States have jurisdiction over their roads and drivers, and each state exercises this authority by passing traffic laws. Most of these laws remain the same as you cross state lines. But, some areas vary, and failing to comply with regulations can expose you to a range of legal penalties.
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Driving in St. Louis, Missouri
Many of Missouri’s traffic laws will seem familiar to you. The state has laws determining who should yield the right of way, requiring drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians to stop at stop signs and red lights. It also sets the speed limits for its roads.
That said, Missouri’s laws differ from those of other states in a few key areas. These include:
Seat Belts
Seat belts reduce a crash victim’s risk of a fatal injury by up to 45%. Wearing a seat belt can also lower your risk of a non-fatal injury by up to 50%. Vehicle occupants without seat belts are 40 times more likely to die in a crash than one with a seat belt.
Missouri stipulates that everyone in the front seat, regardless of age, must wear a seat belt while the vehicle is moving. It also requires children under 16 to wear a seat belt, regardless of where they sit, when they no longer fall under the state’s child seat law.
Police officers cannot stop you solely for violating the seat belt law. Since the law expressly forbids primary enforcement, the police can only cite you for a seat belt violation if you get stopped for some other traffic violation and the officer observes that you or a passenger failed to wear a seat belt.
The penalty for violating the seat belt law includes a $10 fine plus court costs. But you will have no points added to your driving record.
Child Car Seats
Missouri has a highly specific child car seat law that may differ from other laws you know.
Under the state’s law, drivers must restrain children in three stages:
- Children must ride in car seats until they reach four years old or forty pounds, whichever occurs later
- Children more than four must ride in car seats or booster seats until they reach eight years old, eighty pounds, or four feet nine inches, whichever occurs last
- Children over eighty pounds or taller than four feet nine inches must wear a seat belt or sit in a booster seat
Children must then wear a seat belt until their sixteenth birthday. After that point, they fall under the seat belt law and only need to wear a seat belt if they ride in the front seat. A violation of the car seat law could result in a citation requiring payment of a $50 fine plus court costs.
Fines For Speeding
Like all states, Missouri fines drivers who receive citations for speeding. It uses a graduated schedule of fines that increase based on the excess speed.
The state-imposed speeding fines include:
- $50.50 for 1-5 MPH over the limit
- $60.50 6-10 MPH over the limit
- $70.50 11-15 MPH over the limit
- $100.50 16-19 MPH over the limit
- $155.50 20-25 MPH over the limit
In many cases, you can simply pay the fine without appearing in court. But if you want to challenge the citation, you will need to appear.
Intoxicated Driving
You can get stopped for intoxicated driving in two situations:
- A police officer observes an impairment in your driving due to drugs or alcohol
- Your blood alcohol level is more than 0.08%, whether it affected your driving or not
Most states have provisions like these. But Missouri differs in the strictness of its penalties. An intoxicated driving charge starts as a class B misdemeanor and jumps quickly to a class E felony if the intoxicated driver injures anyone in a crash.
Distracted Driving
Missouri’s newest distracted driving law went into effect in 2023, and it bans all use of handheld devices while driving. This restriction applies whether the driver was talking, texting, reading, or using the device for any other reason. The law permits the use of hands-free systems to talk while driving.
Citations for violating the hands-free law will not begin until January 2025. The penalties for violations will start at a fine of $150 and go up to a felony conviction if the driver causes a fatal crash while violating the law. An attorney who specializes in car accidents can pursue an accident claim against drivers who injure road users.
Trucks Driving in Passing Lanes
Truck drivers can commit a violation in the St. Louis area. Trucks over 24,000 pounds gross vehicle weight cannot use the left lanes on the interstate highways surrounding St. Louis. The areas with these restrictions have signs marking them.
Registering Your Vehicle in Missouri
If you move to St. Louis from another state, you have 30 days to register your vehicles in Missouri.
To register your vehicle, you must meet the following requirements:
- Pay a fee
- Prove your Missouri residency
- Document your ownership with a title or equivalent proof
- Obtain a VIN and odometer inspection
- Pass a safety and emissions inspection
- Present proof of insurance and a certificate proving you do not owe taxes
The law exempts new vehicles from the safety inspection for ten years. Older vehicles will only need safety inspections every other year after the state issues the registration.
Insuring Your Vehicle in Missouri
Missouri requires all vehicle owners to obtain proof of financial responsibility in the event they cause an accident.
It gives owners three options:
- Liability insurance
- Proof of financial responsibility
- Certificate of self-insurance
Most vehicle owners opt to buy liability insurance. The state requires auto insurance policies to meet certain minimums, including:
- $25,000 in bodily injury liability (BIL) coverage per person
- $50,000 in BIL coverage per accident
- $25,000 in property damage liability (PDL) coverage per accident
Visitors passing through St. Louis do not need to buy Missouri auto insurance. Instead, you only need to meet the insurance requirements of your state of residence.
Driving Safely and Legally in St. Louis, MO
You can easily meet the legal requirements for driving in St. Louis. The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have several web pages and printed documents to guide you so you can drive safely and legally in the city.
