Strange Traffic Laws From Around the World

If you’ve ever driven in a foreign country, you’ve probably encountered your fair share of strange traffic laws. Did you know you’ll be fined for driving a dirty car in Russia or for driving without a breathalyzer in your car in France? Some of these laws are hard to believe!

• In Russia, You Will Be Fined for Driving a Dirty Vehicle.
• In Germany, it is illegal to run out of fuel on the Autobahn.
• In Alabama it is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street, but only if you attach a lantern to the front of your vehicle.
• Here’s another fun one from Alabama: It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle (Doesn’t this one make you wonder what inspired the law to be passed?).
• In Ontario, all sleighs must be equipped with a minimum of two bells. You will not be laughing all the way with only one bell because you will be slapped with a $5 fine.
• If you planned on recreating the Kentucky Derby on a Canadian highway, we’ve got some bad news. It is illegal in Ontario to “furiously race or drive any horse or another animal on a highway.
• If you are driving a hackney carriage around London, you best be carrying a bale of hay to feed your horse. The law has been in the books since the Victorian era!
• In some Spanish neighborhoods, vehicles are only permitted to park on the side of the road where the even-numbered houses appear.
• In South Africa, you will be fined if you do not slow or stop for passing livestock. The fine is a hefty one, too, at $500.
• In Scandinavia, headlights aren’t just required when it is dark or raining but all the time. This is mostly due to the poor driving conditions in the region year-round.
• In Costa Rica, drinking and driving is perfectly legal. You can enjoy a cold one behind the wheel so long as you do not become too intoxicated.

So, the next time you travel abroad and plan on renting a vehicle, be sure to study the traffic laws (all of them!) before getting behind the wheel!