Texas Driving Laws; The Craziest Ones Still On The Books

By Amy Kitchel


Did you know that in the state of Tennessee it is illegal to shoot any game from a moving vehicle except for whales? Or that in Montana it is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your car without a chaperone? There are silly and antiquated driving laws all around the United States - some of the most ridiculous are here in the great state of Texas.

Lots of us have experienced the pain of getting a ticket for going too fast on Texas roads and highways. You can also be ticketed for going too slow! Police officers say if you're blocking traffic or creating a road hazard by driving unreasonably slowly you can be cited for impeding traffic.

In Richardson it is illegal to do a U-Turn. Signs are posted at major intersections but motorists can be stopped anywhere in the city and fined up to $225 for doing a U-Turn or any other kind of "improper turn." It seems in Richardson, they like to keep their citizens on the straight and narrow.

Across the state in Lubbock County, it is illegal to drive within an arm's length of alcohol - even if that alcohol is in someone else's bloodstream. So, next time you're in Lubbock and think about being the designated driver for your group of friends, make sure you are a big enough car to keep anyone who has had too much more than an arm's length away.

In Garland, Texas, a man who received a red light camera ticket earlier this month caught some confusion about what exactly he was fined for. He told one of the local news broadcasts that he was sure he crossed the stop line when the light was still yellow. At his hearing his hearing, a police officer came to inform him that the stop line wasn't where he thought it was -instead he said it is "a lateral line parallel to the curb of the cross street or, ten feet farther out than where it actually starts." Confused? Us too. Confusion abounds when it comes to red light cameras across the state.

As it stands now, Texas law states that the violation line is at the stop line before the crosswalk. Governor Perry is considering legislation that will clear up the confusion about where a driver needs to stop when the light is red.

Keeping track of all the laws in Galveston is the hardest; they have the highest number of laws and some of the most ridiculous. If you're thinking about heading down to the coast keep these things in mind; you can't drive your car down Broadway Street before noon on a Sunday. Also, you can only ride your bicycle at a "reasonable speed," You also can't sit on the sidewalk (or risk a $500 fine!) and throwing trash out of an airplane onto the beach - or landing that airplane on the beach - is also strictly forbidden.




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