The Weirdest Traffic Laws in the World
Posted by April L. on 27th Jul 2017
There are many times we all think, "gee, that's stupid," like why you have to go from a highway speed to 40 miles per hour on a particular stretch of road, or why one-way streets are allowed anywhere. Then, there are some laws that make us scratch our heads a bit–whether they are backed by policy or just archaic rules that never got updated.
Imagine traveling to a foreign country and encountering some of these traffic regulations:
Clothing
- No shirt, no service? If you're driving in Thailand, you must be wearing a shirt.
- Meanwhile, in Germany, you can drive in the buff because your car is considered private.
- However, if you run of out gas on the Autobahn, or crash while driving barefoot, that's a traffic infraction.
Animals and Pets
- If your dog is a passenger in your car, he or she better be buckled up.
- Camels have the right of way in the United Arab Emirates. Somehow, this is not entirely surprising, is it?
- If you're driving in South Africa and a herder signals he wants to cross the road, you have to stop for him and his herd.
Drinking and Driving
- No drinking and driving in Cyprus–literally. Not even water. Do you think this is actually a good way to minimize pee breaks? You're not allowed to eat behind the wheel either.
- In France, you are required to carry a breathalyzer kit in your car or motorbike and must produce it if requested by the gendarmes.
Items You Must Have With You
- In Spain, if you wear prescription glasses, you also need an extra pair with you in the car.
- If you're a hackney carriage (cab) in Britain, you must carry a bag of oats as well as a bale of hay.
- Turkish drivers are required to have in their cars at all times, a first aid kit, a reflective triangle, and a fire extinguisher.
- In Estonia, drivers must carry two wheel chocks with them (blocks to be positioned under the wheels).
Rules of the Road
- Your headlights stay on whenever you're driving in Scandinavia. It could be bright and sunny–you're still required to keep them on.
- While Saudi Arabian women are allowed to own cars, they're not allowed to drive them, and when you get to Mecca, there are highway lanes for Muslims and non-Muslims.
- No splashing pedestrians by driving through puddles in Japan.
- In Singapore, you are not allowed to drive within 50 ft of a pedestrian. Or chew bubble gum in public.
Miscellaneous
- You are not allowed to start your car in Denmark before checking for people underneath it.
- In Luxembourg, all cars must have windshield wipers, even if they don't have windshields.
- In Russia, you can be fined for driving in a dirty car.
- If it's Monday in Manila, Philippines and your registration ends in a 1 or 2, you're walking today, because you aren't allowed to drive.
- Parking in Spain can be odd, literally. In some Spanish cities, you can only park on the side of the street with uneven number addresses.
If you're planning to rent a car when you're traveling abroad, hopefully you will have the foresight to do a little research on traffic laws, because traffic tickets are a downer in any country. As for us, we hope that city planners in other countries do their best to help out foreign drivers (and their own) by using a lot of signage.
Of course, you can do your part to help your fellow drivers by alerting them to applicable road rules with easy-to-understand and informative signs. We have an extensive catalogue of signs and decals. Ask for a quote, or contact us to find out how we can help.