Weirdest Laws In Rhode Island

Due to the state's small size, horse riders and horse owners in Rhode Island are already confined to very limited areas. The state legislators know this, which is why they created laws that allow for horses to be on highways. Much of the laws are based around the safety of the horse and the rider. These laws also mostly target drivers, which makes sense, because driving fast or honking at a horse and its rider can endanger all parties involved, per the state's Department of Environmental Management. In fact, the driver of a vehicle stands to endanger the horse more than the other way. 

Yet, it gets weird when it comes to the laws for horse riders. Per Justia, if you happen to get caught riding your horse on a highway to test how fast it can go, you will get penalized. "Every person who shall drive any horse over any of the public highways, for the purpose of racing or trying the speed of the horse, shall be fined not more than $20 or imprisoned not exceeding 10 days," the law explains.

Unlike cars, it's a little different when it comes to measuring speed in animals. So it's unclear how any authority figure can even go about determining if the horse rider is just going fast or "testing speed."

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