By Kim Stephens
•
05 Mar, 2018
10 Traffic Laws You Probably Didn’t Know Existed You can be pulled over for going the speed limit. No left-lane cruising! Georgia law requires drivers in the left lane on a highway, interstate or expressway to move over if a faster car approaches from behind. You have to move over one lane for garbage trucks. Under Georgia’s “Move-Over Law,” drivers must move over one lane for all types of emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the highway including police cars, HERO units, ambulances, fire trucks, and even garbage trucks. If heavy traffic will not allow you to move over, the law says you should slow down to 10 miles per hour below the speed limit. It’s illegal to use the center lane to merge into traffic. The center “turn lane” cannot be legally used for any purposes except to make a left turn… hence, the name: “turn lane.” Drivers must enter the center lane 300 feet or less from the location where they will turn left, per Georgia law. You cannot wear headphones in both ears while driving. If your car speakers are broken or you use headphones to talk on the phone, you’ll have to settle for one ear or the other. You can wear a headphone in one ear but not both. NO open alcoholic containers in the car, period. Neither the driver nor the passenger can have an open alcoholic beverage. NO part of your tag can be obstructed from view. Tag frames and tinted covering of tags that obstruct any portion of the tag are illegal in Georgia. Don’t get pulled over for something as silly as concealing your tag. You can get a DUI on a horse. Yes, a horse. Bicycles, utility carts, golf carts, tractors, lawnmowers, horses and other things that transport you are classified as vehicles for certain purposes in Georgia. Law enforcement officers in Georgia have arrested people for DUI while driving all of these items. It will be interesting to see if “hoverboards” and Segway type devices will be classified as vehicles for DUI purposes. If it is raining and you don’t have your headlights on, you are breaking the law. Georgia law requires car headlights to be turned on when it’s raining. Drivers must turn on headlights when driving in the rain. Having automatic lights that don’t turn on during a storm is not a defense; ensure that you manually turn them on each time it rains. If all the traffic lights go out at an intersection, the law requires drivers to treat it as a four-way stop. Please be aware of this requirement during this stormy time of year. Finally, and most importantly, IT IS ILLEGAL TO TEXT OR DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH A MOBILE PHONE WHILE DRIVING A VEHICLE OTHER THAN MAKING OR RECEIVING A CALL – EVEN IF THE CAR IS STOPPED. Understand this, a driver cannot use any wireless communications device to write, send, or read any text based communication, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, e-mail, social media platform, or any other internet data unless legally parked off the roadway. PS- Watch out! In other states, such as California, it is illegal to answer or make phone calls with a handheld device… meaning you must use a Bluetooth or hands-free device only.
