Reasonably Fine Quiz | Auto World

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first passenger we have noticed misbehaving was riding on the roof. And not only that, he was tied to it. Of course transporting this type of animal on your car's roof is illegal in Alaska, so we reasonably fined Herbie for the act. But, from this description, who was the passenger?

Answer: Cujo the dog

Alaska's drivers must obviously have had a penchant for transporting their entire dog sled team tethered to the roof racks of their cars or this particular law would not have been passed. Interestingly enough, the law specifically mentions only dogs - other animals are not protected by it (although animal welfare would surely want to have a word with anyone who transports a live animal on the roof of their car).

2. Lightning McQueen was the next car to be reasonably fined - $78 to be exact. It happened in Florida for violation of a city law because he accidentally hit something. What did he hit?

Answer: A running man

The city of Saratoga, Florida, made it a separate offense to hit a pedestrian with your car. The fine for this has been set at a rather cheap 78 dollars, but of course if you happen to run over a person, you will still be liable for any injury and damages caused.

3. Bennie the cab got into some issues with a local law in a New York town because one of the four ladies he was carrying misbehaved. Who was the reason for him getting reasonably fined?

Answer: Carrie - she took off her clothes

The city in question is named Sag Harbor and the local officials have created a specific rule that it is not permissible to take off one's clothes or bathe in a car, wagon or similar vehicle. Of course it remains to be seen how this law could be important - if anyone had a chance to notice the transgression, the culprit would also be liable under more general indecent exposure rules.

4. Optimus Prime was also reasonably fined, although he would dispute the reasonableness since the offense occurred after his passenger had already disembarked. Considering that the illegal act happened in Eureka, California, in the middle of the road, which affliction did Optimus' passenger definitely NOT suffer from?

Answer: Insomnia

In spite of its name, Eureka does obviously not believe in making great discoveries while sleeping on a highway, because they made this behavior illegal. On the other hand, I thankfully would not know of any places that make it illegal to breathe, balance or lock oneself in a small box while on a street.

5. KITT was reasonably fined as well because he drove into a place in Dunn, North Carolina, where cars are just not permitted. Had he gone there to hide some evidence, he would however not have broken the law. Where did he find himself fined?

Answer: A cemetery

Dunn is one of the more prolific sources for unusual and likely redundant traffic fines. Not only is it disallowed to drive into a graveyard unless digging a grave or burying someone, but there is also an express prohibition from driving on sidewalks and playing in traffic. Driving on playgrounds is not explicitly prohibited in Dunn (I guess they would fine the children instead, for playing in traffic), but this prohibition would apply in Dublin, Georgia. KITT still believes he did nothing wrong because the graveyard was just for pets...

6. Christine got into some legal trouble in Spain and was promptly and reasonably fined. Her offense? She parked directly in front of house number 15. On which date (using US date format) could this heinous crime (ahem) have been committed?

Answer: 11/22/63

In order to eliminate congestion on narrower roads, parking is permitted only on one side. However since the Spanish authorities don't want to favor anyone, the side changes with the day - on odd-numbered days, you must park on the odd-numbered side while on even-numbered days, you must park on the even side. Similar rules are in force in France and Switzerland, but they split by first and second half of the month, allowing people to actually leave their car parked for more than 24 hours at a time.

7. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was happily cruising across France when he was, you guessed it, reasonably fined for not having a certain piece of equipment aboard. This device (which is only required in France), has proven to be rather unreliable for its purpose - but what would a driver likely have had before using it?

Answer: One for the road

All cars in France are, since July 1, 2012, required to carry a simple chemical breathalyzer so that the driver can assess whether he is too drunk to drive or not. Tests of the most commonly sold devices however have shown that the results displayed almost inevitably are near the legal limit (and thus ambiguous) even if the driver had significantly more or less alcohol. Thus, essentially they show the driver he has drunk some alcohol, a fact that he was likely aware of when using the device.

It is by the way not required to ever actually use the breathalyzer - it just needs to be in the car.

8. Johnny Cab got reasonably fined in India for a misdemeanor he committed on a bridge. What should he absolutely have avoided there?

Answer: A rest stop

While many countries have strange rules about parking, India's general prohibition against parking on any bridge is probably one of the more unusual ones. Driving in India is quite the adventure even if you heed this rule since quite a few cars are old or unsafe in spite of all efforts by the government and the mix of left and right hand steering in cars also contributes to the chaos, to the extent that all left-hand steered cars must have a warning sticker to inform other drivers about the different perspective.

9. Back in the United States, the Ectomobile finally got reasonably fined for simply speeding. However, this wasn't just a regular fine but the already hefty amount got doubled. In one word, what was the most likely reason for this increase?

Answer: Roadwork

Many if not most US states now have a doubling of speeding fines in construction zones and some even go beyond that, imposing massively increased fines and possibly jail terms for excessive speed at these particularly dangerous places. Rain affects speed legislation in France - speed limits are lowered during rain - and young drivers speeding face a mandatory retraining seminar or even the loss of their license when caught speeding in Germany.

10. Thankfully, the cars and their passengers have left some clues to the identity of the ringleader of the whole group in the correct answers, so which of the nine cars was the one who incited all the others to such mischief? Please answer with one word: Herbie, Lightning, Bennie, Optimus, KITT, Christine, Chitty, Johnny or Ectomobile. Whodunit? Hint: The connection is not related to traffic laws, but to a reasonably fine creative mind who, amongst other things, has directed several movies.

Answer: Christine

Each of the correct answers contained or implied the title of a novel or short story by Stephen King: "Cujo", "Running Man", "Carrie", "Insomnia", "Pet Sematary", "11/22/63", "One for the Road", "Rest Stop" and "Roadwork". Thus it is only fitting that Christine, the most evil of the nine, was the ringleader who inspired her companions to break traffic laws all across the world. Case closed!

Source: Author WesleyCrusher

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Reasonably Fine Trivia Quiz

"Inspector - we have a problem here. We have heard of driverless cars who have traveled all across the world. Their passengers have committed some rather unusual road violations, but we don't know which of these cars is the ringleader."

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