10 Weird Driving Laws That Might Surprise You
All drivers are familiar with the basic laws of driving; give way to the right on a roundabout, wear your seatbelt, don’t drive with a bulb out and so on but there are some more unfamiliar and plain weird driving laws out there we bet you’ve never heard of.
We’re going to be sharing with you 10 pretty weird driving laws that surprised us and we’re sure they’ll come as a shock to you too…
- No Splashing Passers-by
Here in the UK, it isn’t polite to splash a pedestrian by driving through a puddle and it isn’t illegal but if you get caught doing that in Japan, you’re in big trouble.
Because of what they believe to be common courtesy in Japan, it has been deemed illegal to splash a passer-by with water or mud from the road, even if it’s an accident.
- To Drive Wearing a Dressing Gown
A lot of us Brits have probably driven in our dressing gown once or twice for whatever reason but if you’re a woman and you do that in California, you’re actually breaking the law.
We’re not too sure of the reasoning behind this but if you’re driving around California and you’re female, make sure you change out of your pyjamas first!
- Your Car Has to Be Clean to Be Driven
According to car dealers Wilsons, you can actually be fined if you drive around Moscow in a dirty car.
In the UK, you can be pulled over the by police if your visibility from the front or rear window is hugely blocked but in Moscow, you’re in trouble if your car is dirty at all.
- You Have to Slow Down or Stop for Herds of Livestock
If you live in the countryside then you’re probably familiar with having to slow down for horses or stop for cattle crossing the road but in South Africa, you can actually get fined if you don’t slow down or stop when required for passing herds of livestock.
- Women Can Own a Car but Not Drive One
Thankfully only a law in one country around the world but in Saudi Arabia, women can own cars but not drive them.
This doesn’t make much sense to us but that’s what the Saudi Arabian law states.
- You Can Never Run Out of Fuel
This isn’t the case in this country but in Germany, if you run out of fuel on the autobahn, that is actually illegal and you will be in trouble if you haven’t been organised and kept your car properly fuelled up.
- You Must Always Be 50m from Pedestrians
In Singapore, you must be at least 50m from pedestrians at all time and if you get any closer, you’ll be breaking the law and will be punished if caught by the authorities.
- You Have to Wear a Top when Driving
According to Confused.com, if you’re in the driver’s seat of a car in Thailand, you have to wear a top.
No matter how hot it gets and Thailand can be pretty warm, if you’re the driver, you have to wear a top.
- No Driving Blindfolded
We imagine you’re probably thinking ‘what?’ as you’re reading this but yes, in Alabama there is a genuine law that states you can’t drive your car blindfolded.
We’re unsure why there is any need for this kind of law but the Alabama authorities are clearly taking no risks.
- Check for Children Under Your Car
We’re not sure whether there is some kind of problem with children hiding under cars in Denmark but it is a well known driving law over there that before setting off, you need to check under your car for children.
Whether they are sleeping, hiding or playing, if you’re setting off in your car in Denmark, you need to check there are no children under there.
There are some pretty strange driving laws out there and after reading all those, we’re feeling grateful for our straightforward British driving laws!
Have you heard of any unusual driving laws from around the world? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!
