Stupid, Archaic and Weird Highway Laws

[mightyace]

What traffic laws have you heard about that are stupid (dumb), archaic (outdated) or just plain weird (strange)?

I've start off with two from Tennessee that I've also mentioned elsewhere.

(Stupid) A law require all county seats in Tennessee to have a four lane divided highway (expressway) to them.  Why do towns of under 5,000 need a four lane road just because they're a county seat?

(Weird/Stupid) Several years ago a law was passed to make it legal to pick up "road kill" and take it home and eat it!  (And people wonder why the rest of the world thinks the South is backward.  )

[Terry Shea]

What traffic laws have you heard about that are stupid (dumb), archaic (outdated) or just plain weird (strange)?

I've start off with two from Tennessee that I've also mentioned elsewhere.

(Stupid) A law require all county seats in Tennessee to have a four lane divided highway (expressway) to them.  Why do towns of under 5,000 need a four lane road just because they're a county seat?

(Weird/Stupid) Several years ago a law was passed to make it legal to pick up "road kill" and take it home and eat it!  (And people wonder why the rest of the world thinks the South is backward.  )

You mean to tell me that for all these years these redneck, hillbillies have been illegally eating roadkill?

[mightyace]

You mean to tell me that for all these years these redneck, hillbillies have been illegally eating roadkill?

Yep, and many of them, still, wash it down with illegal "Moonshine."

[agentsteel53]

I thought you were allowed to distill your own shine in personal quantities - like under 5 liters a year or something - too... or is that Finland? 

[flowmotion]

I heard this years ago, if it is BS, Froggie will probably correct me.

But, the story goes, when Minnesota was building it's freeway system, the state constitution only allowed for "Farm to Market" roads. Because of this, MNDOT built farmers markets in various locations, such as under I-94 near downtown Minneapolis, so that they could meet the letter of the law.

It's also the reason that MN-62 and US-169 freeways were originally built as county roads, as suburb-to-suburb highways they didn't qualify under the "Farm to Market" provision.

[froggie]

Yep...that's BS.  Article 14 of the state Constitution covers public roads, and there is no such requirement.

The urban counties have always had their fair share of county state-aid highways (CSAH).  In fact, Hennepin County's route system is almost exclusively CSAH.  And it was that state-aid that allowed them to build what is now MN 62 and US 169.

[Hellfighter]

In Youngstown, it's illegal to run out of gas!

[mightyace]

In Youngstown, it's illegal to run out of gas!

Most of Youngstown is so run down, I wouldn't want to run out of gas! 

[Hellfighter]

In Youngstown, it's illegal to run out of gas!

Most of Youngstown is so run down, I wouldn't want to run out of gas! 

Yeah, you could get stuck for a while! 

[FLRoads]

Well, there was a guy driving naked down a Florida road like a week ago and all the cops told him to do was put his clothes back on. He got pulled over for speeding (or something) and when the cop approached the car he observed that the male driver had no clothes on. It was revealed that it is not illegal for a driver in Florida to drive in the nude. Of course driving around naked would be difficult if you were sitting in a leather seat, especially if its roasting outside and you are sweating...

[donutbandit]

My pet peeve is the stupid California pedestrian crosswalk law. If a pedestrian is standing at the entrance to a crosswalk, I have to bring my 3,000 pound vehicle to a screeching halt to allow them to cross. It's idiotic.

Where I work, there is a crosswalk across a very busy 4 lane street. In the 3 years I have been there, I have seen 2 peds hit and 3 rear end collisions where unattentive drivers plowed into the back of vehicles stopped for that crosswalk.

When I cross that street, I wait for a break, and jaywalk. I'm not going to hang myself out to dry in that crosswalk. What if I'm crossing in front of someone who's stopped and that vehicle gets rearended? What's going to happen to me then?

This is one of the stupidest laws I've ever heard of. I've actually had motorists come to a grinding halt when I'm standing on the sidewalk waiting for a break. I don't cross a street in front of running automoblies, nor do I cross a 4 lane street where 3 lanes of traffic are stopped, and the 4th lane could be occupied by some blithering fool yakking on a cell phone who won't see me crossing because the traffic stopped in the other lanes blocks his view.

[SSOWorld]

It's not only California that has such a law - I bet you could not name a state that has it.

Many of them are pedestrian friendly in that one must yield the right-of-way to a ped in a crosswalk (Jaywalkers - you're on your own )

It might be stupid - but it is necessary - since otherwise I would bet that drivers wouldn't even give a hoot and keep going.

[vdeane]

Here in Rochester, NY they don't even give a hoot and keep going even if the pedestrian is in a crosswalk.  You need a red light to get them to stop (even a stop sign is not sufficient).

[deathtopumpkins]

I know in VA according to state law if there is a pedestrian entering a crosswalk you MUST yield to them. And VDOT isn't shy about posting signs proclaiming that fact either. Does it mean that people always will? No, but at least people aren't stupid enough to just walk out and hope they don't get hit, they at least wait to make sure that you stop, so not many people get hit (from what I've seen anyway) because of it.

[Terry Shea]

My pet peeve is the stupid California pedestrian crosswalk law. If a pedestrian is standing at the entrance to a crosswalk, I have to bring my 3,000 pound vehicle to a screeching halt to allow them to cross. It's idiotic.

Where I work, there is a crosswalk across a very busy 4 lane street. In the 3 years I have been there, I have seen 2 peds hit and 3 rear end collisions where unattentive drivers plowed into the back of vehicles stopped for that crosswalk.

When I cross that street, I wait for a break, and jaywalk. I'm not going to hang myself out to dry in that crosswalk. What if I'm crossing in front of someone who's stopped and that vehicle gets rearended? What's going to happen to me then?

This is one of the stupidest laws I've ever heard of. I've actually had motorists come to a grinding halt when I'm standing on the sidewalk waiting for a break. I don't cross a street in front of running automoblies, nor do I cross a 4 lane street where 3 lanes of traffic are stopped, and the 4th lane could be occupied by some blithering fool yakking on a cell phone who won't see me crossing because the traffic stopped in the other lanes blocks his view.

That's not a stupid law, that's stupid, selfish, inconsiderate drivers, most of whom shouldn't be on the road if their driving skills and level of observance are so poor.  And yeah, that's pretty much a universal law there, not just a California anomaly.

[Alps]

Crosswalk discussion moved to "Crosswalks" in https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=1220.0

[Tarkus]

The big stupid/archaic one here in Oregon: 55mph maximum speed limit on non-Interstates.  It's absolutely disgusting that we've still got NMSL holdover here.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[Revive 755]

The big stupid/archaic one here in Oregon: 55mph maximum speed limit on non-Interstates.  It's absolutely disgusting that we've still got NMSL holdover here.

-Alex (Tarkus)

It's also annoying for parts of US 30 and US 34 in western Iowa that seem to have been designed to be posted at 65.

Other nominations:

* State highway mileage cap laws - Been discussed elsewhere, but I think it is extremely bad to have them in areas where the population is growing and new facilities expected.

* Speed limit laws that place more emphasis on the highway designation than the design of the road - A well designed former alignment of US 77 between Ceresco and Wahoo in Nebraska likely had the speed limit drop from 60 to 55 when US 77 received a new four lane alignment and the old road removed from the state system.  Then there's Iowa where only interstates can be 70 but an otherwise identical freeway can only be posted at 65 - though some sections like US 20 probably deserve an interstate number anyway.

* Basing speed limits on the urban/rural distinction - Like above, this is a case where the design of the facility in question and actual traffic volumes should be the determining factors, not some politician hundreds of miles away in a capital.  A fictional example would be the Kansas Turnpike dropping from 70 to 60 just because it passes by the urban area of Topeka even though it has few exits there.

[Truvelo]

Re the original post about roadkills. In this country it's illegal for the person who killed the animal to take it home but anyone who spots a dead animal in the road is allowed to take it

As for running out of fuel - it's perfectly legal here as you often see cars parked on the shoulder then a mile or so later you see someone walking with a fuel can

[Bickendan]

The big stupid/archaic one here in Oregon: 55mph maximum speed limit on non-Interstates.  It's absolutely disgusting that we've still got NMSL holdover here.

-Alex (Tarkus)

And then there are the drivers who can't even drive that fast on these roads holding everyone else up, and there's enough opposing traffic to disallow passing... but that's not directly a stupid law problem.

[Tarkus]

And then there are the drivers who can't even drive that fast on these roads holding everyone else up, and there's enough opposing traffic to disallow passing... but that's not directly a stupid law problem.

*cough* OR-99W *cough*.  I know the stretch between Junction City and McMinnville probably better than the back of my own hand.  It's well-built, has wide shoulders, and you can comfortably travel 65mph on it.  But 50% of the time, you'll run into some yahoos who don't know how to drive on a rural 2-lane road, who proceed to drive 50mph while straddling the white line.  Annoying as heck.

And speaking of Oregon's arcane speed limit laws, I've just started a "75mph or bust" group on Facebook, for those who are interested.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[njroadhorse]

This one made me laugh so hard, especially for NJ

All motorists must honk before passing another car, bicyclist, skater, and even a skateboarder.

That explains why everyone honks on the GWB, to tell other people they're trying to get around someone!

[Katavia]

This one made me laugh so hard, especially for NJ

All motorists must honk before passing another car, bicyclist, skater, and even a skateboarder.

That explains why everyone honks on the GWB, to tell other people they're trying to get around someone!

[US 41]

I guess in Kentucky and Michigan you're car insurance pays for your car only. That means if you have liability only insurance and you're involved in an accident that is someone else's fault, you're screwed. What's the point of even having car insurance in those states?

[renegade]

... A law require all county seats in Tennessee to have a four lane divided highway (expressway) to them.  Why do towns of under 5,000 need a four lane road just because they're a county seat?

Lynchburg is the seat of metropolitan Moore County, home of the Jack Daniel's distillery.  I do not recall a four-lane highway or expressway of any type leading into Lynchburg.