Are you familiar with Oklahoma traffic laws?
Laws for yielding, parking, and speeding?
If you aren’t, now’s the best opportunity to brush up on your knowledge about these laws. In turn, you don’t risk getting into an accident…
…or receiving a violation.
Here, we’ll look at:
- Unauthorized driving
- Vehicle
- Yielding
- Speed limits
- Parking
- Cell Phone
By the end of this post, you’ll be well-versed in the important Oklahoma traffic laws.
We’re going to cover a bunch of things today, so let’s get started.
Oklahoma Unauthorized Driving Law
It’s considered to be unauthorized driving if:
- You are driving without a valid and current driver’s license. Driving with a licensed driver is also considered unauthorized if the driver doesn’t have a valid license.
- You are driving without a learner’s permit (for those 15½ years old and above).
- You let someone else without a valid driver’s license drive your vehicle.
If you commit unauthorized driving with any of the scenarios above, you may be fined up to $500, jailed for up to 6 months, or both.
Just remember, always drive with a valid driver’s license.
Oklahoma Vehicle Laws
Vehicle laws refer to the registration of your vehicle — and the minimum insurance coverage that it should have.
In Oklahoma, you are given 30 days to register your vehicle. This applies to old and new residents alike, and vehicles new or old.
To register a vehicle, you should visit an Oklahoma Service or Licensed Operator Location. Make sure that you have the required documents and an insurance policy before visiting.
During this visit, your vehicle will also be titled and tagged. Always keep the title inside the vehicle, while your tag and decal should be visible.
Speaking of insurance policies, Oklahoma requires every vehicle to be insured with these minimum liability coverages:
- $25,000 for injury or death of one person
- $50,000 for injury or death of two or more persons
- $25,000 for property damage
You are also required to have your insurance policy in your vehicle at all times. This way, you can show this to the police officer if you are stopped.
Failure to comply with the vehicle insurance requirements or with having your policy in your vehicle will result in a fine of up to $250, 30 days in jail, or both. In some cases, your license may be suspended.
Moreover, if you register your vehicle late, a $1 per day for a maximum of 100 days will be charged after the grace period.
Oklahoma Yielding Laws
What does yielding the right-of-way mean?
Let’s first talk about the concept of right-of-way.
The right-of-way dictates which vehicles go first in an intersection. It also dictates whether the vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist should go first if they all meet at an intersection or crosswalk.
For example, if you are at an intersection, the first vehicle that crosses the intersection has the right-of-way.
Now, in Oklahoma, vehicles are expected to yield the right-of-way when:
- There are children playing on the streets
- A blind person is crossing (you’ll spot them with a cane or a guide dog)
- You’re at a crosswalk and pedestrians are crossing
- You’re at an intersection with a ‘Yield’ sign
- You are entering an intersection or making a turn – you must yield to oncoming traffic
- You are entering a public road and you’re coming from a private road
- You encounter an emergency vehicle when they are sounding the siren or has red flashing lights turned on
- There is a school bus or a church bus
If you don’t yield and cause an accident, you will be at fault.
Also, if you don’t yield to emergency vehicles, you may be fined. These fines are doubled if you do not yield or stop when you encounter a school bus with red flashing lights or a stop sign visible.
Oklahoma Speed Limits
Ever heard of the “Basic Speed Rule”?
In Oklahoma, there’s such a thing as the “Basic Speed Rule” where there’s no specific speed limit but you are still required to drive at a reasonable speed depending on the current conditions.
In general, your speed should:
- Allow you to be careful
- Not be too fast or too slow, usually just the same with other vehicles on the road
- Not too slowly that you block or interfere with traffic from flowing smoothly
- Be adjusted depending on the road conditions (rain, snow, work zone, etc)
Besides that, there are specific speed limits depending on where you are:
| Area | Max Speed |
| Four-lane divided and two-lane highways | 70 mph |
| Turnpikes | 75 mph |
| Two-lane highways | 65 mph |
| County roads | 55 mph |
| Highways within state parks or wildlife refuges | 45 mph |
| Other roads in state parks or wildlife refuges | 35 mph |
| School zones on any highway outside of a municipality in a properly marked zone | 25 mph |
Take note that these speed limits will be followed unless otherwise stated.
Violating the Basic Speed Rule and other speed limits will get you a $384.90 fine and maybe even 30 days in jail. These fines are doubled if they happened in a work, construction, or school zone.
Oklahoma Parking Laws
Knowing where to park will avoid traffic tickets and other penalties. In Oklahoma, it’s illegal to park in these places:
- On a sidewalk
- On a crosswalk
- Within an intersection
- Within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection
- In front of a public or private driveway
- Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant
- Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station
- Within 75 feet on the opposite side of the entrance of any fire station
- Within 30 feet of any flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic control signal at the side of the roadway
- Within 50 feet of the nearest railroad crossing
- Alongside or at the opposite side of an obstruction or street excavation
- On the roadway beside a vehicle stopped or parked (considered as double parking)
- On any bridge or elevated structure on the highway
- Any place where there are signs stating no stopping or parking
- On any parking space allotted for physically disabled people (unless you have a permit)
Depending on where you illegally parked, you may be fined just a few dollars. Some parking tickets, however, go above $50.
Oklahoma Cell Phone Law
Oklahoma prohibits the use of cellular phones to text while driving. This includes sending, reading, and constructing a text message.
If you are found texting while driving, a police officer can ask you to pull over even if you don’t have other violations. You will also be fined $100 per offense.
Conclusion
Those were the important Oklahoma traffic laws that you need to know about.
These laws are there to ensure safety and organization on the road. Making sure that you have a driver’s license and a registered vehicle is a first, but you also have to follow the traffic laws set by the state.
If not, you get a penalty and a possible license suspension. And nobody wants that!
So stick by the rules!