Not All Vehicular Laws Are Well Known or Observed

Traffic laws have as their subjects safe driving practices to protect life, limb and property. Many, such as obeying speed limits and wearing a seat belt, are well-known and seem obvious. Yet, these laws are commonly violated. Other laws exist in various degrees of obscurity. Violations of motor vehicle laws, regardless of the level of drivers’ familiarity with them, result in tickets, license and insurance points, higher insurance costs, personal injuries, property damage and even death. It’s almost shocking how many different traffic laws there are which people ignore regularly without recognizing it. The below list, though not exhaustive, affords a flavor of common violations and lesser-known motor vehicle laws. Hopefully it can help you to keep a clean driving record and avoid any potential law breaking, intentional or otherwise. 

Commonly Broken Vehicle Laws

There’s many different vehicle laws that are broken. Some of the most common laws that people flaunt include: 

• Smartphone Use - Roughly one in four motor vehicle crashes involved the use of a cell or wireless phone. In most states, distracted driving laws prohibit texting while driving. This includes reading a text as well as sending one. Some jurisdictions outlaw anyone from using a cell phone with hands while driving. Teens and school bus drivers in many states face a ban against cell phone operation.
• Driving While Impaired - Driving under the influence of alcohol has long stood as a common (and serious) traffic violation. In 2018, nearly 20.5 million motorists aged 16 years old and over operated a vehicle while impaired by alcohol. Another 12.6 million drove under the influence of drugs other than alcohol, which translates to roughly 38 percent of driving under the influence incidents. These non-alcoholic impairing substances include opioids, other prescription drugs, illegal drugs and even over-the-counter medications. Driving while impaired by controlled or over-the-counter substances is as much a traffic crime as is being impaired by alcohol.
• Tailgating - Offenses for tailgating go under the more formal phrase of “following too closely.” Statutes typically define “too close” as dependent upon the speed and road or other driving conditions existing at the time. In some jurisdictions, a rear-end collision generally creates at least a rebuttable presumption that the offending driver either did not follow at a safe distance or failed to reduce speed to prevent the crash. As a rule of thumb, a motorist should stay at least three seconds behind another vehicle.
• Not Telling the License Agency About a Move - Moving brings with it many tasks, including furniture delivery, deactivating utilities in the former home and turning them on at the new place, and notifying various parties of the new address. The driver’s license agency or bureau of a state is one such party entitled to notification of the driver’s new address. Citations for failing to give such notice often accompany other violations, such as speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, or expired registrations or inspections, noted or observed in a traffic stop.

Obscure Laws People Don’t Realize Exist

Some people may not realize that bicycles are actually classified as motor vehicles. Treating bicycles as motor vehicles may defy common understandings of the term. Thanks to the wording of motor vehicle statutes, operators of bicycles and other items that aren’t cars or trucks find themselves under the protection of and subject to the obligations of motor vehicle laws. This includes:

• Mopeds
• Golf carts
• All-terrain vehicles
• Riding lawn mowers

In fact, driving these kinds of motor vehicles on a public road or area under the influence of alcohol can earn the perpetrator a driving while impaired conviction.

Owing to the broad definitions of motor vehicles, many trailers must abide by certain motor vehicles laws. Violations by those pulling trailers often arise from the failure to register and display license plates for trailers. Laws in certain states impose requirements for properly-functioning turn signals and brake lights.

Driving well below the speed limit does more than annoy other motorists. On certain highways, especially four-lane ones, not driving at or near the speed limit constitutes the offense of obstructing the normal flow of traffic. Many states require slower vehicles to remain on the outermost or non-passing lane of two or more lanes traveling in the same direction.

States have enacted traffic laws requiring motorists to move over (if safe) or slow when approaching police, ambulance and fire vehicles with their siren lights operating. That these first-responders are protected by such laws does not seem surprising. However, what is less obvious is that (in many states), “move-over” laws also apply when motorists come upon a wrecker, trash collection vehicle or other vehicles with activated amber lights.