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 /

S.Von der Osten

April 24, 2024

Destination: Los Angeles

6Average

The first car rented to us was faulty. We needed to come back to the rental location and get another. It severely interrupted our trip.

b.Sampson

Destination: Houston

8.3Was ok could of been better.

Rental did its job however I find it unflattering that rental was not cleaned prior to our reservation time. There was orange debri or dust through out the entire car as well as trash. Cup holders were not cleaned out nor was the vehicle wiped down. The AC vent cover was missing which was annoying because passengers cannot control their air flow. Vehicle also smelled like smoke so we took it upon ourselves to have the vehicle sprayed to eliminate the odor. Which should have been done on your end as well as a detailed clean of the car. Photos were taken as evidence as this was noticed upon entering the vehicle. Airport pick up is not the easiest so we for the most part assisted ourselves and had no time to request another accommodating vehicle as we waited an hour for this one. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

E.Valadez

Destination: Las Vegas

7Es buen servicio!

Pague por adelantado el seguro del vehículo pero al llegar tuve que pagar otro seguro. El segundo chofer que nos llevó de ACE al aeropuerto. Nos trató muy mal

D.Shapiro

April 23, 2024

Destination: New York

6.7Takes forever to pick up the car .

To pick up the car took over an hour and was outrageous.

J.Jones

9.3Excellent service from QEED and Avis

The only hick-up at check-in was resolved instantly - we were sent to pick up the rental care having been given a bay number, to find there wasn't a car there. This was resolved immediately and we were given an upgraded vehicle.

M.Walker

Destination: Melbourne

10Not one negative comment!

Great experience all round aided by being first thru immigration - the value of global entry! MLB is the easiest way in and out of the States right now!!

April 21, 2024

Destination: Syracuse

9Fine enough

Car had a lingering smell of cigarettes. Otherwise, all was fine.

Zee Uys

Destination: Austin

10Excellent service all around for one way trip from Austin Texas to Phoenix AZ

The car was perfect for our needs. Avis staff were friendly and helpful, both at the collection and the drop off point. I would recommend AVIS

Nao

Destination: Hawaii - Oahu Island (honolulu)

7.3Good

受け取り、返却はとてもスムーズでした

Hendra

Destination: Boston

8.7all is good, except staff at dollar car rental desk at BOS and staff at qeeq cd team.

staff at check-in counter at BOS is crazy and keep selling insurances, till i double buy the roadside assistance. crazy!

S.Hudson

April 20, 2024

Destination: Dallas

10We struggled to find a reasonably priced one way rental, but QEEQ did it in the end.

It took ten minutes for Avis to source a suitable car for us; it was busy. The customer service agent was extremely friendly and a pleasure to deal with.

F.Furey

Destination: Orlando

8QEEQ perfect but disappointed with attitude of Thrifty staff member

Car was fine Counter staff member was dreadful

Lainey

Destination: Washington

9Happy with qeeq

Small issue with upgrade sorted satisfactorily by Avis. Key fob didn't work.

April 16, 2024

3.3Nie wieder Budget

Es war der schlechteste Mietwagen, den ich jemals bekommen habe: Scheibenwischer defekt, Tankdeckel defekt, kein Schlüssel mit Fernbedienung, innen sehr schmutzig

j.paul

Wait at counter was ages

Brenda Garza Alonso

Destination: San Diego

8.7It was terrible, mainly because of dollar. And the additional 200 dollars I had to pay because staff

They wouldn’t accept my credit card because it doesn’t have my name engraved on it, this is a security measure of banks in my country even though I did show the app where the card do has my name they would accept it, I ended up paying a fee as high as the rental for underage driving (24 years old) because only 1 person in our group had a credit card with their name engraved and she was underage (24 yo) When returning the car the staff on the counter (a different person from the one at the pick up) told us it was indeed possible to accept a credit card with out the name engraved on it, it was only necessary to show the app where the name was visible in the card and the driver license. I spent $200 dollars additional to my rental ($350) just because the staff chose to not accept my credit card and my bank app with my made, I’m not underage (26 yo).

n.white

6.3Car was good but service at collection was poor

Charged for things I did not ask for

K.Protzel

April 15, 2024

Destination: Little Rock

9.3Excellent

El coche en perfectas condiciones. Solamente en el counter de Budget me querían vender todos los seguros nuevamente. No respetaron el contrato con QEEQ. Eso fue un desastre. Por eso no uso normalmente Budget.

E.CORRAL CASTRO

10Excellent

El agente que atendió muy amable

B.Chacin

7.7Bien por QEEQ

No ofrecieron mejora

S.McLoughlin

5Never again with thrifty

Car was great apart from the rear windows not coming all the way up. Common on convertibles that are not maintained. Pick up process took nearly 2.5 hours. Ridiculous bad service

April 14, 2024

8.3Overall a very pleasant experience.

Drop off location was not easy to find as it was not well sign posted from the main road.

村田順一

Destination: Hawaii - Hawaii Island

9.7“快適“(保険等、わかりやすく説明)に予約ができました。

受付カウンターは3〜4人並んでいましたが、Hertsにメンバー登録していたので(空いている)Herts専用カウンターで手続きを。車種は予約時と同じでした。受付の方も親切に説明をしてくれました。

C.White

Destination: Tampa

10A All went smoothly and quickly which is all one can want

There were 6 people waiting for cars and 2 servers. However another member of staff helped us check in on the self service machine which was very quick

C.McCreery

8.3Easy

Very easy

R.Appleby

2Awful in every way.

QEEQ deleted my booking without notice despite taking my money. This was discovered at Hertz counter. Hours later QEEQ rectified by booking through a different company, miles away, that ended up charging me an extra 200 dollars.

T.OMA

April 13, 2024

8.3良い車であった。

予約は、ホンダフィットと同等ということだったが、来たのはマツダの車であった。ただ、走りやすく、高速でも充分な力を発揮していた。しかも渋滞中でも使えるクルーズコントロールが付いていたので、楽だった。

Tomasz Klimek

Destination: San Francisco

10Great and flawless experience with competitive price. I'm using Qeeq every time!

Good service, recommend it.

s.hellinga

6Would not recommend

Customer service was terrible. Staff refused to acknowledge my credit card rental insurance

D.Kirby

April 8, 2024

9.7Excellent

Although I informed them I had my own sunpass for the tolls and this was confirmed as ok, they failed to mention that the E-Toll they now use is linked to the car and not a box affixed to window. On return home $30+ taken in toll charges which are duplicate to my sunpass charges. Budget are dealing with this and are refunding after sending proof of the payments I had made

Barry

Destination: Sarasota

9.3good

good

D.Pulido Mendoza

10 Pésima app para contratar el servicio

Muy buena atención

L.DUSSAUBAT FAGOAGA

8.7no muy buena

el coche tenía un foco trasero roto. No lo vi porque era de noche cuando cogí el coche. El personal a la salida del local dio la vuelta al coche y no me dijo nada. Me hizo firmar el papel y me dijo que saliera. Luego resulto que el portón trasero no se cerraba. empujabamos la puerta, se cerraba pero 2 segundos más tarde se volvía a abrir.

G.DAV

Destination: Chicago

10Best experience for many years

I was upgraded to a larger vehicle at no extra cost after I had been in the parking garage No quibble with the attendant on duty he just got on with it as the original vehicle was not available

A.Santiago Vargas

April 4, 2024

5.3Dollar lo peor

Estuve más de dos hora esperando en la fila para poder coger el carro y cuando fuimos no tenían ningún carro solo carros eléctricos que son na porquería porque en Orlando no hay muchos puestos eléctricos y hay que esperar más de 3 horas para que el carro cargue… mi experiencia estuvo fatal

A.Stevens

Destination: Phoenix

9Excellent.

Avis people were extremely helpful and friendly.

5No volveré q usar BUDGET

Un Buick no es un EDGE, yo quería el EDGE, aunq se q me dirán q era “o similar”, pero no me vale El señor que me hizo el contrato fue un 10 de profesional Difícil encontrar el coche El personal de fuera RUDO y con pocas ganas de trabajar El coche tenía golpes Olía a una mezcla de curry con tabaco Warning “LOW OIL ENGINE” y lo único q hizo la señora del delivery fue resetear el warning y que me fuera WARNING low bat remote Etc etc etc MUY MAL EN CASI TODO Y LA ACTITUD DEL PERDONAL QUE PARECIA QUE LE DABA IGUAL TODO

R.Cameron

7.3Car was fine but pickup was problematic

This was a difficult pickup as there was a credit card issue and there was no other option to exchange the card without cancelling and rebooking. Eventually resolved after over 1 hour. Car was acceptable but options on tolls not clearly explained.

7.7Overall a good rental experience

The service was good except for the long wait in the queue. The car was of good size and performed well during the 18 days we had it except for an annoying rattle from the left hand side. Drop off was easy.

R.Schott

Destination: Pasadena

9.7Fantastic office with the smoothest and quickest service by wonderful staff.

This is my second time renting from this specific location. I actually went out of my way to use this office instead of a closer one because the customer service here is always amazing. The manager is wonderfully accommodating, friendly and makes the pick up and drop off process a complete breeze. Definitely my favourite location for car hires in Pasadena / LA area.

J.Hamilton

March 31, 2024

7.7Good

Easy and very helpful staff

J.Tracey

6.7Unnecessary upsell but super efficient location and service

Had booked a chevy Tahoe, was 'upsold' to a ford Expedition due to it having more luggage space at the counter by the Avis clerk and his supervisor who was sat next to him as I use a wheelchair and he said we would require the larger space. It turns out the chevy has more cargo space by aprox 6sft. I feel that I was just taken advantage of. The Ford was great to drive although it was dirty, windscreen inside was filthy and it was obvious it had not been valeted and was nearly but not quite full of fuel. Also the body of the vehicle was fairly beat up for a vehicle with only 25k miles. I did send Avis an email but disappointingly never received a response. The pick up and drop off was super efficient service

V.Ferreira

10Easy and simple process

Everything was good, love how easy it was from the lady at the counter to drop off

H.IMANAKA

良い！

A.Garratt

Destination: Miami

5.7Terrible. Too long to get the car and financially ripped off

The card machine they were using would not accept my Credit card and I was misold extra CDW insurance which I shouldn’t have needed to purchase. The overall amount coming to something over £300 extra

A.Cedeno

8buena experiencia, mejor precio que en otras aplicaciones

Algo de problemas con la tarjeta de crédito por ser emitida en USA pero el supervisor pudo ayudarme para poder usar la reserva

A.Arregui

March 30, 2024

Destination: Fort Lauderdale

3.7Mala

Fue terrible recoger el auto me tocó tomar un taxi hasta el lugar me salió 40 dólares más . Nadie entrega el auto el auto la camara de retro no valía les dije que me.cambien de auto y no tenían otro más. Al regreso quería cambiar de auto para uno más grande tampoco lo tenían. No responden rápido los mensajes . Pedí la ubicación del lugar para llegar y me mandaron por escrito en vez de ma dar directamente la ubicación. No tenían a nadie en el lugar. Es demasiado pedir 1000 mil dólares de depósito por si algo pasa y que va a ser devuelto después de 8 días de la entrega del auto. No recomiendo para nada está empresa AZ

六角レンチ

8マハロ

出発店舗までのシャトルバスが混んでいたので、徒歩で移動しました。シャトルバス乗り場から、道路沿いに歩いて5分位で到着します。事務所立地、貸出手続き時間、車のピックアップ場所、どれも便利でした。その場でガソリン満タン返し不要のオプションを進められ、返却日に時間がなかったので申し込みました。税金込みで約100ドルでした。

K.NOBUYUKI

Destination: Hawaii - Maui Island

6ありがとうございました。

Kia をレンタルしました。ブレーキの効きが少し甘い感じでした。あとは快適でした！

A.Damiano

9.3Lo vuelvo a repetir

Si bien no tengo nada que decir sobre el coche porque fue 100 % bueno, me llamó la atención el alto consumo de combustible, habiendo sido conducido en condiciones normales.

United States Car Rentals