Thailand
Don’t let the tropical weather tempt you to joy ride with your shirt off in Thailand. Police can (and do) hand out tickets if they spot you topless while driving a car or motorcycle.
Penalty: A mere slap on the wrist (or sun-burned shoulders). Tickets go for a few hundred baht (about $10).
No Kissing at Train Stations
France and England
By some accounts, April 5, 1910 was the day romance died on French railways: Kissing was reportedly banned to help deter lover-induced rail delays. But the law seems to be unheard of today. “Are you sure this isn’t a law in Great Britain?” a French spokeswoman at the consulate asked us. What a coincidence: It turns out that Virgin Trains has recently posted “No Kissing” signs at its station in Warrington Bank Quay, in northwest England.
Penalty: While there’s no penalty now for train-related kissing in France, the folks at Warrington Bank Quay will politely ask you to move your smooching to the designated “kissing zone” near the car park.
Driving a Dirty Car
Moscow
Some say this is just an excuse for Moscow police to over-ticket drivers, but you should still watch the filth factor on your rental car. How dirty is dirty? That’s unclear. A recent newspaper survey explored the idea of how to even define “dirty” — almost half said a car was too filthy if you couldn’t read the license plate, while 9 percent said the determining factor was if you couldn’t see the driver.
Penalty: You can get a ticket. Fines might be, shall we say, open to interpretation. Here is a case where you might politely offer to pay the officer up front — $100 should cover it — and be on your way.
Paying in Pennies
Canada
Canada’s Currency Act of 1985 sets out the guidelines for how coins should be used, including reasonable limits for the shelling out of endless coins. What’s reasonable? Don’t try using all coins to buy something that costs $10, or even using all one-dollar coins (sometimes called “loonies”) to pay for an item that costs more than $25. But then, what kind of loonie wants to carry so many coins anyway?
Penalty: If the seller actually wants to take all your pennies, he can, but by law he can also tell you to scram.
