Friday 23 August 2013

What Are the Weirdest Driving Laws in Your State?

Driving laws aren't always easy to keep up with. We all know to stop at red lights, but how do you handle turning when a bike lane is present? Transportation laws can vary by state and you may know better than we do.

In general, driving laws are fairly standard for most situations. Drive on the right side of the road, don't exceed the speed limit, red means stop, green means go. However, there are some laws that are either only present in a certain area, or have atypical applications. For example:

In California, touching your maps app while driving is legally as bad as texting. You can, however, set up your route before you leave and place your phone in a holster within a 5"x5" area in the lower-left or 7"x7" area in the lower right of your windshield. Anywhere else is also against the law.
In Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, it is illegal for any vehicle in motion to use its hazard lights. Other states allow hazard lights in emergency situations or to indicate a traffic hazard (like heavy rain), while others—such as Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and others—allow hazard light usage at any time.
In California (again), bike lanes are treated as full lanes for the purposes of turning right. That is, if you are in the right-most car lane, but there's a bike lane next to you, it is illegal to turn right from the car lane by crossing over the bike lane. You must first merge into the bike lane before the intersection, then make your turn.
For most driving situations, we all know the basics. However, when you're traveling, chances are you'll pass through a state that has some weird laws you had no idea about. So, what are the things that a visitor driving in your state should know about?

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