The United States traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete United States Driving and Rental Guide

The United States is usually more suitable for automobile compared to public transportations. Travelling by car is thus a good way to get around to see sights of the country, whether you are planning a complete road trip, or just using a leg of your trip by taking a car to visit the cities. Here is a guide we have prepared to help you familiarized yourself with driving in the USA.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Driving is on the right with the steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car. Since traffic rules differ from state to state, it is better to review the regulations for each individual state in which you are planning to drive. Pedestrians have the legal right of way in all states.

Speed Limit

The speed limit varies from state to state, butis of 65 miles per hour (equals110 km p/h) in the majority of the states. Speed limit is frequently monitored by radar guns.

Traffic Signs

Many US states comply with the same road signs standard, but some of the states and large cities such as New York City have adopted an extent of localization or a supplement.

Although there is a variety of regulatory signs throughout different states, they are usually self-explanatory, with explicit wordings marked on the signs.

Stop

Yield(Give Way)

United_States_of_ America_Traffic_Sign__Yield_to_Pedestrians

Yield to Pedestrians, New York City

Passing Zone Ends

Passing Zone Begins

No Parking

No Parking; Here to corner

No Parking; Except Sundays

Among regulatory signs, there is one category which indicates ‘No Standing’, and may be unfamiliar for foreign visitors or international travellers. ‘No standing’ signs indicate that stopping temporarily to load or unload passengers is allowed, while parking is not allowed. The signs are also usually red on white, but local variations exist.

No Standing Any Time

No Standing Any Time New York State

No Standing Cars Towed Away, Baltimore

Warning signs feature yellow background colour and black pictogram, with a few exceptions.

Road Slippery When Wet

Curve With Speed Advisory

Stop Ahead

Yield Ahead

Railroad Crossing(Crossbuck)

Railroad Crossing Ahead

Information signs provide guidance and feature rectangular shape.

Toll Road Pass Only

Toll Road Pass or HOV 2+

Toll Costs at Intersections or HOV 2+

Hospital Sign

You may refer to this for the unified standard that is used by the states.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

All drivers and passengers are regulated by law to wear seatbelts. A fine applies if a driver or passenger is caught without a seatbelt on.

Booster Seat Laws

Even though regulations vary by state, almost all states require children to be in a child seat facing backwards in the front of a car, or facing forward in the rear. As a minimum guide, children should use a booster seat until they reach 36kg to 45kg or 145cm high.

For a specific guidance regarding child safety rules, you may click here.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

You must always park in the direction of the traffic flow on the near side of the road. Often, parking spaces are diagonally aligned and ‘head-in’, which means the front of your car must be facing the pavement (sidewalk).

· Parking Restriction

In some cities, parking restrictions are indicated by the kerb colour; for example, a red kerb indicates no parking at any time, a yellow kerb may signify a limited truck loading zone, a green kerb indicates a limited parking period, a blue kerb for disabled parking only, and a white kerb passenger loading and unloading. No parking areas, for example, at street corners, may be indicated by yellow lines. Therefore, you should always read all pavement markings carefully.

United States Red Kerb No Parking (Image from aarestriping.com)

United States Yellow Lines No Parking (Image from merchantcircle.com)

United States Yellow Kerb Loading Only (Image from timeout.com)

· Paid Parking

Parking in most cities and towns isn’t usually a problem and on-street parking is usually metered, along with permissive parking signs specified with a restricted amount of time. It’s advisable for you to estimate your parking time and reserve a bit more parking fee as a precaution to avoid the fine for overtime parking.

The signs are green and white, and local variations do occur with additional information or slightly different designs.

Parking with Time Restrictions

Parking With Time Restrictions New York City

Fuel Prices

The average price for USA gasoline and diesel during July to October 2017 is US$0.74.

Toll

It has more than 5,000 miles of toll roads in the USA. From bridge and tunnel tolls to express and high occupancy lanes, most states have some sort of toll road system.

Nowadays most tolls are collected electronically via transponders that are typically placed on the windshield of the vehicle. As many toll roads no longer accept cash. It is recommended to check the individual websites of each state's toll system to inform yourself about the payment options along with your route.

If you are hiring a vehicle from Enterprise, National or Alamo in the USA, you can review and pay the tolls online via Highway Toll Administration site; if hiring from Avis or Budget, you can check the e-toll site. For Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Advantage, toll charge can be checked on PlatePass.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

Depending on states, drivers are charged with a fine or a crime with 0.08% or 0.05% BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) limit by volume.

Traffic Fines

Extra care should be applied to abide speed limit when driving in the United States, as speeding fines can be ranging from $36 to $1000 for first-time breaker states by states. A Nation-wide average speeding ticket is US$150.

Failing to understand and follow the parking signs will potentially result in a hefty fine. This is especially the case for big cities like San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. For example, stopping, standing or parking where signs, road markings or traffic control devices do not permit you to do so will incur a fine of US$115 in New York City. In San Francisco, obstructing traffic without a permit in San Francisco will result in a fine as high as US$1000.

Failure to pay traffic infringement fines will likely result in your car rental company collecting the fee from you, with an additional administration charge. These policies are generally illustrated in the terms of the contract on which you signed at the rental desk. For any further questions concerning these matters, you are welcomed to contact QEEQ’ 24/7 customer service team for assistance.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

To drive in the United State, the driver must have a valid driving licnece that has been held for at least 1 or 2 years(according to different car hire company). The licence must be valid at the time of rental, and remain valid throughout the rental period.

The minimum age to rent a vehicle in most locations in the U.S is 21 years (age may vary by state and car category), and the driver must have a valid driver's license held for at least one year. For certain specialty and larger-sized vehicles, the minimum age of 25 years of age applies. If you're 21-25, you are likely to have to pay a young driver fee which is about $25-per-day to $50-per-day.

Guest reviews

1 /

A.Townley

March 13, 2025

Destination: New Orleans

7Great service and car… cannot fault

Car was mechanically sound and good car

C.Benbow

March 12, 2025

Destination: Tampa

10Excellent

No issues

Vince.G

Destination: Denver

9Smoothest rental experience from DIA I have ever had!

Have used Dollar before & they did not disappoint this time as it was a weekday afternoon & I was served immediately. Weekend/morning pickups have been considerably lengthy in past.

S.Cadwell

Destination: Palm Springs

7Expensive to run car

Should have supplied a car with similar mpg

R.Chapman

March 10, 2025

Destination: Saint Pete Beach

10Excellent booking process and great car hire

Budget staff excellently

Destination: Los Angeles

No upsell and it was a very smooth experience.

J.Patterson

6Average

The first car the back hatch did not work. Then they gave me a Jeep renegade which I could not fit into. The third car a chev. Suv was fine. But it took way to long, and the young girl behind the counter did not care.

Destination: Miami

6Comfortable car adequate for our trip.

Lady put down wrong pickup space number on papers. Spent ages looking for car to find out the space number didn’t exist. Had to source staff member to source car for us. Keep trying to sell you things you don’t need when all you want to do is rent a car.

S.Hornsey

March 8, 2025

10Great value and seamless car hire experience

Very easy and straight forward pick up and drop off process

Y.Kawakami

9とても快適なLAXからサンディエゴとアリゾナからLAXまでのドライブ

かなり長距離走行だったので不安でしたが車両の状況はとても良かったです。

P.Stanley

Destination: San Francisco

10Excellent very easy

It was a good price for a great car definitely recommend this rental location

A.Savory

Destination: Katy

10Great value for money.

See above

J.Prendergast

March 6, 2025

Destination: Orlando

9Excellent

Avis staff very friendly and efficient but there was only two of them at a busy time so pickup took a bit longer than expected.

M.Hasan

4Average

Fox Rental insisted to charge additional insurances that were optional and threatened of canceling my rental if I don’t accept them !! Will never use Fox Rentals again !

Destination: St Petersburg

2Terrible

Car was old, high mileage, beat up, smelled like smoke, waited 2 hours for the “shuttle” to pick us up because their “communication system was acting up.” I have two babies and had to wait until 10pm for anyone to arrive. They kept telling us they were 30 minutes away. 2 hours later our pathetic rental arrived. we texted them off my phone and my wife’s phone, they responded to my wife but not me, my name and phone number was on the contract, not my wife’s.

3QEEQ good; AVIS terrible

We were given a Buick Encore which is much smaller than the RAV4 we booked. This meant we had to reconfigure the trunk to fit our luggage in. When we started the car a warning light came on - replace oil now. This happened each subsequent time we restarted the car. After investigation the engine oil was nearly exhausted and we spent $96 to replace it. Also the sound card didn't work. This meant no radio and also no sound when the trafficators were activated. The car clearly hadn't been inspected/serviced before we collected it. The process to communicate with Avis, in order to organise a refund of the $96 spent on replacing the engine oil, was difficult. Following return of the car we have now been promised a refund but have not yet received it. In summary not a happy experience and a poor advert for Avis In our opinion the car should not have been allocated to anyone until a full service had been undertaken. Communication with Avis is also difficult. They have an automated call handling system which takes you around in circles

D.Lobl

March 4, 2025

Destination: Austin

4Avis doesn’t care

You do not expect a hire car to break down after 2 days with 18 miles on the clock. I felt the staff who gave me the replacement car just wanted me gone. The second car was ok

Destination: New York

5Unsatisfied with Dollar's wrongful charges and customer service

The vehicle had half-tank gas but was registered as full-tank, and I was charged for it despite topping up 1/4 more - I have contacted Dollar, but they have yet to respond. The staff made snide remarks when I chose not to take up their insurance, even when I had personal liability covered as part of my personal insurance. The car had scratches and dings all around and had specks of dirty area all around, with a lollipop cane left at the side of the driver's door.

T.Rodger

10Wonderfully easy.

The collection and drop off of the car was simple with the desk staff being friendly and helpful.

H.Ly

March 2, 2025

8Budget car rental

Helpful staff

D.Jones

Destination: Boston

10Brilliant Boston!!

Pick up was a breeze. Very very good staff at the rental location. They couldn’t have been more helpful. No improvement necessary if only all rental companies were like this

SERGIO ADRIAN

March 1, 2025

Destination: San Antonio

7buen auto y dificultad en pago de seguro

El proceso de entrega del auto no fue bueno ya que el personal no hablaba español y tuvimos dificultad para comunicarnos. le solicité solo un seguro de responsabilidad civil y creo me cobraron el seguro total, ya que pagué con terjeta platinum banamex que cubre seguros del coche

A.Nehrir

3BEWARE OF JACK AT FRONT DESK

JACK at front desk is an authentic thief...he put $500+ of services and extras without my consent...There's an claim filed against him and I'll take it to the court.

ERIC.m

February 28, 2025

Destination: Hawaii - Oahu Island (honolulu)

6車を借りるところまでは最高だが、トラブルの対応は最悪だった。

さきほども書きましたが、車は決して古くなく良かったのですが、チェックランプが付いたので可もなくといった感じです。

I came on time and they asked me to wait two hours!!!

A.M

very unhelpful service. The car we reserved was not there and the only option offered was to upgrade to a bigger car and pay more. She did not agree to waive the upgrade cost despite hertz not having the car we reserved

Nathan Hughes

Destination: Las Vegas

10Perfect Again!

Car was great exactly what we needed with great fuel economy.

Jeremy

Destination: Atlanta

9A smooth process from start to finish with QEEQ and Dollar Rental Car

I have rented several times from Dollar and Thrifty (same company) at Atlanta Airport. So far all my experiences have been easy. Yes sometimes you need to wait due to long queues but I have always received solid vehicles and experienced friendly staff at the Atlanta Airport.

February 26, 2025

Destination: Arlington

The counter staff were helpful.

Philip Morrison

Destination: Vail Eagle

9Completely happy customer who will book again.

Avis were great - the counter staff were totally efficient and we were done in 10 minutes.

Destination: Hawaii - Hawaii Island

7Good

予想以上に借りる時間を要した

Paul Soal

Destination: Houston

5Average car and rude staff

Rude staff

9Slow pick up

Car not available on arrival long queue for vehicle to be handed over

Destination: Hawaii - Maui Island

8Very good

The car wasn’t clean. Mirrors were not in good condition which is a hazardous situation. Avis wanted wanted to charge $100 for dropping the car off at another Avis location Nearby

a.laing

February 24, 2025

9frustrating but with an eventual good outcome.

We arrived at 10pm at night due to flight delays. There were over 100 people in the queue and after 30 mins they told us they had only 2 wheel drive vehicles and no others despite booking a 4WD large vehicle. this was the same for most of the people around us. This was unacceptable as we were going to be driving in snow on ski fields for the 5 days. We eventually after 3 hrs saw a customer service person who did provide us with a suitable car but it was much smaller than we had ordered and paid for. We were grateful but would have liked to see a refund for the smaller vehicle. This was not offered at any stage.

February 22, 2025

Destination: Sarasota

Everything was excellent apart from long delay at pick up. Just 2 hrs. Unacceptable.

M.Davis

6Great service from QEEQ but let down by Budget car rental!

I did the pre-check and downloaded the Budget app as they said it would save time. When we got to the rental area we had to queue for almost 2 hours. They 'upgraded' the car and then subsequently tried to charge extra. The counter operative was watching baseball on his phone while trying to serve me.

S.TAKANISHI

5Average

あまりいい車ではありませんでした。臭い、傷だらけなど。

K.Gardner

8Easy communications from Qeeq, and on the whole a very easy process

We asked for a SunPass but the charges werent explained to us and we found the daily admin charge for this quite high.

Daniel

4SCAM, BEWARE

Terrible experience. Total scam agency. Wouldn't accept my insurance even when I proved that it exceeded the required liability coverage. Charged me an extra $30/day for their insurance and also required me to pay $15/day for e-pass and didn't even include fees for tolls. Those extra fees more than tripled the cost of my rental. They didn't even abide by their own policies listed on their website!

H.MASUDA

February 21, 2025

7メール送ったのに、準備しておいて欲しかった。

日本人スタッフがいるのに、もったいない。活用できていない。

Ibrahim Osman

3Poor

it was very busy dayes and i cant get my gol car

The office staff are very cooperative especially Karim and Mohammed.

A.Olen

February 20, 2025

8Horrible ! Flew in for funeral and came to pick up the car booking one price and paying much more

Do not recommend !! I’ve always rented cars and used my progressive full coverage insurance I have or credit card benefits and they would not accept and made me pay over $300 for their coverage.

Felix Alamo Rosario

February 18, 2025

5No recomendable. Mejor rentar dentro del aeropuerto Tampa.

La peor experiencia. No aceptaron el seguro que nos vendió QEEQ. Tuvimos q pagar el seguro de ellos 210 mas por dos días. Y tuvimos q pagar 2,500 en efectivo de depósito. La mayoría tenía situaciones similares. No lo recomiendo.

M.Robinson

Destination: Huntsville

9Smooth as a newly resurfaced highway

Excellent customer service at pick up and drop off.

G.Trefanenko

8Rental car was okay but is very expensive

Host rental person was very good

Tim

February 16, 2025

4Ace are terrible, low budget

Will not use them again, they held the amounts on my card twice, Louis was full of attitude, they weren't very good at their own systems. Pick up location far off site, takes too long to get car. Bad experience.

a.rivera

3Budget una decepcion!

El primer coche que me dieron estaba con problemas mecanicos serios....probablemente no estaba ni revisado...un desastre!!! Al ir a cambiarlo (el mismo dia) fui humillada y mul mal atendida por un funcionario de Budget

LIZ MUSTRI

10Buena opcion, repetire

estuvo muy bien

United States Car Rentals