parts of China, but this seems like an overkill attempt to curb idling. In Beijing, drivers are liable to receive a fine of up to five yuan (or less than a Canadian dollar) and a warning for stopping at pedestrian crossings.

7. Ontario: In Ontario, there are a few statutes that, somehow, have stood the test of time. These outdated laws might not be so relevant today, but they?re still on the books. For example, if you ever find yourself riding an open-sleigh on the highway for some inexplicable reason (hey, maybe it?s Christmas), make sure you have the right number of bells attached. Having less than two could earn you a $5 fine. And if you?re a TTC rider in Toronto, remember that it?s illegal to ride a streetcar on Sunday if you?ve been eating garlic. Weird.

6. New Jersey: Motorists used to handling the pumps at gas stations could be in for a shock when pulling in for a top-up at any station in New Jersey. That?s because it?s illegal for drivers there to pump their own gas. Only gas station employees can pump gas in the Garden State ? what?s known as ?full-service?. The controversial law was passed in 1949 after lawmakers felt it was too dangerous to have untrained drivers pumping their own fuel.

5. Detroit: Motor City may be known for its love of cars, but over there, it?s strictly a no-no to make love in one. Couples are banned from having sex in a vehicle unless the act takes place while the car is parked on the couple?s own property.

4. Kansas: Be careful about burning rubber when passing through Kansas. Screeching your tires is illegal in the state, and squealing upon acceleration can warrant a $500 fine and/or imprisonment up to 30 days. Apparently, in Kansas, screeching your tires can be interpreted as ?simulating a race.?

3. Maryland: Watch your mouth while driving in Rockville, Maryland. It?s illegal to curse in public, and this includes inside your car. So if you mouth off in a fit of rage while stuck in traffic, and the motorist next to you complains (or is a cop), you could be fined up to $100 or receive jail time of up to 90 days.

2. Saudi Arabia: It?s fairly well-known that in Saudi Arabia, women are barred from driving cars. But many don?t know that there are two highways running through the holy city of Mecca: one for Muslims, and another for non-Muslims. If a Muslim is accompanied by a non-Muslim, both are required to use the alternate highway. Violators caught driving on the wrong highway could face fines.

1. Minnesota: Remember the ?Keep it beautiful? adage that used to adorn Ontario licence plates? Well, in Minnetonka, Minnesota, it?s the law to keep your car clean. It?s considered a public nuisance for ?a truck or other vehicle whose wheels or tires deposit mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or other material on any street or highway.? Failure to keep your wheels spic and span here could cost you up to $2,000.

[RomanChariot]

Oregon still has full-service only.  Only an attendant is allowed to pump your gas for you.  It provides jobs for a lot of high school students and people who struggle to find more meaningful work.

Detroit's law against making love in a car is redundant since I would bet that all states have ordinances banning sex in public which would include sex in cars.

[93JC]

10. Montreal: ... And forget about washing your car while it?s parked on the street, that?s against the law, too.

Also against the law here. We have separate storm and sanitary sewers. Water from the streets goes into the river untreated.

[Secret Chimp]

A lot of our storm drains go directly to rivers (stencils of salmon saying as much were painted next to a few in my old neighborhood) but as far as I know there isn't a law against it.

[bing_oh]

These aren't particularly weird laws. It's not at all uncommon to have local ordinances against peeling/squeeling tires, every municipality I've worked for has had an ordinance against parking blocking a driveway (I've never seen one with a provision that says that the property owner is exempt, though we'd never cite or tow if a person was blocking their own driveway), and a law against depositing heavy mud and such on the roadway is pretty much common sense for safety reasons (I doubt the law is written so as to make it illegal to put dust or throw a pebble on the road).

[Byteme]

These aren't particularly weird laws. It's not at all uncommon to have local ordinances against peeling/squeeling tires, every municipality I've worked for has had an ordinance against parking blocking a driveway (I've never seen one with a provision that says that the property owner is exempt, though we'd never cite or tow if a person was blocking their own driveway), and a law against depositing heavy mud and such on the roadway is pretty much common sense for safety reasons (I doubt the law is written so as to make it illegal to put dust or throw a pebble on the road).

Bak in the late 70s to early 80's Austin, Texas was booming,  very rapid growth, which meant a huge number of dump trucks on the road carrying dirt to and from construction sites and gravel to concrete batch plants.  Many area municipalities passed and stringently enforced laws that fined drivers of dump trucks that were spilling any amount of their load onto the roadway and they could even be stopped and cited if some of their load was accidently deposited on the horizontal surfaces of the dump bed (common when loading a truck with a backhoe or steam shovel).

At many construction sites I've seen crews regularly cleaning the road when trucks leaving the site are leaving dirt, and gravel on the roadway.

[Onslaught]

Bak in the late 70s to early 80's Austin, Texas was booming,  very rapid growth, which meant a huge number of dump trucks on the road carrying dirt to and from construction sites and gravel to concrete batch plants.  Many area municipalities passed and stringently enforced laws that fined drivers of dump trucks that were spilling any amount of their load onto the roadway and they could even be stopped and cited if some of their load was accidently deposited on the horizontal surfaces of the dump bed (common when loading a truck with a backhoe or steam shovel).

At many construction sites I've seen crews regularly cleaning the road when trucks leaving the site are leaving dirt, and gravel on the roadway.

Good. They have fines for this shit in NC too but never enforce it. Fucking dump trucks on the interstate I have to travel to work have done more damage to my MX-5 in two years then the 19 before that.

[Cookie Monster]

Good. They have fines for this shit in NC too but never enforce it. Fucking dump trucks on the interstate I have to travel to work have done more damage to my MX-5 in two years then the 19 before that.

Nothing like driving down the highway and hearing rocks and dirt clanging and bouncing off the underside of your car....

[hounddog]

Not even close to weirdest laws.

The Michigan law which requires you to fire your shotgun into the air as you approach an intersection is the weirdest, followed closely by the law that requires unmarried women driving a carriage after dark to travel with a male relative in front of her with a lantern ahead and a male relative behind with a lanter to the rear.

[Onslaught]

Not even close to weirdest laws.

The Michigan law which requires you to fire your shotgun into the air as you approach an intersection is the weirdest,

That is strange. It being a shit hole like Michigan why would you waste ammo shooting in the air? You need it to kill all the bad guys trying o kill you or take your car.

[hounddog]

Shit hole?



I would call you a bad name, but this is the Sabbath and all. 

[Rupert]

[hounddog]

[Mustangfan2003]

I think we have a law here that says elephants can't be out on city streets on Sundays. 

[Northlands]

Here's a couple of weird ones:

It's illegal to drag dead horses down the streets of Toronto before 12:00 am.
It is illegal for children to eat ice-cream cones on the streets on the Sabbath in Ottawa.

[JWC]

Morehead City NC used to have a law, that required anyone leaving or entering to close and secure the gate/s to the town.  The fine was a 1.00.  (In the late 1800's until sometime in the 1900's, livestock could roam free in the city.  The gates were to keep resident's farm animals from getting out of town.)

When I lived in California, a friend of mine was given a ticket for a dirty windshield.  

My first ex and I were pulled over for a improperly secured car door in Burlingame Ca.

[hounddog]

Also against the law here. We have separate storm and sanitary sewers. Water from the streets goes into the river untreated.

That is actually a good thing, except that there are now boat washes which are environmentally friendly and will not harm the water or waterlife. 

They would work just fine and cost pretty much the same as regular soap, and would make the law unnecessary.

[Galaxy]

That is actually a good thing, except that there are now boat washes which are environmentally friendly and will not harm the water or waterlife. 

They would work just fine and cost pretty much the same as regular soap, and would make the law unnecessary.

Enviromentally friendly detergents are relative. They are bio-degradable, however if enough are dumped into the water constantly then you might always have an unsafe concentration.

[The Phantom]

Morehead City NC used to have a law, that required anyone leaving or entering to close and secure the gate/s to the town.  The fine was a 1.00.  (In the late 1800's until sometime in the 1900's, livestock could roam free in the city.  The gates were to keep resident's farm animals from getting out of town.)

When I lived in California, a friend of mine was given a ticket for a dirty windshield.   

My first ex and I were pulled over for a improperly secured car door in Burlingame Ca.

I've been to Morehead City, but that was a good hundred years after that time.  I don't remember there being gates to the city. 

[SVT666]

That is actually a good thing, except that there are now boat washes which are environmentally friendly and will not harm the water or waterlife.  

They would work just fine and cost pretty much the same as regular soap, and would make the law unnecessary.

It's illegal to wash cars in your driveway here too...unless you use biodegradable soap.  So I did that a couple weeks ago and got a lot of dirty looks from passersby.

[hounddog]

It's illegal to wash cars in your driveway here too...unless you use biodegradable soap.  So I did that a couple weeks ago and got a lot of dirty looks from passersby.

Good for you!

That is one of the things I will enjoy most about the new truck; the big FU to the tree-huggers.

[hounddog]

Enviromentally friendly detergents are relative. They are bio-degradable, however if enough are dumped into the water constantly then you might always have an unsafe concentration.

If you dump enough milk into a water source you will have milk.  

Of course it is relative.  

I seriously would question that there would be enough people in Germany washing their cars consistently enough to cause any harm, let alone real harm, to the countries water.

[Rupert]

Germany has some pretty fucked up rivers, IIRC. More shit isn't gonna help make things better.

[hotrodalex]

Germany has some pretty fucked up rivers, IIRC. More shit isn't gonna help make things better.

But will it make it much worse?

I mean, it's SOAP! Soap cleans things! So dump a bunch of soap into the river and it should clean it up, right? Or at least it could be turned into a public bath. 

[Rupert]

Yes, it will make it worse.

[Laconian]

Runoff is a big problem here, esp. because of salmon spawning and all that.

[Rupert]

Yep. It's why I have a job.