012 | 25 Weirdest Driving Laws in America You Won’t Believe Exist
Cool Cars with Chris: Car Talk, Driving Tips & Auto Life
012 | 25 Weirdest Driving Laws in America You Won’t Believe Exist
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Today on Cool Cars with Chris, we're diving into the weirdest traffic laws in America.
Yeah, like, no driving blindfolded, and birds have the right-of-way, and yes, it's illegal
to even frown at a cop.
What?
Strap in, this one's getting wild.
Hey, what's happening?
How are you doing today?
Thank you so much for being here.
I am Chris, and yeah, this is the world-famous Cool Cars with Chris, man.
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When you got your driver's license, whenever that was, maybe you're still learning to
get your driver's license, you know, there's that.
But if you have your driver's license and you've been driving for a while, whichever
state you live in, wherever you are, you know, there's like basic
laws, we all got to follow.
There's basic things like, you know, the obviously the speed limit sign, whatever it is, is the
speed limit.
The cops can give you a ticket if you go over that speed limit, you know, what does a red
light mean?
Obviously means stop.
What does a green light mean?
We learned that back in, you know, elementary school, basically stuff like that.
But if you're traveling across the country, different states in different areas have
their own like unique laws that we all assume we all have to know and follow.
And every single year, it seems like you're always updating like on the first of the year,
the news always comes out with like new crazy laws this year.
You can't do this.
You can't do that.
I remember here in California, I think it was last year, earlier this year, they made
a big deal about the, it was like the crosswalk law, the law where you couldn't park your
car on the curb within 20 feet, I believe it was, of intersection.
And the reason why they did that was so that if people were like walking across
the street from corner to corner, that they were visible during the entire path of the
intersection as they walked across the street, so that if a car came up to that intersection,
they would see that person and not run them over.
But I've been seeing a lot of people park their cars on the corner.
So basically they just went 20 feet or so of the actual curb or intersection.
You cannot park your car.
But today we're going to go over a lot of these crazy laws across the United States
and we're going to do this in separate categories.
So each category has its own group of laws that are pretty much connected to each other.
Now this goes across the entire country, not just isolated to here in California, but
there are some ones, you know, obviously California's got a lot of laws too, but some of these
are pretty crazy.
So starting it off with this category, it is called, why is this even a law laws?
Now people always ask us all the time when they come across something, they're like, why
is this even a law?
It sounds so stupid.
So within this category, here we go.
In the state of Alabama, it is illegal to drive blindfolded.
Now who in the hell is going to drive blindfolded, maybe for a crazy YouTube stunt, but I would
think that would be like, duh, obviously don't drive blindfolded, so stupid.
Okay.
Arizona.
Now in the state of Arizona, it's illegal to drive in reverse on public roads.
Who's doing that?
Like, why is it even a law?
Seriously.
It's illegal to drive reverse on public roads.
I guess, I mean, I would assume if you're backing out of a parking lot or backing out
of a driveway, that's probably okay.
I think what they're talking about is some, you know, Yahoo, it was like, check me
out of the freeway.
I'm going to go reverse.
Yeah.
Things like that.
Okay.
Moving on.
In the state of Illinois, it is illegal to drive without a steering wheel.
Now that's got to be pretty impressive.
Like, how do you drive without a steering wheel?
I may be like a screwdriver and like maybe like some vice grips or something like that
and then pliers.
Maybe I can see something like that.
It just seems like common sense.
Like, why is it even a law?
Like, seriously, almost every law in existence today had to come from somewhere like
somebody actually did this to make it a law.
So think about that.
When you see these stupid laws like this, that somebody actually was the idiot why this law
actually exists.
Now, moving on down to Texas, now, Texas says that you must have windshield wipers,
but windshield is optional.
So let me get this straight.
You're driving down the road, you have no windshield out.
You're just like the winds hitting you right in the face.
Maybe you've got like one of those, I don't know, like motorcycle helmets or one of
those like, you know, those Gator masks, those like cloth, like, you know, shirt mask
things to go over your face, keep the bugs out and some goggles.
You're good.
But if they find you without windshield wipers with even without a windshield, you're in
trouble.
You're busted.
Okay.
Moving on to the last in this group of why is this even a law laws section?
And that is Maryland.
Now, Maryland, well, especially in Rockville, it says it's illegal to swear from your
car.
Now, how do you even live?
How is this even a law?
I couldn't.
I think the greatest thing about driving a car is you can't swear in your car or it
gets from your car really.
Maybe they don't want you to maybe swear at pedestrians as you drive by.
Yeah, who knows?
Okay.
Moving on to animal related laws.
Now this is kind of funny because I guess basically animals rule the world here.
I mean, animals can't drive.
So what kind of laws could they possibly have for animals on the highway with traffic
laws?
Hmm.
Let's see.
Starting with Nevada now, yay for gambling, yay for casinos, yay for Vegas, baby.
But in Nevada, did you know that you are not allowed to ride your camel on the highway?
I mean, who's doing that?
Really?
I mean, people have camels.
I mean, camels are pets.
I mean, I'm sure they make great pets in the desert, which Nevada is a big desert
really if you think about it.
So it does kind of make sense why they wouldn't have camels on the highway.
But listen, if you have your camel, make sure to not ride your camel on the highway in Nevada
to Vegas.
I get it.
Okay.
Moving up to Utah, which happens to be right above Nevada.
Now in Utah, it says here, this law is on the books, by the way.
It says that birds have the right away in Utah.
So let me get this straight.
If a chicken is crossing the road in front of you, you can't run it over.
You have to give it the right away.
I guess that makes sense really, or maybe a bunch of birds are flying in front of you.
And like, like I hit an owl once driving back from the hills up in San Diego in my other
truck and it flew right in front of the truck.
And then it like went bang.
I'm like, what?
Did I hit something?
I don't know.
I didn't find out.
I got home and I found the thing literally embedded in the grill of my Ford F-150 was
his owl.
I think it was an owl.
Anyways, yeah.
Well, he didn't, he didn't last you long.
So okay.
Now, if you're moving on south to the state of Florida, I've been to Florida and it
says here in Florida that elephants, goats, alligators at parking meters must pay the
meter.
Now who wrote this seriously?
Come on.
That can't be right.
They can't be true.
There's no way.
How can they even afford a meter?
Really?
Elephants, goats and alligators must pay parking meters.
That is interesting.
I wonder why that is.
It's probably because maybe they're taking up a spot that a car could use and they're
like, well, if you're going to be there anyways, it might charge you for the space.
That's so weird.
Who made this law?
But it's not so stupid actually.
Okay.
Going up north to Massachusetts, now according to this in Massachusetts, no gorillas are
allowed in the backseat.
Now, if you have your gorilla in your backseat in Massachusetts, you better look out.
You could be in trouble.
I'm serious.
Better yet, maybe put them in a child seat if they'll fit.
I don't know.
Who does that?
Who has got a gorilla?
I don't think it's allowed.
I don't think you're allowed to even have a gorilla as a pet.
Like maybe a monkey, but I don't know if that really seems so weird.
Like who would have a gorilla in their backseat?
Now, I remember every law that's been written in the history of laws happened for a reason
and they made a law based on somebody actually doing these things.
So when you hear crazy laws like this and animal related laws or any kind of law, just
think some idiot actually did this.
Now topping it off in the state of Arkansas, which I'd never been to Arkansas and truthfully,
I don't really have an interest to go to Arkansas.
But if you are in Arkansas, there's a law in the books that says no honking your horn
after 9 p.m. near a sandwich shop.
But I guess like there's a subway, maybe that seems weird.
I don't want to have that.
Maybe it's because they don't want you scaring all the mice and rats away from the sandwich
shop.
Maybe that's what it is.
I don't know.
You know, these are all animal related laws for some weird reason in America.
Where's that?
Okay.
So moving on to the best laws in the world, and that is we're talking about the somebody
definitely did this kind of laws like I've been saying all episodes so far.
Somebody actually did this for this to become a law.
Think about that very clearly when you hear this list of crazy laws that are the somebody
definitely did this kind of laws.
So kicking it off with the great state of Oklahoma.
Now, I've never been to Oklahoma, so but in the state of Oklahoma, it is illegal to read
a comic book while driving.
Now, I would think that this illegal pretty much everywhere.
We're getting any kind of material while you're driving a vehicle, looking at your
phone.
Hint hint.
Don't do that while you're driving.
You know, I saw somebody actually like watching a full blown YouTube video while driving.
They took your phone.
I kid you not took your phone and they put it like right on where the tachometer
and speedometer section of the gauges are in the cluster right there, they kind of tip
their phone up.
It's covering that part.
So they can't see how fast they're going or anything.
All they see is some YouTube video or whatever it is they're watching on their screen while
they're driving.
Don't do that.
Okay.
Moving on to Georgia.
Now in Georgia, it's illegal to spit from your car.
Listen, I've been guilty of that here, you know, but I know it's actually
illegal.
Maybe hit somebody, but that's probably why this is a law.
Now going up north to New Jersey.
Now in the state of New Jersey, it is illegal to frown at a police officer.
Get out of here with this one.
Come on.
No way.
It's illegal to frown at a place.
What kind of like, I mean, do you go to jail for that?
Seriously?
Did you get arrested for that one?
That's crazy.
Okay.
Moving on to Idaho Falls.
It says here, if you're over the age of 88 years old, it says you're too old and you cannot
ride a motorcycle.
I'm sorry.
In Idaho Falls, you cannot ride a motorcycle if you're 88 years old.
I'm sorry, Tom Cruise, you're getting up to an age and don't go to Idaho Falls because
it will not let you ride your motorcycle off a cliff or whatever you want to do.
That's crazy.
I mean, what if you're like, I mean, in good shape for 88 because I'm, you
know, older and not that old, obviously, but I'm older and people, you know, say I look
much younger and I feel much younger than I really am.
So maybe you're a super young 88 and you want to go out and like ride your motorcycle and
do crazy stuff.
Why not?
It's cool, man.
That's just seems weird.
It just seems like a weird lot of half.
Okay.
And topping it off with Delaware, another state I've never been to.
There's a lot of states I've never been to actually, not to think about it.
And in Delaware, it's illegal to change your clothes in your car.
Now we've all done that.
I've done that.
Haven't you done that?
Everybody's done that.
If you've ever been to like the beach, you want to change out your beach stuff into
regular clothes or you have to go to work and you're running late and say you're
coming from Mexico late in the morning and you get a bit of work and you go straight
from Tijuana to Mexico.
I've done that myself.
I think it actually changed while driving once.
I kid you not.
It changed into my work uniform while I was driving my pickup truck on my way to work
early in the morning coming from Tijuana.
So I have done that.
Yes.
Okay.
Now that we're officially into winter season, it's probably snowing where you live.
Most places around the world, around the country are in snow, full blown winter.
Here we are.
It's Christmas time.
I love it.
Well, here are some seasonal driving laws that you need to be aware of depending where you
are and what state you live in.
So let's say starting it off with Pennsylvania.
Now I'm trying to remember I've ever been to Pennsylvania.
I think I have had a layover in Pittsburgh, I think.
So I have been to Pennsylvania.
I think about it.
But in Pennsylvania, it says here that you must clear snow and ice within 24
hours.
Now, I wonder if that means from the car, the roof, or that's like your driveway.
But it says you must clear snow and ice within 24 hours.
It must be 24 hours when the snow actually falls, I would think.
I don't know.
I never lived in a snow climate like this.
So I don't really know.
I mean, I've been blessed to live in like barely warm climates that we don't have
snow, really, but I'm sure that's what it's like.
Now moving up to New Jersey.
Now in New Jersey, it says here that you can have a ticket for having snow on the
roof, period.
Like at any time you've got snow on your roof, you can be ticketed.
That's one of the cool things I remember about going out to the snow, at least here
anyways in Southern California, is that people go out to the snow areas, it might
be like Big Bear or in Julian out here, if it does snow out here.
And people bring back lots of snow all over their car.
They'll put it all over their trunk, their hood, their wherever, just to bring it
back down here to the valley area where it's like warmer weather.
We don't have snow.
So they just kind of show off.
So I get that.
I mean, that's a totally fun thing to do.
Like load your back, your pickup truck up with snow and bring it down here
and say, look, I brought snow from the mountain.
Here it is. Check it out.
How cool is it?
I'm sure people that live in snow climates think about that, see that
and just laugh and it's ridiculous.
So stupid.
Okay.
Moving on to New Hampshire.
This one's called Jessica's Law.
It says, must clear all snow.
Now, I don't know what that even means, but must clear all snow.
I wonder what it means like from your driveway, from your porch, from your,
you know, car, of course, your windshield, like must have snow begun
on snow. We want snow here.
Get rid of it. See you later.
Jessica must have hated snow because Jessica made a law after this.
Get rid of all the stupid snow.
I get it.
Okay. Moving on to Colorado, another place I've been to and probably
gets a lots and lots of snow and think and it says here that you must
have chains and, you know, carry change with you and you must have
like snow rated tires and all wheel drive ready, I guess,
in all snow emergencies.
Now, this kind of makes sense because in a place like, you know, Colorado,
I'm sure they've got lots of snow and lots of like conditions where they need
like chains and formal drive, all wheel drive and all the, you know,
stuff you need in a snow climate.
And it says it's required, I guess, in snow emergencies.
That's probably because if you're going to go out to your local McDonald's
drive-through or something stupid or whatever you got to do, that if it's
snowing and it's, you know, a big snowstorm, they don't want you leaving
the house. I want you to go anywhere unless you're properly prepared
with the right tires, snow chains, that kind of stuff.
So that kind of makes sense.
OK, now we're moving to a multiple state combo here.
It says here that in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado,
all of them say that you are not allowed to idle your car
for any more than one to five minutes maximum.
Even if it's cold outside now, I would think that when it's cold,
like I've done this myself, is that I've idled my truck, fired it up,
let it run for like a few minutes before I get going with it,
especially if it's really cold.
Now, it doesn't get cold enough here to where like it makes a huge difference.
Like I mean, the truck isn't covered in ice.
It's not a big ice block, but I've heard of stories where it gets
close to zero degrees here in some places of America.
And I can only imagine what that's like.
Imagine the cold, so cold, you don't feel like your your lungs or nothing,
you know, and your car probably can't even start once it gets going.
You kind of have to like let everything kind of like warm up
because your fluid, especially oil, it's like it's down there
in the engine block and needs to get going, get warmed up
and move around the engine and kind of lubricate the parts properly.
So you don't like step on the gas pedal.
The pistons start running around with, you know, low oil pressure
or not fluid.
The fluid isn't like circulated around the engine block like it should.
And you know, you could break things.
I totally get it.
But to have a law about this not allowing you to idle for five minutes.
Well, I've done that.
We've all done that, especially when it's cold.
We all do it.
But I think what they're probably thinking is that like maybe
they don't want anybody like sleeping in their car while it's running.
That's what I could think of, maybe.
Why would you actually do that?
So I don't know.
That's something to think about now.
That is in the states of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado.
OK, speaking of cold states that I've never been to
and probably never will go to unless I have to go there.
And that is Wisconsin, you know, Wisconsin's way up by the border,
up by Canada. And it says here in the state of Wisconsin,
you must and you must yield to snow plows.
Now, this one does make sense if the road is covered in snow
and the snow plows coming down, little lights on, it's doing its thing.
It's pushing all the snow over to the side of the road.
One thing is you have to yield for that vehicle
because you do want those snow plows to come through
and clear out all the roads so you can drive on it.
And we all can, you know, go to our destinations.
Do what we got to do, especially after a big snow storm.
Now, I did also here.
Now, this is what I've heard.
I've never experienced this myself
because I've never lived in a snow climate
is that you don't want to park your car on the side of the road
when the snow plows are coming through
because I did hear that the snow on the road
gets thrown to the side of the road in like big chunks of snow,
especially a place like Wisconsin, where they get like not just inches
of snow, multiple, multiple feet of snow come down.
And when that happens, I would think that there's a big,
you know, section of snow on the highway
and they push it off to the side of the road.
And if your car is sitting over there, it's going to bury your car.
So now you're screwed again.
You know, you're stuck on the side of the road.
You've got a whole like car covered in snow.
What do you do? How do you get out of there?
So that's something to consider if you live in Wisconsin.
Now, another place that I've never been to,
but I've always kind of wanted to just out of curiosity,
is Alaska, way up north in Alaska.
So in the state of Alaska, did you know that it is illegal
to tow sleds with people behind your car?
Now, I could imagine this probably happened before,
because I've seen plenty of YouTube videos with knuckleheads
doing things like this, maybe not in the snow,
but I've seen people skateboarding, of course.
And like I like those little little like dollies
that you use, they're like mechanics used to get under the car
and creep your crawlies or whatever you call them,
where they can roll out under.
They're like big skateboards for your body, but you lay on it.
I see people and things like that being pulled around
the parking lot at like a Costco or something like that.
I mean, like funny, fun stuff like that.
And then they're getting wept around
and they slide into a shopping cart,
you know, section thing or something.
Yeah, it's kind of like that.
So basically, if you're in the state of Alaska,
it's illegal to actually tow sleds with people in it
from your car running down the road.
Moving on to the cool car related stuff.
That would be car modification laws.
Now, if you've got a cool car,
obviously you probably think hard and long
about which modifications you could do or can't do.
What things are illegal?
What things can I get away with?
You know, things like that.
So here we go.
There's only a few of these here,
but here we go anyways right here in the state of California.
And it's illegal to have any kind
of lighting modifications at all
that resemble emergency vehicles.
So basically no red and blue lights on the front of your car.
No, you know, anything that could resemble a cop car
lighting wise. So I've seen this.
I've actually seen cars that have like,
I don't know, these weird lights on them.
Maybe they're fog lights or some kind of weird lights
that could resemble like a red color or maybe a purple color.
And those kind of be illegal.
So it is illegal to have anything it looks like
or could be mistaken for in like a emergency vehicle
or a police car, things like that.
OK, moving on to Minnetonka, Minnesota,
a place I have never been and may never go.
I don't know. We'll see.
If you want to buy me there, you know, pay for a flight
in hotel, yeah, maybe we'll stop by. I don't know.
So in that town in Minnesota,
it is illegal to drop mud and debris from your tires.
Well, if it rains and you go off roading,
what are you supposed to do?
You know, I do know that when I was doing construction here
that they made a big deal about having these mud like grates
you would cross over before you go onto the job site
and then leave the job site onto the public road.
There was like these metal grates
that had these like notches that pointed up almost like a
like don't say teeth, but it kind of had like these ridges
or whatever in there and in the metal like plates,
big tall ridges, the ridges would spike up
probably like four inches or whatever, three or four inches
and you'd run your tires over them.
And I and the idea of it was that it would like knock off
all the mud and crap off your tires off of it
before it would like you leave and go onto the regular road.
But it didn't always work.
It may work for the most part
because they made a big stink about having any kind of like mud
or any kind of like job site like debris or anything, you know,
dirt because some of these job sites would be full of mud
when it rains or even like the water truck would go around
and post down all the water for the job sites
and keep the dust down, things like that.
There would be mud.
So I guess in the state of Minnesota,
it's in this town anyways, in Minnetonka,
that it's illegal to drop any mud or debris from your tires.
So if it does happen, you can get in trouble.
Which makes you wonder if it's illegal here, too,
because they didn't have those plates on the job sites.
OK, now this one says it's illegal in multiple states,
which I'm sure it's illegal here, too, in California, especially.
Now, that is if you have a diesel pickup truck of any kind
or diesel, maybe, yeah, probably a diesel truck,
I'm assuming like a personal vehicle, not like a bus or a semi,
maybe like a personal vehicle, a diesel one, really,
is that it says it's illegal to be rolling coal
in your diesel truck.
Now, I look up what the hell is rolling coal even mean?
Now, what it basically means is that, you know,
when you're behind a diesel truck and they're hitting the accelerator
and have that big, like black, like cloud of smoke
just like pillowing right out of the muffler,
just like blowing it like crazy.
That's what they mean.
It has this big, dark cloud of like it looks like
it looks like fog, smog, it looks bad.
It looks really bad when you see it.
It's loud when they do it.
And that is why it's illegal in multiple states
to be rolling coal with your diesel.
Get that thing figured out and fixed. Listen, I'm not a diesel mechanic.
I drive diesels at work, but I don't know nothing about them.
So there are like diesel things we have today,
newer technologies today, cleaner stuff today, cleaner diesels today
that really shouldn't be doing that.
So unless there's like a special switch or maybe some modification
that was done to make it happen on purpose, that's a different story.
So that is illegal in multiple states.
OK, now the next one is also illegal
in multiple states, probably right here in California.
I know it has to be true, especially if you ever seen
any of those street corner takeover videos.
You know what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about burnouts, tire squealing, things like that.
Now, if you were to get caught while doing these kind of crazy stunts,
it would be considered as exhibition of speed in many of these states.
So it's that really like a
aggressive driving, maybe reckless driving, things of that sort.
So basically, if you're caught doing a burnout, you know, you know,
you know, drifting, obviously the big one, that kind of stuff,
things that sort of things that really draw attention to your vehicle.
So basically, if you were caught at one of those side shows,
doing a burnout and you're, you know, drifting around,
hopefully to hit nobody, hopefully don't do that.
But if you're doing things like that, obviously, you know that you're
going to get in trouble for that.
You know you're breaking the law when you do that.
I think everybody does those kind of things.
They know they know they're breaking the law.
They're not going to like act stupid like, oh, I had no idea I couldn't do that.
I had no idea I couldn't do a burnout and like, oh, see this pulling people.
I had no idea. Oh my goodness.
Yeah, right.
Okay. And because I love you so much,
I'm going to throw on some extra bonus ones for you.
There's some bonus random laws for you in certain states now.
Now these might be a little crazy and they might sound stupid,
but don't forget that everything on this list was made
because somebody actually did this and put this into law.
So, but some of these, I don't know why they're even a crime.
So here in the state of Rhode Island,
it says right here that you must honk when passing someone.
Well, I followed up by flipping them off.
No, just kidding.
But that's something you would think to do.
I think if you pass somebody, they're going like really, really slow.
Of course, you honk at them and flip them off.
That's what you do, right? Right.
Yeah, I don't know about that.
But maybe that's why they made this law.
I don't know.
And in Westminster, Colorado,
it is illegal to pass the same checkpoint more than three times at a night.
Now, what they mean by that is basically
not like physically passing a DOI checkpoint,
which I thought it meant when I first read this.
No, it actually means that if you are like circling your local
or they have in Colorado, I don't know.
Let's just say a 7-Eleven, for example, or whatever it is.
If you're driving by it more than three times in the same night,
then they're considering this a legal.
Basically, it's almost like a drive-by kind of situation,
a scout in the area, things like that.
They were cruising, that's what I call the cruising law, right?
So there is a cruising law in the books, basically saying you can't cruise around
and drive by a certain place more than three times, obviously.
That way, they don't think you're stalking the place, going to rob the place,
maybe do a drive-by, shoot the place up, things like that.
That's basically what they want you to do is get where you got to go
and leave, and that's it.
OK, moving on down south to South Carolina, Hilton Head, to be exact.
Down there, it is illegal to store trash in your car.
How dare they? That's what I do all the time.
I have little trash bags and everything.
It's illegal to store trash in your car.
Maybe what they mean by that is that maybe they don't want you to like,
you know, stockpile a bunch of trash in your car, instead of like
taking your trash and putting it into like a dumpster,
they don't want your car to become a dumpster.
And I get that. I'm all for that.
But if you have like a trash bag, you ever go on a road trip?
We go on road trips all the time.
And what do we do?
We take the biggest McDonald's bag they give us.
That bag becomes the dedicated trash bag for everybody's leftovers
and trash and stuff goes into that trash bag.
And then we get, you know, get gas or get to wherever we're going to go.
We try, we toss out that bag and good to go.
We're done, right?
And topping it off with the very last crazy law I have on this entire list,
coming, bringing it back home to California, Arcadia, California, to be exact.
Now, if you're in the city of Arcadia in California, did you know
that if you're driving down the road and you see a bunch of peacocks
walking around, well, they have the right of way.
Yes, peacocks have the right of way in the state of California,
in the city of Arcadia, you're welcome.
And if you live in any of these areas and you're just finding out
for the first time right now today that you couldn't do that,
or that was even a law, we're like, whoa, I was doing that the whole entire time.
I had no idea.
I was riding my camel in Nevada and nobody even told me.
I got in trouble. I had no idea.
Thank you, Chris.
Well, you're welcome.
And if you want to reach out to me, you can write on my website
that is coolcarswithchris.com.
You can reach me right there.
You can subscribe to the show right there.
You can do lots of cool things right there.
I'm working on the website.
I'll probably, you know, find it with some new cool stuff.
But for right now, you can go over there right now,
subscribe to the show, find all my social media links,
message me directly through the website all right there.
And I want to say once again, thank you so much
for listening all the way to the very end of this episode.
Remember, these laws are there for a reason and they're there
because some idiot actually had to do this to make it a law.
So don't be that idiot.
And until next time, I'll see you later.
About this episode
Explore some of the most bizarre and unexpected driving laws across the United States, from prohibitions on driving blindfolded in Alabama to giving right-of-way to birds in Utah. The host shares amusing anecdotes and explains the likely origins of these quirky rules, highlighting how many laws exist because someone actually broke them first. The episode also covers animal-related laws, seasonal snow regulations, and car modification restrictions, sprinkled with humor and practical insights about driving culture in different states.
Original notes
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"Where your pipe dreams come true."
What do driving blindfolded, gorillas in the backseat, and camels on highways all have in common? They’re real traffic laws in the U.S.—and yes, someone actually did these things.
In this hilarious and head-shaking episode of Cool Cars with Chris, we break down the strangest, funniest, and most unexpected driving laws from across America. Whether you're a car lover, a road tripper, or just want to laugh at humanity's weirdest moments behind the wheel, this episode delivers.
🎧 You’ll learn:
Why you can’t reverse drive in Arizona
Where birds and peacocks have the right of way
Which states will ticket you for snow on your roof
Why rolling coal and burnouts are more than just obnoxious
- The state where frowning at a cop is illegal (yes, really)
00:00 – 🎙️ Intro: The Weirdest Traffic Laws in the U.S.
00:27 – 🚗 Ed Hanson’s Muffler Shoutout
02:01 – 📘 Driving Laws 101: How They Vary Across States
03:35 – 🤔 “Why Is This Even a Law?” Edition (Blindfolds, Reverse Driving & More)
06:42 – 🐫 Animal Laws on the Road (Camels, Birds, Elephants & Gorillas!)
10:27 – 🧠 “Somebody Definitely Did This” Laws (Comics, Frowning at Cops, Age Limits)
14:12 – ❄️ Seasonal Snow Laws (Winter Driving Rules by State)
20:11 – 🚜 Yield to Snowplows, No Sled Towing in Alaska
22:50 – 🔧 Illegal Car Mods (Lights, Coal Rolling, Burnouts & Takeovers)
28:12 – 🎁 Bonus Round: Strange & Random State Traffic Laws
31:27 – 💭 Final Thoughts: Don’t Be the Reason a Law Exists
31:49 – 🌐 Outro: Connect at coolcarswithchris.com
This episode of Cool Cars with Chris dives into the weirdest driving laws in America, covering strange traffic laws by state, illegal car mods, and funny vehicle regulations. Whether you’re searching for weirdest traffic laws in the USA, illegal exhaust mods in California, rolling coal laws, or winter driving ticket rules, we’ve got you covered. We also talk about exhibition of speed laws, car customization regulations, banned vehicle modifications, and surprising seasonal driving laws. Learn about bizarre state laws involving animals on the road, frowning at police officers, and even peacocks having the right of way. If you’re into automotive podcasts, car culture, and road trip trivia, this episode is packed with hilarious and head-scratching info for car enthusiasts everywhere.
#WeirdDrivingLaws #CarMods #CoolCarsWithChris #TrafficLawTrivia #RollingCoal #IllegalCarMods #CarPodcast #CaliforniaCarLaws #USDrivingLaws
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