You can’t wash your car with underpants?! 10 most absurd car rules in the world

In many countries of the world, very strange legislative initiatives have been in place for several years, including those relating to motorists. Some of them were adopted at a time when such vehicles only appeared in cities, sharing the roadway with horse-drawn carriages – many of them have not yet been canceled. Others are a consequence of the case law system in some Western countries. They all sound extremely absurd and even anecdotal. However, when going on a trip abroad, it is better to take them quite seriously. Otherwise, there is a chance to run into a fine – and rather big.

Do not wash your car with underwear (California, USA)

In San Francisco, California, the owner of a car is prohibited from using used underwear as a tool for washing it. The law does not say anything about clean linen, but it’s better to look for another rag. History is silent about where such a ridiculous legislative initiative came from. However, it is probably based on a funny story that they simply do not want to put on public display.

▶︎ Fact: in the same state, the speed limit for a car that moves without a driver is 100 km / h. Apparently, today this applies to autonomous vehicles, although the directive itself was clearly adopted long before there were prospects for their distribution. In neighboring Oregon, only since 2018, car drivers were allowed to refuel them on their own – previously only a special refueling worker could do this.

You can not install the navigator in the center of the windshield (Slovakia)

Car drivers often install portable navigators in the central part of the windshield. This allows you not to be distracted from the road to see the direction of further movement. However, on the territory of Slovakia, this is definitely not worth doing – the driver will have to pay a fine for this. The officially prescribed location for a portable navigator, according to local law, is the lower left corner of the windshield. Apparently, there this device will distract less from the movement.

You can take bribes from drivers, but you can’t hide them (South Korea)

While in the rest of the world it is forbidden for officials to take bribes, in South Korea a patrol officer can do it absolutely legally. However, for each amount received from a motorist, he is obliged to report in great detail to his superiors. Than it threatens the driver who has given a bribe to the policeman, in the local legislation is not specified. However, it is hard to believe that many here are trying to verify this on their own experience.

Camera position apps cannot be installed (France)

What unscrupulous motorists will not come up with in order to drive faster, but at the same time not to acquire fines. Around the same time as the mass installation of police cameras in cities, applications began to gain popularity, where they are all marked on the map. By and large, this plus or minus is legal everywhere except France – at least in many countries it is simply not prohibited. If a local police officer finds such an application in a driver, he faces an impressive fine – up to 1,500 euros. If such software is used here, it should look absolutely neutral and definitely not attract the attention of local traffic police officers.

Bare-chested driving is not allowed (Thailand)

Despite the terrible heat, the driver of the vehicle here simply has to be dressed in at least some semblance of a T-shirt or T-shirt. Topless driving is fined. The bare-chested ban also applies to two-wheeled vehicles, including scooters and motorcycles. This is the most popular offense in Thailand – however, this law is most often violated by uninformed tourists. As practice shows, a driver without outerwear will certainly attract attention in many other countries where it is quite possible to drive like this according to the law.

It is impossible without windshield wipers, even if there is none (Luxembourg)

Luxembourg has unambiguous car laws. If you have a car, it must have wipers. The local police are not interested that your ultra-expensive sports car has no windshield at all. It’s simple: either install wipers or pay a fine. The list of vehicles that are at risk (there is no windshield in their design at all) is impressive: Lotus 2-Eleven, Caterham Seven Superlight R500, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, Lamborghini Aventador J, BAC Mono, VUHL 05. Many of these vehicles require a helmet to be driven, so the windshield is clearly superfluous.

▶︎ Fact: relatively recently, in 2000, another stupid car rule was canceled in this country. Previously, drivers were required to use a horn when overtaking absolutely any vehicle – even a bicycle. It’s hard to even imagine how wild the rumble was on local roads, where two-wheeled vehicles clearly dominate.

You can not repair the car directly on the street (Canada)

If you want to fix the car, go to the garage, service station or any other similar place. Otherwise, please pay the fine. The only exception is the moment when a breakdown makes it impossible to move the vehicle further. Despite the difference in provincial laws, this rule applies to absolutely all of Canada.

▶︎ Fact: some individual cities and provinces also have their own strange car laws here. For example, in Montreal it is forbidden to drive in a car on which an advertisement for its sale is pasted – it is allowed to hang it on the body only on parked cars.

You can’t start the car if someone is under it (Denmark)

This rule, to a greater extent, applies to car workshops. At the end of the repair, the master is obliged to get out of the inspection hole – only after that the vehicle is allowed to start. Otherwise, they can fine not only the unlucky employee, but the entire service station. However, it would be useful for any driver to check if someone lay down under the car before starting it, even outside the service station.

You can not smoke in the cabin in the city, but outside the city you can (Norway)

Very strange attitude towards smoking in a car in Norway. In the city, at the legislative level, it is forbidden to smoke in the passenger compartment of a car. It doesn’t matter what it is: a cigar, a cigarette or a pipe – in any case, the driver faces a serious fine. However, having left the city, you can safely smoke any device containing nicotine in the car – no one will say a word. It is difficult to say what exactly they achieve in this way. It is likely that they once wanted to make the air in cities cleaner.

▶︎ Fact: except Norway, there is a ban on smoking in the car in Greece. However, there is a slightly different story. The driver or any of the passengers is prohibited from smoking in the car if there is a child under the age of 12. Otherwise, there is a chance of running into a fine.

Don’t leave keys in your car unattended (Australia)

The driver is not allowed to leave the car, leaving the keys to it in the cabin. The police take this rule very seriously – especially when the keys were left in the ignition. Drivers who violate the law face a hefty fine. Arguments like “I forgot” or “I was in a hurry” are not of interest to the police – apparently, this can be regarded as the intentional transfer of control of personal transport to third parties who do not have the right to drive at all. I don’t have any other explanation.