# Change a driving law! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942 "2022-09-20T22:56:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/41 "2022-09-21T13:19:11Z")
Any car whose alarm goes off becomes fair game for eggs, rocks, bricks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/42 "2022-09-21T13:21:11Z")
Interesting, because many of the above are already law here in the UK. Although some (like tailgating = £100 + 3 points) are not well enforced. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/43 "2022-09-21T13:27:08Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > I would make it legal for drivers cruising AT the speed limit to intentionally move into the left lane in order to slow down the maniacs who are breaking the speed limit. Yes, it doesn’t make much sense to me to _require_ those driving in the left lane to exceed the speed limit - sort of means that’s not the speed limit anymore. > [@tofor](#): > > But first, all the speed limits other than strictly residential streets would be raised by at least 10-25 MPH. This one I’d have to change a little bit - although I’m not sure how to word it. [This](https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x89d04833ee0695f7%3A0xd2171cbab50c58d1!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Faniello%27s%2Bpizza%2Bcorning%2F%4042.1429176%2C-77.051701%2C3a%2C75y%2C196.32h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211s3hG_fkGIlUwn8Xiah1FagA*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x89d04833ee0695f7%3A0xd2171cbab50c58d1%3Fsa%3DX!5saniello%27s%20pizza%20corning%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2s3hG_fkGIlUwn8Xiah1FagA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKwYmK_aX6AhXwkYkEHRx9At8Qpx96BAhdEAw) street is not strictly residential but I’m not sure the speed limit should be more than 30 MPH ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/44 "2022-09-21T13:31:23Z")
Jaywalking shouldn’t be a law at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/45 "2022-09-21T13:35:02Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Fine for stopping in the right lane when you intend to go straight at a stop light. > [@carnut](#): > > I might make it okay to paintball a vehicle traveling slowly in the left lane without intention to turn at the next left, unless there is a traffic jam of course. > [@bob\_2](#): > > Interesting, because many of the above are already law here in the UK. Although some (like tailgating = £100 + 3 points) are not well enforced. The combination of the first two would be quite unworkable on a two-lane-in-each-direction road, especially in the U.K. which prohibits passing in the slow lane. In order to comply with all 3 laws, there would need to be a queue in the fast lane next to an empty slow/turning lane, and when the light goes green, all the slow cars - who would need to know ahead of time who they were, no improper guessing whether you will be slower or faster than the car ahead of you - would need to move to the right immediately upon moving, and upon approaching the next light, would have to move back to the fast lane again. Actually, it might work better with no undertaking, after all. Since even if the cars knew which order they’d need to be in and started to move over as soon as reasonably possible, there would be people who would try to undertake them _before_ it is reasonably possible, resulting in the slow car holding up traffic until the fast car can undertake them, at which point people in the back of the queue will get antsy and start to undertake themselves. And this queue would make the left hand turn lane an empty proposition unless you were one of the first people at the light. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/46 "2022-09-21T13:37:03Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > This one I’d have to change a little bit - although I’m not sure how to word it. [This](https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x89d04833ee0695f7%3A0xd2171cbab50c58d1!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Faniello%27s%2Bpizza%2Bcorning%2F%4042.1429176%2C-77.051701%2C3a%2C75y%2C196.32h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211s3hG_fkGIlUwn8Xiah1FagA*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x89d04833ee0695f7%3A0xd2171cbab50c58d1%3Fsa%3DX!5saniello%27s%20pizza%20corning%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2s3hG_fkGIlUwn8Xiah1FagA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKwYmK_aX6AhXwkYkEHRx9At8Qpx96BAhdEAw) street is not strictly residential but I’m not sure the speed limit should be more than 30 MPH Agreed. All the roads between the towns though… ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/47 "2022-09-21T13:39:45Z")
Amen, amen, amen! I won’t even verbalize the homicidal thoughts I’ve had about those people! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/48 "2022-09-21T13:40:41Z")
Good Lord, there’s a car across the street for the past few weeks whose car alarm goes off if you fart too loudly or stare too menacingly at it. Drives me up a goddamned wall. There have been at least two car thefts on our block over the summer, so I get it, but, man, can you dial down the sensitivity somehow? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/49 "2022-09-21T13:49:08Z")
I would institute the Dirtball Antigridlock Law of 2022. Of course, it’s a violation to enter an intersection if you can’t get all the way through and end up blocking cross traffic. But you don’t often see a cop when things get all tangled up, and even if one is around, well, that still hasn’t prevented the gridlock in the first place. So I propose that if you get a green light and some goober on the cross street is blocking your way, you, along with anyone else so motivated, are allowed to pull out your Louisville Slugger and go full Walter Sobchak on the offender’s car. This comes with two caveats. First, all laws still apply to non-offending cars and to all people. So if you give in to the temptation to whack the offending driver in the head, you’re on the hook for that one. Second, you’re not allowed to disable the car because, obviously, we want the driver to be able to clear the intersection at the first opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/50 "2022-09-21T14:12:06Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The other story which used the government marking cars for immediate removal from the roads was in the same SciFi collection (got to read that in 11th grade English). That was also a _very_ minor plot point in Heinlein’s “The Door Into Summer.” ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/51 "2022-09-21T14:22:00Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > So I propose that if you get a green light and some goober on the cross street is blocking your way, you, along with anyone else so motivated, are allowed to pull out your Louisville Slugger and go full Walter Sobchak on the offender’s car. From the UK Highway code: > 174 > Box junctions. These have criss-cross yellow lines painted on the road ([download ‘Road markings’](https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-markings.html)). You **MUST NOT** enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear. However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right. At signalled roundabouts you **MUST NOT** enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping. [Using the road - Road junctions (170 to 183) - THE HIGHWAY CODE](https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-junctions.html#:~:text=These%20have%20criss%2Dcross%20yellow,vehicles%20waiting%20to%20turn%20right). Often enforced with the use of cameras. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/52 "2022-09-21T14:32:20Z")
Another clarification I’d like to see has to do with new drivers Learner’s Permits in Pennsylvania. A kid with a Learner’s Permit must have an adult licensed driver in the car. But what happens if the adult in the passenger seat (often mom or dad) is under the influence? I’ve asked several cops. All said they’d never encountered this. One said he’d process (arrest) the passenger as a DUI since they are technically in control. Another cop said they’d ticket the kid, since they were responsible for the situation. Another said no law was being broken. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/53 "2022-09-21T14:34:34Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > So I propose that if you get a green light and some goober on the cross street is blocking your way, you, along with anyone else so motivated, are allowed to pull out your Louisville Slugger and go full Walter Sobchak on the offender’s car. I mentioned this in the polls-only thread, but I was once at a stop light in NYC when a little old lady slipped and fell in front of my car. She was not visible to the people behind me. When the light turned green, I was subject to a lot of rather obvious hostility (horns, gestures) until another pedestrian helped her up, and everyone could see why I hadn’t moved. But I’m quite glad it wasn’t legal for them to damage my car. eta: oh, I see you are talking about a slightly different situation. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/54 "2022-09-21T14:36:34Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > re you ? My state prohibits “the possession of an open container containing an alcoholic beverage” which wouldn’t include an empty can that previously contained an alcoholic beverage. It would be kind of difficult to prohibit having empty beer cans in a car at the same time as you are requiring people to return them to the store to get the deposit back. I was once charged with having a ton of empty beer bottles on the floor the front passenger seat. My passenger had been drinking for the trip from Baltimore to Newark. The charges were thrown out, but only because the infraction required “driving” and the cop never saw me in motion. However, I think the empty bottles were otherwise sufficient to prove a violation. (This was before I went to law school. I now think I had an additional defense, since they never took even one of the bottles as evidence and therefore couldn’t prove they were actually alcohol containers. Sure they _looked_ like empty beer bottles, but were they?) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/55 "2022-09-21T14:43:50Z")
Laws I would change: Speed limits on highways be increased to a reasonable speed in good weather. I drive on a lot of highways with speed limits from 50 to 65 where traffic routinely travels 70-75. They should probably all have a speed limit of 75, and it could then be enforced. I would outlaw car alarms. Any car that suddenly started making a lot of noise would be subject to towing at the owners expense, and if cop got there before the owner silenced it, a large fine would be due. If an alarm was noticed at inspection, it would need to be permanently disabled to pass inspection. Holy shit, is there anyplace where those things are useful? They sometimes went off when I lived in NYC. You know what, your car isn’t worth as much as the sleep of all the people it awakened. But even in the burbs it’s anti-social and by the time anyone responds to a valid alarm, it’s too late. I mean, MAYBE if your car is parked in your driveway it might actually help you. But I can’t think of any other situation where it even COULD help. And they are so obnoxious. And not a law, but a change I would make if I were transportation- czar: Where-ever there is room, I would change 4 way stop signs and most lights to small traffic circles. If they were all over the place, drivers would learn to use them, and we’d all be better off. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/56 "2022-09-21T14:47:15Z")
Still another clarification. A few years ago Pennsylvania added a headlight law. If you are using your windshield wipers you must have your headlights on. Makes sense. _But_ if I apply a hydrophobic material to my windshield (Rain-X) I can drive in the rain without using my wipers. Do I get a ticket in that scenario? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/57 "2022-09-21T14:47:38Z")
I’m pretty sure my state only outlaws open bottles that the driver has access to. So, if your passenger can hand you the bottle, it’s illegal. But if you are driving alone, and it’s in the back of your hatchback, out of reach, that’s legal. I also THINK it’s only illegal if there’s still booze in the bottle, but I haven’t checked, as I have trash pickup, so I don’t generally need to carry empty bottles around. (I have transported open bottles, when someone gave one to me. I made sure they were out of my reach, and also out of sight of the cops without moving other stuff. I’m pretty sure out-of-reach satisfies the law, but why look for trouble?) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/58 "2022-09-21T14:48:41Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I would outlaw car alarms. There are car alarms and car alarm. My car has an alarm that has never gone off. Apparently it’s not designed to be triggered by a passing bus. If you smash a window, however, I assume it will go off. Anyone who rides the Washington State Ferries knows how annoying a car alarm can be. But it seems to always be a Mercedes or BMW. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/59 "2022-09-21T14:48:57Z")
Nope, wipers are not on. But how about intermittent wiper settings? Do you flick on the lights for every pass of the wipers? Maybe every 45 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942/60 "2022-09-21T14:49:18Z")
But if someone smashes your window, will the car alarm do you any good? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-a-driving-law/971942.md?page=4)