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 /

Porter Wyclif(fe)

April 29, 2025

Destination: Los Angeles

10Excellent

Efficient and well-organized

Gilbert Foster

Destination: Hawaii - Oahu Island (honolulu)

Great, no extra fees.

Lorraine Lewis

Very satisfied

Kyle Amelia

Destination: Lexington

John Bellamy

Destination: Orlando

This store is excellent, they won't fuss even if you return the car half an hour late.

Joshua Stone

Destination: Newark

Very satisfied, very convenient.

Amos Ella

Destination: Hawaii - Hawaii Island

The process was smooth with no additional services. All cars were parked there, allowing me to pick one myself. Five-star review!

Antony Rossetti

April 28, 2025

Destination: Baltimore

Satisfied

Yedda Murray

Destination: Hawaii - Honolulu

Very satisfied, everything went smoothly.

Ophelia Housman

6Average

Promoted insurance upgrades and ETC services

Gustave Malory

April 27, 2025

Destination: Boston

Pretty good, straightforward and rough management typical of Americans.

Gene Bell

Destination: Princeton

Few people, short waiting time.

Byron Bertie

4Average

I was charged an extra 68.5 USD for being an hour late in returning the car. This company is really dishonest; I've never encountered anything like this before.

Tracy Jeremy

Destination: San Francisco

2Poor

I was given an old Hyundai Sonata with high mileage. The staff secretly charged road assistance fees and daily toll fees, which I absolutely didn't need.

Bonnie Albert

Destination: Dallas

Excellent value for money.

Fanny Nell

Destination: Miami

Very good.

Kelly Byron

April 26, 2025

Very professional and highly efficient.

Elroy Violet

Destination: Troy

Perfect.

Isabel Grace

Destination: San Diego

Excellent

Sabina Sinclair

Destination: Long Beach

8Very good

Friendly and enthusiastic service.

Otis Joe

April 25, 2025

Poor vehicle condition; the car couldn't start during the trip, and they only provided jump-starting service. I had to take the risk of driving over 100 kilometers to exchange the car. The company showed no apology or compensation for the inconvenience and loss caused to the customer.

Ron Saul

Destination: Santa Ana

Good

Drew Berkeley

Overall service was satisfactory, but the office closes too early. The instructions mentioned 9 PM, but when I went to return the car slightly after 8 PM, it was already closed without prior notice.

Kimberley Howell(s)

Destination: Houston

There are hidden charges. If you don’t ask, they’ll add a bunch of random extras like insurance, towing, and toll fees, and ask you to sign. Do not listen to the store staff's upselling. Many of these are already paid for on QEEQ, just tell them you want zero extras.

R.Soutter

Destination: Washington

6Terrible pick up, easy drop off.

Plane landed on time at 20:10hrs. Then it took us over two hours to clear immigration! There were 50 immigration stations, but only 7 in use. 4 x American passport holders, 1 x for wheelchair/families with young children, only 1 x for the approx 900 other passengers! Collected our bags and made our way to the Car Rental bus stop. Short journey to the Thrifty/Hetz/Avis office. The Thrifty person (from India) informed me that they had no cars...and to "come back tomorrow"! I informed him that I had pre-booked a rental and expected him to supply me with a car. He argued with me and kept saying he had no cars left. I showed him the rental voucher from QEEQ. I had great difficulty understanding what he was saying because his english was very poor. In the end he 'borrowed' a car from Hertz and transferred it onto the Thrifty rental. Several times he kept on trying to get me to add more insurance to the rental cost, even though I showed him my AXA insurance document. I added my son as an additional driver and the charge came to $231 (£174) for 15 days! He then tried to charge me for an EZpass for toll roads. The whole rental experience with this person at the Thrifty desk at Dulles Airport was terrible. I feel I have been conned and over charged. I went onto the Thrifty website and a few other people have had bad dealings with this person.

Noel Ackerman(n)

Good service, easy and quick pickup and return.

Harlan Isaiah

April 24, 2025

Destination: Ontario

Very satisfied.

Jack Roy

Our English is not very good, but the front desk staff was very friendly and helped us complete all the rental procedures. Their attitude was excellent, and this company is trustworthy.

Murphy Bernard

They claimed there was a smoke smell in the car during return and wanted to charge me 400. They also promoted various insurance options at pickup. Do not book the cheapest option, go for the second tier instead.

Sidney Zimmerman

Service available 24 hours a day.

Morton Joule

I booked a Ford Edge, but they gave me a smaller Chevrolet Equinox instead. When I argued with the front desk, they said they didn’t have any Ford Edges available. If no Ford Edge was available, why not offer me an upgrade? Why downgrade me? For years, I've rented cars at Los Angeles Airport in the U.S., and at other rental companies, I could choose any car I liked from a parking area filled with medium and large SUVs. I could pick any one and drive off. At AVIS, however, they assign you a specific car, and in this case, they even downgraded me. This is truly unacceptable!

Jessica MacArthur

They ran out of Jeeps, so they offered a Toyota RAV4 instead, which was an upgrade in class. I was informed of the additional fee for the 7 days.

Destination: Las Vegas

Yale Valentine

The service was excellent this time. I forgot to leave the lock in the car while on my way to the airport. When I realized it, I handed it to the driver who took me to the airport. He said he could deliver it to the company for me. I really appreciated this great service.

Dominic Harrington

Even though my English is not good, the staff were still very patient in communicating. Thank you.

Xaviera Eden

Picking up the car was quite convenient, but I rented a Camry and was given an Altima. CarPlay was inconvenient to use and often disconnected.

Cathy Dobbin

April 23, 2025

Destination: Rochester

Bruce Hood

No one explained clearly about the additional charges. They just made you sign directly, adding extra fees. The experience was poor.

Montague Clare

Destination: Raleigh

It was an excellent experience. I chose Hertz this time for my first car rental abroad, and overall it felt great. I will choose them again next time!

Monroe Henley

Leandro Tessler

9Great low cost rental booked a few hours before pickup

As always they tried to convince us to pay for insurance and upgrades, but I resisted. At the moment of pickup they upgraded anyway.

Janet Bob

Few people, smooth car pickup. Suggested adding extra insurance, clearly informed that it wasn't necessary. Everything else was fine.

R.Rai

April 22, 2025

Destination: Salt Lake City

9Excellent customer by Ember of Alamo

The Toyota RAV4 was the perfect vehicle for us as a couple travelling around Salt Lake City and Moab for 10 days. The mid-size SUV was able to meet our needs with sufficient room and lots of space for luggage. Ember the Customer Services Agent who served us was excellent and was efficient with our pick-up. Ember did not try to sell us any unnecessary cover as we had booked everything in advance. The only minor issue was Ember wanted details of my return flight for the drop-off, which took me a bit of time to find. The drop-off was very easy and seamless with a printed receipt provided on request. I did not purchase a tank of fuel so I filled up the tank before dropping of the vehicle. There are lots of gas stations in the local area.

Beacher Eve

The service was fine, but the car's CarPlay had issues, including system crashes and GPS drift. Ultimately, I had to use my phone for navigation.

Charlotte Birrell

Average

Beverly Meredith

Destination: Augusta

Lambert Southey

The front desk staff was very friendly and patient, even when there was a language barrier.

Isaac Wallis

Booking a car online is convenient.

Arlene Christopher

Destination: Cleveland

Yedda Lucy

April 21, 2025

The car had a severe lack of power and stalled during the trip, posing safety concerns. Most of the journey was through small towns, and the airport branch did not have enough vehicles for a replacement. It was a nerve-wracking experience throughout the trip.

United States Car Rentals