7 Maine Driving Laws Most Drivers Have Never Heard Of

Riding with your dog loose in the bed of your pickup is against the law in Maine.

It’s the kind of rule many drivers only learn after they get a ticket.

Here are the Maine driving laws most drivers have never heard of.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Traffic laws and fines are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

1. Snow and Ice on Your Vehicle

Maine added a snow-and-ice rule for drivers in 2023.

If your vehicle’s registered weight is under 10,000 pounds, you have to take reasonable measures to keep snow or ice from falling off it on a public way.

The penalty applies only when the snow or ice causes damage or injury.

A first offense carries a fine of up to $50, and repeat offenses run $150 to $250.

2. Studded Tire Dates

Studded tires are banned in Maine from May 1 to Oct. 1.

Outside those dates, the ban doesn’t apply.

Tires with retractable studs can stay on your vehicle all year, as long as you keep the studs retracted from May 1 to Oct. 1.

The state transportation commissioner can extend the period when studs are allowed or, in a special case, issue a permit that covers stated periods of time.

A permit costs $3 to $15, and you have to carry it in an easily accessible place in or about your vehicle.

School buses and fire department vehicles are exempt from the ban.

3. Headlights With Wipers

Your headlights have to be on in Maine whenever your windshield wipers are in constant use.

That applies at any hour of the day.

The same goes for the hours from sunset to sunrise.

You need your headlights, too, when rain, freezing rain, fog or snow keeps you from seeing people or vehicles 1,000 feet ahead.

If you’re parked or standing off the main traveled part of the road, you don’t need your headlights on.

4. Passing Tow Trucks and Utility Crews

Stopped tow trucks and utility crews with their authorized lights on fall under Maine’s move-over law, along with emergency vehicles.

It isn’t limited to police cruisers.

When you pass one, you have to use a lane that isn’t next to it, if possible.

If a lane change isn’t possible or safe, you have to pass at a careful and prudent speed.

Breaking the rule can cost you a fine of at least $275.

5. Phones at a Red Light

Maine’s hands-free law bars you from using a handheld electronic device or mobile phone while you operate a vehicle on a public way.

That includes the time you’re stopped at a red light or a stop sign.

A driver who has pulled off the road and halted where the vehicle can safely remain stationary is exempt.

You can also call police or emergency services during an immediate threat to someone’s health or well-being, unless you hold a learner’s permit.

Drivers who are 18 or older and don’t hold an intermediate license or learner’s permit can use hands-free mode.

If your phone is mounted where it doesn’t block your view, you can use one hand for a feature that takes only a single swipe, tap or push.

A first offense costs $50, and each later offense costs $250.

Texting is a separate offense, and a first one carries a fine of at least $250.

6. Passing a Bicyclist

Passing a bicycle traveling in your direction takes at least 3 feet of space between your vehicle and the rider.

The same distance applies to a roller skier.

In a no-passing zone, you can pass a bicyclist or roller skier traveling in your direction only when it’s safe.

A collision between your vehicle and a bicyclist or roller skier is prima facie evidence of a violation.

That means the collision is enough to show a violation unless the driver rebuts it.

7. Dogs in the Truck Bed

Maine bars you from carrying a dog in the open part of a pickup truck on a public way.

The exception is a dog you protect from falling, jumping or being thrown from the vehicle.

The law’s list of open vehicles includes pickup trucks and convertibles but isn’t limited to those two.

A farmer or farm employee can carry a dog needed for agricultural work.

A licensed hunter with every required license and permit can carry a hunting dog at a hunting site or between sites during the legal season.

How Many Maine Drivers Use Their Phones

A 2025 Maine distracted driving survey had observers watch drivers for 60 minutes at each of 80 sites in 12 counties in April.

Of the 9,964 drivers observed, 4.7% were using a phone in some way, up from 3.7% in 2024.

About 1.8% had a phone to the ear, the same share as in 2024.

That works out to roughly 5 in every 100 drivers, so a few of the drivers around you on your commute may be breaking the hands-free law.

How the Fines Compare

A move-over violation carries the highest first-offense minimum of the fines above, at $275, ahead of $250 for a first texting offense.

A first hands-free violation costs $50, and a first offense for snow or ice that causes damage or injury tops out at $50.

A repeat hands-free violation costs you $250, five times the first-offense fine.