Even on the Federal Highway System, the Rules of The Road vary from state to state. Here we’ve collected and commented on some of the more arcane and unusual traffic laws you may want to remember if you live in, or travel in the United States. Read up! Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and if you break the law, you may have to take traffic school to dismiss the ticket.

Alabama – It’s illegal to drive a car while blindfolded.

Alaska – No driving with a dog tethered to your car.

Arizona – It’s against the law to drive a car in reverse on a public road.

Arkansas – in Little Rock it’s against the law to honk your car horn anywhere that serves cold drinks or sandwiches after 9 p.m.

California – In Glendale, it’s illegal to jump from a car going over 65 mph.

Colorado – It’s illegal to drive a black car on a Sunday in Denver.

Connecticut – it’s illegal to hunt from a car.

Delaware – “R” rated movies shall not be shown at drive-in theaters.

Florida – It is illegal to skateboard without a license.

Georgia – There’s no driving through playgrounds in Georgia.

Hawaii – It’s against the law for a vehicle in motion to use its hazard lights. People might think it’s a Luau.

Idaho – it’s forbidden for Senior Citizens over the age of 88 must lose all sense of balance, them to ride a motorcycle in Idaho Falls.

Illinois – It’s illegal to drive a car without a steering wheel. And, of course, impossible.

Indiana – It’s against the law to sell cars on Sundays. Try Maine.

Iowa – No vehicle may sell ice cream in Indianola, Iowa.

Kansas – No tire screeching in Derby, Kansas.

Kentucky – It’s illegal for your pet to molest a vehicle in Fort Thomas.

Louisiana – A woman’s husband is required by law to walk in front of the car waving a flag as she drives it.

Maine – It’s illegal to buy a car on a Sunday. Better move to Indiana.

Maryland – It’s a misdemeanor to swear from a vehicle while driving through Rockville.

Massachusetts – You cannot drive with a gorilla in your backseat. In the front seat is okay with the seat belt buckled.

Michigan – It’s against the law to sit in the middle of the street and read a newspaper. But in Detroit you may lie there and be covered by one.

Minnesota – You can be charged as a public nuisance if your truck leaves mud, dirt or sticky substances on the road in Minnetonka.

Mississippi – In Oxford, it’s illegal to honk your horn, even though it is an additional means of communication included in the price of your car.

Missouri – You can’t honk someone else’s car horn in University City, Missouri.

Montana – You can’t drive a herd of livestock numbering more than 10 on an interstate highway unless the herd is preceded and followed by flagmen.

Nebraska – By law, drivers on mountains should drive with caution near the right edge of the highway. Surprisingly, Bighorn Mountain rises to 4,731 feet.

Nevada – Even though it’s the desert, t’s illegal to ride a camel on the highway.

New Hampshire – It’s against the law to inhale bus fumes with the intent of inducing euphoria. If you want to kill yourself, that’s covered under a different law.

New Jersey – If you have been convicted of DUI, you can never apply for personalized license plates.

New Mexico – It may or may not be kidnapping, but it is illegal for cab drivers to reach out and pull potential customers into their taxis.

New York – It’s against the law to disrobe in your car in the beach town of Sag Harbor, Long Island.

North Carolina – In Dunn, North Carolina it’s illegal to play in traffic.

North Dakota – it’s illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.

Ohio – It’s illegal to run out of gas in Youngstown.

Oklahoma –Cars must be tethered outside of public buildings. No guidance on to what.

Oregon – It is illegal to place a container filled with human fecal matter on the side of any highway. No containers!

Pennsylvania –Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the countryside, and let the horses pass.

Rhode Island – One must make a loud noise before passing a car on the left. Preferably with your vehicle’s horn.

South Carolina – When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft. from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.

South Dakota – No horses are allowed into Fountain Inn unless they are wearing pants.

Tennessee – It’s illegal to shoot game from a moving vehicle. But hitting it with your car is legal, and can be delicious.

Texas – You must have windshield wipers to register a car.

Utah – By law, birds have the right of way on all highways. Luckily, they don’t usually exercise it.

Vermont – It’s illegal for cars to backfire in Rutland.

Virginia – Radar detectors are illegal.

Washington – A motorist with criminal intentions must stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.

West Virginia – It’s legal to eat road kill. No info on whether you can shoot it from your car.

Wisconsin – One may not camp in a wagon on any public highway.

Wyoming – If you open a gate over a road, river, stream or ditch, you’d must close it behind you.

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Unfortunately, all this outdoor, non-automobile activity has its downside as state officials have noted a severe increase in the number of deaths of motorcycle riders and pedestrians this year. Although 2011 the state posted its lowest level in nearly four decades the upswing in deaths has some state safety advocates wondering if it signals a terrible new trend upward.

The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety says there is no need to worry, however. They said that mild weather this past summer meant more people were hitting the roads on motorcycles, more people were out walking or running on roadways. This increase in activity meant more chances for an accident. They also attribute the increase in fatalities to a failure on the part of this same group to practice safety when out on the roads, regardless of what they might be doing there. Alcohol was a factor in many of the deadly crashes as was a failure to wear proper safety gear such as brightly lit or reflective clothing for pedestrians.

In Iowa, 248 people had died as of Friday compared with 222 at the same point last year. For all of 2011, Iowa recorded its lowest number of traffic deaths — 364 — since 1944.

Through the end of August, the Hawkeye State had 42 motorcycle deaths compared with 28 at the same point last year. Ten pedestrians had died compared with 11 in all of last year.

While Iowa’s road fatalities have gone up this year, they are comparable with the state’s traffic deaths from 2006 through 2010.

In a preliminary breathalyzer test Justin A. Clark, 24, of Iowa, tested at .40, or five times the legal limit for alcohol consumption of someone trying to operate a motor vehicle. A blood test later at the hospital showed his actual blood alcohol content was even higher, prompting one police official, North Liberty Police Chief Jim Warkentin, to remark that it was the highest blood alcohol reading he had seen in more than 20 years on the force.

Clark was charged with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. He is lucky he is not dead. Physicians who have studied alcohol consumption say that many people will suffer severe side effects (including death) from consuming too much alcohol and that a person with a blood alcohol content of .40 is “clinically dead.” But some how, Clark continued to drive. Witnesses reported seeing the man striking curbs and weaving back and forth across the road as he traveled through North Liberty. When asked by officers what time it was, Clark reportedly said,”Three, but now it is four.”

Although much attention has been paid recently to distracted driving but driving under the influence of alcohol has not become less dangerous as a result. in fact, because people are focusing so much on putting away their handheld devices while they drive they just might be forgetting to also be certain they are sober when they slide behind the wheel.

Clark faces massive fines, the possibility of jail time and the suspension of his driver’s license as a result of his arrest. But if police had not stopped him in his tracks the situation might have turned out even worse for him.

The app is fairly simple in design. It is not like a racing game app which lets you careen around corners or even simulate the experience of being behind the wheel. Instead the Iowa driving test app helps you prepare for the driving test by offering you a random selection of 15 questions similar to what you might find on the Iowa Department of Transportation written test. These 15 questions are selected from a batch of 69 questions which actually appear on the written test.

The app is free to download to an iPad through the iTunes Store so there is no cost to users. Just search for “IA Driver Test for iPad” but be certain you are getting the official Iowa DOT iPad app and not an imitation. DOT officials said other similar apps are available, but they may be unreliable. This app will appear with an Iowa DOT icon so you know you have the correct one.

The app is currently compatible only with the iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later). However, the Iowa DOT is working toward making it accessible through other mobile platforms, including Android tablets, so more people can use it.

The Iowa DOT hopes to encourage younger people to do so extra studying for their driving test by introducing the new app. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the Iowa state driver’s manual. After someone reads through the manual the first time, Iowa DOT says, they should use the app to take a sample quiz and see how well they have absorbed the information. It is not a substitute for the actual exam but a great way to see whether or not you are grasping the information.

Another great tool for young drivers is our online defensive driving course. You can learn more about it by visiting our website.

While the science is sound and the new arrows can help alleviate traffic congestion, many Iowa drivers still have no idea what to do when they approach these intersections. They stop, they slow down, and some simply drive straight through without knowing exactly what’s going on or how to react.

This has caused some traffic engineers to scratch their heads in bewilderment at an idea they thought seemed reasonable enough, but is now causing almost as many problems as it was meant to solve.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is trying to educate motorists about the left-turn signals, which have been adopted as a national standard by the Federal Highway Administration. Sioux City has 25 to 30 of the traffic signals, some installed as far back as 2008. But elsewhere in Iowa, the signals are relatively new.

The city of Des Moines began installing flashing yellow-arrow signals last summer along Merle Hay Road and now has about eight to 10 signals throughout the city, said Mike Ring, the city’s principal traffic engineer.

West Des Moines began using the devices last December and has them at 10 intersections. Meanwhile, Clive shares some of the signals with West Des Moines on University Avenue, which is a border for the cities.

A few other cities have flashing arrow devices, but they are not widely used yet statewide, DOT officials said. In Missouri, state transportation officials have installed nearly 100 of the new signals in the St. Louis area and have reported positive results.

This does not mean that few Iowans are texting while driving, but rather (according to some in the state) that police simply are not enforcing the existing law. This has some in the state complaining because police are not doing their job; not using the tools available to them to keep drivers safe on the roads.

There have been repeated studies showing that distracted driving is causing as many if not more traffic fatalities than drunk driving. These reports have prompted law makers across the country to enact provisions which address the increasing number of people driving while using a handheld device. It doesn’t matter if it is texting, emailing or simply making a phone call, any type of technical distraction (even a non-technical distraction) is enough to greatly reducing your reaction time and leaving you, and anyone sharing the road with you, at risk of a serious crash.

Police are aware of the dangers of distracted driving, but the fact is, it is difficult to catch these drivers if you are not directly observing them flaunting the law. It is one thing to watch someone pick up their phone and make a call or send a text message. Then officers can make a stop and write a citation. If they are not directly observing a driver engaged in this activity they can only guess at what they might be doing behind the wheel, and guesses do not hold up in court.

Suffice to say, however, now that lawmakers are aware that police have not been enforcing the new texting while driving ban there will be increased emphasis on police enforcing the law. Which means Iowa drivers need to be careful, especially if they are prone to texting while driving.

Defensive drivers understand just how dangerous it is to drive and they take every precaution before they ever get behind the wheel of their automobile. Unfortunately, not everyone is a defensive driver, however, and accidents do happen.

In Iowa you can actually check the statistics for a whole range of driving facts, including a list of daily fatalities, month by month, back to 2005. You can also check the statistics for rural traffic fatalities back to 1970. In addition to traffic fatalities you can also find information on all Iowa vehicle crashes dating back to 1925. That’s a lot of information stored in one place and it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere, any time, as long as they have Internet access.

This information is important for a number of reasons. It helps traffic planners coordinate new traffic signals and new roadways; it helps city planners design new communities, and it helps state and local police experts focus on areas which might need to be altered or monitored to improve public safety. There is no way to know exactly which roads are most dangerous and during what particular times of the year if you don’t have information about past events. This information is also crucial for safe drivers.

Safe drivers know the importance of understanding exactly where they are going to be driving. What obstacles they might face, like slippery rural highways or dangerous intersections; high traffic routes or areas where people are just more likely to have an accident.

Before you set out on a road trip, or even if you just take the same route to work every day, consider visiting your department of transportation web site to see what you can learn about the dangers you might face along the way.

Image: Chuck Felix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While some states have embraced traffic cameras, either cameras that track speeders or those at intersections which catch people who run red lights, as a means of creating a safer driving environment and a way of generating a little extra revenue without putting more cops on the streets, Iowa has legislators have been trying to get them removed.

Public opinion about traffic cameras in Iowa seems evenly split, although not along party lines as some issues are. Both Republican and Democratic legislators have alternately tried and failed to get measures passed which made traffic cameras illegal. Some have gone after just red light cameras, while others have targeted all forms of traffic cameras as a an infringement upon civil liberties. There is a currently a measure up for discussion which would actually write the statewide ban of traffic cameras into the Iowa state constitution, although that measure has so far failed to garner enough support for that to happen.

Branstad takes the position that if the legislature can agree on a bill, they likely have the support of their constituents behind them, meaning a majority of the people of state of Iowa feel the cameras are too intrusive, so he would therefore want to support the will of the people.

However, supporters of traffic cameras say the automated devices help control traffic, keep speeding to a minimum and make the streets a safer place without the need for more patrols. They also point to the increased revenues collected by those communities which have installed traffic cameras at key intersections or in areas where speeding has become common place. These people say the issue is not about infringing on the rights of certain drivers, but about protecting everyone who takes to the streets in their car, or even those who walk or ride bikes along road ways.

So far no bill, either for or against traffic cameras has made it passed both houses, and Branstad seems unlikely to see a bill placed before him any time soon. But both sides continue to push hard for the state to make a stand somewhere.

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

That is quite an accomplishment for a state with plenty open roads where people who have a hankering to put the pedal to the metal can do so just about anywhere (except Boise, of course). Iowa is not known as an unsafe state to drive in, despite the desolate roads and open highways, but to see traffic fatalities drop to their lowest levels in a decade is quite an accomplishment no matter how you slice it.

Authorities credit the strict decline to an increased awareness and emphasis on defensive driving; heightened enforcement of drunk driving laws and safer vehicles, all of which work together to create a safer driving environment for people cruising through Iowa.

In 2011 just 356 people died on Iowa highways. In 2009 Iowa had 373 traffic fatalities which was the lowest level in 64 years, when there were far fewer cars on the road than there are today. In 2010 that number rose to 390, but then dropped even lower last year.

Defensive driving has certainly helped make Iowa roads a safer place to be, but the increased emphasis on anti-drunk driving efforts by state and local police goes a long way to keeping drivers and passengers safe. Studies have repeatedly shown that after distracted driving, drunk driving is the most dangerous threat facing drivers today. When a driver is drunk their reflexes are slowed, their decision making and judgement skills are impaired; they are more likely to take risks behind the wheel and being more likely miss important environmental factors like slick roads, heavy traffic or even stop signs.

So, congratulations Iowa, for proving that attention to little details, like keeping drunk drivers off the road, can go a long way toward making your state (and every state) a better place to live.

Image: Chuck Felix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net