Bizarre European motoring laws

The UK is quite a quirky territory. We mix metric and imperial measurements, socks and sandals and have a traditional affinity for brown beer.

We also have some unusual motoring laws to adhere to and penalties to pay if we don’t, but none quite so wacky as the 10 best from the continent, put together Motors.co.uk:

1 ) In Greece you’ll face a €200 (that’s about £160) fine if you’re caught kissing or copulating in your car. This law doesn’t apply anywhere else – presumably it’s got to be one to help the economy…

2 ) It is illegal to run out of petrol on the motorway in Germany. The serious Germanic traffic cops don’t take kindly to this one; there’s no excuse for ignoring the big red warning light on your dash, even if you’re doing a flat-out autobahn run.

3 ) Drivers who fail to shell out for a highway sticker in Switzerland face fines of up to €235 (£186). What is a ‘highway sticker?’ Effectively, it’s similar to a French vignette – a form of tax that has to be paid for you to drive your car on motorways.

4 ) You may not start a car in Denmark with another person underneath it. This is plain weird and pretty much rules out any home mechanic’s quick running repairs underneath. You’re not allowed to fire it up if you’re still under there.

5 ) Finnish taxi drivers must pay royalties if they play music through their car’s stereo for paying customers. We know copyright is a contentious issue in the modern age, but come on…

6 ) An ashtray is considered to be a deadly weapon in France. It brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘smoking-related death.’

7 ) In Switzerland you will be penalised for accidentally locking your keys in your car. The Swiss don’t take kindly to fast cars or speeding, but it seems they don’t like it if you can’t drive your car – even by accident – either. We wonder if these people are named and shamed or branded a nuisance to society?

8 ) If you exceed the speed limit by over 25kph (15.5mph) in France, you risk an on-the-spot confiscation of your licence. Harsh indeed – that fast blat down to Le Mans doesn’t seem as appealing now, does it?

9 ) In Germany, prosecution can often await drivers who overtake a school bus dropping off children. We can understand this one for safety reasons. But ‘prosecution’ sounds a bit ambiguous to us.

10 ) Finally, in England it is only legal to urinate on the rear wheel of a car. OK, so we didn’t say we’re completely devoid of odd decrees…

If you’ve heard of any other out of the ordinary motoring laws, let us know.

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