In order to keep the peace, those in charge have to implement some rules to prevent their citizens from disturbing the peace. However, not all rules are created equal and it would seem that almost every single country in the world has had their own share of “brain cramps” when it comes to driving rules.

It does not matter at all whether the thing that prompted the rule-makers to put these on paper was something out of the ordinary or not, they are still violations in the eyes of justice (whatever that means), and breaking these rules will need to carry out a consequence one way or another; by a hefty fine or something of the like.

Different cultures have extremely varied ways of seeing what is right and what is wrong, though some groups of countries do have a few similarities in how they run. With the said, it certainly is interesting to see what other nations find as normal and mundane to us to be completely unacceptable to them.

Some of these we might know already, simply due to how outrageous they are and a few might be common knowledge. Regardless, those in charge have the right to rule over their domain however they see fit and it is up to them if they really do want to enforce these rules diligently or not. Not trying to throw shade on anybody here but several of the rules here don’t even need to be stated as they only require simple logic and common sense.

19 Headlights, Camera, Action! – Sweden

Drivers in Sweden are actually required to turn on their headlights while on the road even if the sun is out shining. Are the lights needed? Well, it depends on the weather, really. This falls under the category of rules that kind of make sense, but kind of don’t.

Nothing will be lost to the drivers if they simply turn on their lights anyway, so might as well just follow this rule. It is a good thing that daytime running lights have caught on now, and we have the first generation Audi R8 to thank for that.

18 Black Car Sunday – USA

Denver, Colorado has its fair share of interesting eccentricities; call them quirks and features (a la Doug DeMuro) if you will. One of the idiosyncrasies of this place is that no cars are supposed to be driven around town on Sundays! You read that right. Now, talk about ridiculousness at its absolute finest.

Every single person in Denver knows that this rule is never, ever enforced so they should probably take a big eraser and wipe out that absurd rule for good.

17 Guesstimate Speed Gun – Austria

People can roughly estimate how fast something is going just by looking at them against stationary points of reference. Legislators from Austria have so much faith in this human skill that police officers can actually give tickets to cars going over the speed limit in zones of 30 kmh or less, without the use of any speed gun or machine of the like.

Personally, I don’t think the police enforce these rules a lot unless the violator is obviously going over the speed limit and endangering other people in the area.

16 No Splashing – Japan

Those in Japan are the most courteous people anyone will ever come across in their lives. They take respect and courtesy to the highest level which is exactly why splashing pedestrians on the sidewalk with puddles on the gutter is not only a rule but also incredibly frowned upon even if the driver did it by accident.

Drivers can easily avoid these types of situations by being attentive with what they are doing, where the car is at, and what the condition of the weather is so there really is no excuse for this one.

15 Ghost Rider – USA

In all honesty, some rules don’t even need to be stated because of how obvious they are. Californians beg to differ though since they have a rule that says no car is allowed to be unoccupied and exceed a speed of 60 mph, that’s approximately a hundred kilometers an hour for the rest of the world.

Leaving a car in neutral without the parking brake engaged is already even dangerous, not to mention the same car in motion, but 60 mph? Someone has to be completely out of their minds to even try that sort of thing.

14 Sunday Car Wash – Switzerland

What a lot of us view as a perfect Sunday is a simple breakfast with a nice cup of a caffeinated beverage and then going out on the driveway to clean the car. This is actually a big no-no for the Swiss as people are not allowed to have their cars washed on Sundays.

You will be glad to know that this rule is never really enforced even though it is official. It looks like some people love their cars more than Raclettes. If people start to wash their cars at 11:59 PM on Saturdays, would they be breaking the rule then?

13 Hunger And Thirst – Cyprus

In the interesting land of Cyprus, drivers are absolutely prohibited to take their hands off the steering wheel. This, unfortunately, includes eating, drinking, reading a book, and everything else that distracts the driver (which is pretty reasonable, if you think about it), the only downside is some people actually like having a bite of food every now and then or a sip of water while behind the steering wheel especially on long road trips.

We’re not actually sure if the police enforce this rule though so that’s our take away. Keep your hands where they can see them.

12 Off Limits To Gorillas – USA

How do you think gorillas are transported from one place to another? Apparently, somebody in the past thought it would be a good idea to just put a big primate in the back seat, as Massachusetts' legislators explicitly declared that this is completely against the rules...

Now I really want to know how that story ended. We do not need to reiterate how dangerous powerful animals such as a gorilla can be, especially in an enclosed space with a human being in close proximity.

11 Your Time Has Come – Philippines

Manila is quite a hectic metropolis to begin with and the traffic there is nothing compared to the traffic jams people in the Western Hemisphere might be accustomed to. This is the reason why license plates that end with the numbers 0 and 1 are not allowed to be driven on Mondays, 2 and 3 on Tuesdays and so forth; you get the point.

Traffic police do give out tickets to those who violate this rule. Although the reason is to minimize the number of vehicles on the road, it doesn’t help the traffic situation much at all.

10 Livestock Coming Through – South Africa

South Africa is a nice country to have country adventures in. Let this be a warning though, as livestock is abundant in the South African countryside and they cross the road as they please and it can be a big inconvenience to anyone traversing the road.

However, no matter how much travelers want to go about their merry way, they can’t move the livestock unless they want to be fined. Looks like some people value the livestock’s time more than the citizens’. I guess the only solution for this is to just wave at the animals as they walk on by and enjoy the stationary scenery.

9 Clean Your Junk – Russia

Having a clean, spotless car or truck is one of the best feelings in the world. It’s not so much about the fact that a clean car is nice to look at, but the government in Russia would like to keep a certain level of quality with their city living standards, specifically in Moscow.

A dirty car driving around is certainly a ghastly sight to see and it tells other people about a few things on the driver. Violators can actually get a heavy fine for breaking this rule.

8 Moose Crossing (And More) – Finland

Driving in the snow with minimal grip and limited visibility is already a daunting task in and of itself; however, mix in some creatures that weigh hundreds of pounds regularly crossing the road and some accidents are bound to happen. Accidentally crashing into a moose while driving is not against the rules per se, but not reporting a roadkill related accident to the authorities is.

Not quite sure how they enforce this though since there is no way for the police to know who didn’t report the accident.. if nobody reported it yet.

7 Clothed Driver – Thailand

Many of us have thought about going to beautiful Thailand for some R and R but what we did not know is that drivers, no matter what vehicle they might be driving, whether a car, motorcycle or even a tuk-tuk, are prohibited to be behind the steering wheel without a clothing item covering their torso.

This is weird because a lot of locals and even tourists there enjoy a peaceful walk around town with no top on whatsoever. Maybe the Thai government does not want the drivers’ seats to stink of sweat and B. O., we will never know.

6 Dunkin’ No Parkin’ – USA

We are positive that the local government in Maine just LOVES their doughnuts so much that they deemed it against the rules to park your car in front of the entrance. Why don’t they make it prohibited to park in front of a McDonald's while they are at it? They certainly love their fried chicken and burgers as well.

Or maybe the entrance parking lot is reserved for enforcement officials since their love for the sweet, fried, glazed, desert/breakfast treat is known far and wide. It’s surprising how they didn’t include Krispy Kreme, too.

5 Touch And Go – UK

One will never be able to count how many times guys have peed on the wheels of their cars at the absence of a proper toilet, but public urination isn’t something the Brits take lightly. A few male rule makers have probably had enough of this rule and made it so that if the person is touching their car, they are allowed to pee on it as they please.

The UK doesn’t have a shortage of weird rules; apparently, they aren’t even allowed to “handle fish in a weird fashion in public”, whatever that means.

4 Reckless Shoelessness – Spain

There are two types of drivers. Some people like to drive with footwear on and some without. The latter probably like to walk around in soaking wet socks too, if you ask me. Well, to each his own, I guess.

With that said, Spain is having absolutely none of it and they have decided that it is against the rules to drive barefoot. Violators can actually be slapped with a heavy fine and a ticket, which I don’t think is enough for people who like to have their bare feet on the pedals.

3 Bad Breath Bandit – Canada

Apparently, cab drivers in Ontario, Canada can report customers with bad breath to the authorities if they have bad breath. What is interesting to us though is what prompted rules makers to pass this bill through. How about people who haven’t showered for days? I’m positive that a couple days’ worth of body odor is so much more unpleasant than bad breath; at least the perpetrators can keep their mouths shut and that’ll be the end of it.

No matter how late people from Canada are for work or school, they still need to brush their teeth before leaving (but a swig of mouthwash might do the trick as well).

2 Don't Try To Avoid Those Speed Cameras – France

Drivers all around the world have been taking mental notes of where those pesky speed cameras and detectors are located and to help them recall, they install navigation systems that can detect these machines.

It’s a good thing that the French police can actually impound the vehicle and give a hefty fine to those who have it on their dashboard. It is a known fact that speeding through busy neighborhoods is never a good idea.

1 Stunt Double – USA

This one is yet another weird rules from the perpetually vibrant state of California. It is against the rules to jump off of a moving car at 65 miles per hour. Yes, it is incredibly dangerous to jump off any moving car for that matter.

So does this mean that stunts like the picture shown from a Fast and Furious movie are not allowed? Does this make Tyrese Gibson a rules breaker? We have so many questions but only a few answers. Oh, California, you never do cease to amaze, do you?

Sources: carwow.co.uk wilsons.co.uk visual.ly hotcars.com