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There are many traffic laws in the United States which may vary from one state to another, which residents of each state may have come to take for granted. Is there any sort of motorists' guide to these laws, and where and how they vary?

Here's some particular examples of items I'm looking for:

  • Right turn on red.
  • U-turn.
  • Passing in the right lane.
  • Non-passing usage of the left lane.
  • Left turn on red, from a one-way to a one-way.
  • Cell phone usage.
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There are other things like whether insurance is mandatory, possibly what paperwork you must have with you, whether you must have license plates front and back. Possibly seatbelt laws, etc. – hippietrail Sep 6 '11 at 19:26
@hippietrail - Usually, front/back license plate laws only apply for the state in which the vehicle is registered. So, that's not so much a concern for travelers. Seatbelt laws and personal/vehicle documentation availability could be important though. – Iszi Sep 6 '11 at 19:51
I was just remembering the time in 1990 when I was driving through Illinois in a California registered car with only a rear plate and Mr police man mentioned that that must be OK in California but went easy on me, possibly due to being a foreigner with short hair at the time (-: – hippietrail Sep 6 '11 at 20:08

1 Answer

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Heh, there are some awesome ones, especially as the US was the first country I'd experienced where people drive on the right hand side. Anyway..

This site:

http://www.gjel.com/news/state-driving-laws.html

Covers a LOT of the differences - in regards to ages, permits, cellphone / handheld laws, and older driving restrictions.

http://www.novacarhire.com/blog/article/8-tips-for-driving-in-the-united-states.html is an interesting blog post on the matter, and mentions some of the speeding, seatbelt and drinking laws.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety covers even more : http://www.iihs.org/laws/

And finally, the ultimate resource:

http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-ticket-violation-law/state-traffic-law/

has the driving and road code for every single state in the United States. Even Iowa ;)

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