The Quirkiest International Driving Laws
7th Feb, 2017
At Scrap Car Network, our focus is more on scrapping cars than driving them about. But having said that, we can’t help but notice there are some countries around the world which have some pretty specific laws on how to do so. While we’re pretty well-versed in UK law when it comes to scrapping your car, we’ve taken the liberty to collect some of the world’s oddest international traffic rules for your delectation.
Different motoring laws across the world
You may well have heard of Germany’s autobahn – the full term translates as federal highway. It’s notably different from our own UK motorways in that it doesn’t have an upper speed limit for some vehicles, which is…an interesting choice, to say the least. It also means that stopping or breaking down on the autobahn is strictly forbidden for any reason, as it’s liable to cause a collision that could scrap your car in a pretty spectacular fashion. This law includes forgetting to fill up the tank – so if you come rolling to a halt, as far as the German police are concerned it’s all on you!
A different Japanese law is one that we at Scrap Car Network can really get on board with, especially given Britain’s legendarily rubbish weather. In Japan, splashing a pedestrian with water while driving is utterly illegal, and any driver found doing it can be hit with a pretty impressive fine. This law is in effect right up until June, where Japan’s typhoons tend to leave a lot more puddles about. On the other hand, the law in Beijing goes the other way entirely – there, it’s actually illegal to stop for pedestrians (which basically turns every road crossing into a high-stakes game of Frogger). Meanwhile, in South Africa, you are legally required to stop for any livestock crossing or being led across the road – so if you’ve ever been frustrated by having to stop for some geese, you may have a lot of sympathy for South African drivers.
Driving laws across the globe
We’re just going to say it: like many other countries, we have a drink-driving problem here in Britain. But our laws are getting stricter, and more and more measures are being introduced to tackle it. The folks in Costa Rica are dealing with it in a rather more direct way – if you get caught with a blood alcohol level of 0.75%, you’re going behind bars. Period. No warning, no fine, just straight to the slammer. In France, meanwhile, members of the public are mandated to keep unused breathalysers in their car, to help save on government costs during traffic stops. Across the pond in Alabama, United States, they’ve sensibly forbidden drivers to wear blindfolds while driving, just in case they pose a risk to other road users while doing so (we at Scrap Car Network think that’s probably a wise precaution). Also in America, New Jersey has a law stating that technically, residents are required to beep their horns before passing. Oddly, that one doesn’t seem to be too heavily enforced. We wonder why!
Nothing To Worry About When Scrapping Your Car
When you scrap your car with us, theoretically we’re not all that worried about whether you’re adhering to these particular laws. However, it’s probably worth us noting that the whole process goes a lot more smoothly if you’re not blindfolded or drunk. You can find out exactly what we do here, or if you’re eager to get started right away, you can get straight to our homepage to enter your car reg and postcode
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