What is an insurance excess?

The excess is the amount you'll only be liable for in case of damage (under Collision Damage Waiver) or theft (under Theft Protection) of the vehicle. Information about the excess will be clearly stated in the price inclusion when you reserve a car on QEEQ.

How can I add an additional driver?

You are advised to make a request upon your arrival at the rental counter. Additional charge per day will incur unless '1 Additional Driver Included' is stipulated on the rental. Please note that the same licence and age requirement applies to the additional driver. The additional driver is supposed to present the required licence document along with the main driver at pickup.

The United States traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete United States Driving and Rental Guide

The United States is usually more suitable for automobile compared to public transportations. Travelling by car is thus a good way to get around to see sights of the country, whether you are planning a complete road trip, or just using a leg of your trip by taking a car to visit the cities. Here is a guide we have prepared to help you familiarized yourself with driving in the USA.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Driving is on the right with the steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car. Since traffic rules differ from state to state, it is better to review the regulations for each individual state in which you are planning to drive. Pedestrians have the legal right of way in all states.

Speed Limit

The speed limit varies from state to state, butis of 65 miles per hour (equals110 km p/h) in the majority of the states. Speed limit is frequently monitored by radar guns.

Traffic Signs

Many US states comply with the same road signs standard, but some of the states and large cities such as New York City have adopted an extent of localization or a supplement.

Although there is a variety of regulatory signs throughout different states, they are usually self-explanatory, with explicit wordings marked on the signs.

Stop

Yield(Give Way)

United_States_of_ America_Traffic_Sign__Yield_to_Pedestrians

Yield to Pedestrians, New York City

Passing Zone Ends

Passing Zone Begins

No Parking

No Parking; Here to corner

No Parking; Except Sundays

Among regulatory signs, there is one category which indicates ‘No Standing’, and may be unfamiliar for foreign visitors or international travellers. ‘No standing’ signs indicate that stopping temporarily to load or unload passengers is allowed, while parking is not allowed. The signs are also usually red on white, but local variations exist.

No Standing Any Time

No Standing Any Time New York State

No Standing Cars Towed Away, Baltimore

Warning signs feature yellow background colour and black pictogram, with a few exceptions.

Road Slippery When Wet

Curve With Speed Advisory

Stop Ahead

Yield Ahead

Railroad Crossing(Crossbuck)

Railroad Crossing Ahead

Information signs provide guidance and feature rectangular shape.

Toll Road Pass Only

Toll Road Pass or HOV 2+

Toll Costs at Intersections or HOV 2+

Hospital Sign

You may refer to this for the unified standard that is used by the states.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

All drivers and passengers are regulated by law to wear seatbelts. A fine applies if a driver or passenger is caught without a seatbelt on.

Booster Seat Laws

Even though regulations vary by state, almost all states require children to be in a child seat facing backwards in the front of a car, or facing forward in the rear. As a minimum guide, children should use a booster seat until they reach 36kg to 45kg or 145cm high.

For a specific guidance regarding child safety rules, you may click here.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

You must always park in the direction of the traffic flow on the near side of the road. Often, parking spaces are diagonally aligned and ‘head-in’, which means the front of your car must be facing the pavement (sidewalk).

· Parking Restriction

In some cities, parking restrictions are indicated by the kerb colour; for example, a red kerb indicates no parking at any time, a yellow kerb may signify a limited truck loading zone, a green kerb indicates a limited parking period, a blue kerb for disabled parking only, and a white kerb passenger loading and unloading. No parking areas, for example, at street corners, may be indicated by yellow lines. Therefore, you should always read all pavement markings carefully.

United States Red Kerb No Parking (Image from aarestriping.com)

United States Yellow Lines No Parking (Image from merchantcircle.com)

United States Yellow Kerb Loading Only (Image from timeout.com)

· Paid Parking

Parking in most cities and towns isn’t usually a problem and on-street parking is usually metered, along with permissive parking signs specified with a restricted amount of time. It’s advisable for you to estimate your parking time and reserve a bit more parking fee as a precaution to avoid the fine for overtime parking.

The signs are green and white, and local variations do occur with additional information or slightly different designs.

Parking with Time Restrictions

Parking With Time Restrictions New York City

Fuel Prices

The average price for USA gasoline and diesel during July to October 2017 is US$0.74.

Toll

It has more than 5,000 miles of toll roads in the USA. From bridge and tunnel tolls to express and high occupancy lanes, most states have some sort of toll road system.

Nowadays most tolls are collected electronically via transponders that are typically placed on the windshield of the vehicle. As many toll roads no longer accept cash. It is recommended to check the individual websites of each state's toll system to inform yourself about the payment options along with your route.

If you are hiring a vehicle from Enterprise, National or Alamo in the USA, you can review and pay the tolls online via Highway Toll Administration site; if hiring from Avis or Budget, you can check the e-toll site. For Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Advantage, toll charge can be checked on PlatePass.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

Depending on states, drivers are charged with a fine or a crime with 0.08% or 0.05% BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) limit by volume.

Traffic Fines

Extra care should be applied to abide speed limit when driving in the United States, as speeding fines can be ranging from $36 to $1000 for first-time breaker states by states. A Nation-wide average speeding ticket is US$150.

Failing to understand and follow the parking signs will potentially result in a hefty fine. This is especially the case for big cities like San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. For example, stopping, standing or parking where signs, road markings or traffic control devices do not permit you to do so will incur a fine of US$115 in New York City. In San Francisco, obstructing traffic without a permit in San Francisco will result in a fine as high as US$1000.

Failure to pay traffic infringement fines will likely result in your car rental company collecting the fee from you, with an additional administration charge. These policies are generally illustrated in the terms of the contract on which you signed at the rental desk. For any further questions concerning these matters, you are welcomed to contact QEEQ’ 24/7 customer service team for assistance.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

To drive in the United State, the driver must have a valid driving licnece that has been held for at least 1 or 2 years(according to different car hire company). The licence must be valid at the time of rental, and remain valid throughout the rental period.

The minimum age to rent a vehicle in most locations in the U.S is 21 years (age may vary by state and car category), and the driver must have a valid driver's license held for at least one year. For certain specialty and larger-sized vehicles, the minimum age of 25 years of age applies. If you're 21-25, you are likely to have to pay a young driver fee which is about $25-per-day to $50-per-day.

Guest reviews

1 /

Anonymous

June 6, 2026

Destination: San Francisco

10Excellent

Super easy to find—just followed the instructions from QEEQ and got there with almost no line. Check-in went smoothly, staff were friendly, and the car drove really well, super smooth.

Really good overall.

June 5, 2026

Destination: Greenville

Pick-up was really quick and the location was super easy to find, even for a first-time visitor. Overall, an excellent experience.

Destination: Kaneohe

Really happy they didn’t try to upsell any extra insurance.

Destination: Grand Rapids

Had a really great rental experience, would definitely choose them again next time.

June 4, 2026

Smooth, efficient process from start to finish.

Destination: Los Angeles

Awesome experience! Budget had a crazy long line, probably at least an hour and a half wait. Avis was super quick, and on top of that, it ended up cheaper than Budget for the same price range!

June 3, 2026

Service was great.

June 2, 2026

Destination: Jackson Hole

Pickup was super easy — the whole explanation took like a minute, then they handed over the keys and we grabbed our luggage. Just remember to fill up the tank before returning the car, otherwise they’ll charge you $9.99 a gallon.

Destination: Detroit

Renting the car was really easy and the price was very reasonable.

June 1, 2026

Super satisfied, definitely worth recommending to others.

Destination: Houston

8Very good

The wait in line was still pretty long, so there’s definitely room for improvement.

Destination: Milwaukee

Great service, really fast, and no extra charges at all.

Destination: Charlotte

So far it’s been an excellent experience. Just waiting on the bond to be refunded to my credit card.

Destination: Hawaii - Hawaii Island

Fantastic car rental company—they even gave us two cars to choose from.

May 31, 2026

Destination: Chicago

Pretty good so far. I still haven’t received the final bill yet, so I’m not sure if there’ll be any surprises.

Pretty good overall.

Destination: Rowland Heights

Super friendly and everything went smoothly, and they didn’t try to push any extra insurance on me.

Destination: Boston

Really good, everything was very clear — it’s a long-established brand I trust.

Destination: Boise

The front desk staff were really professional and knew exactly what they were doing.

May 30, 2026

Destination: Savannah

Pick-up was super easy, no pushy insurance sales at all, and returning the car was just as straightforward with Avis.

Car was in great condition and the service was excellent.

May 29, 2026

Communication was smooth and easy. I mentioned I wanted CarPlay, and they set it up right away.

Destination: Washington D.C.

Everything about the rental went really smoothly—the whole process was great, the car was in excellent condition, and the overall experience was fantastic.

May 28, 2026

Destination: Syracuse

Great service and super convenient.

Destination: New York

Perfect rental experience overall – easy to find and the staff were really welcoming.

Destination: Las Vegas

The car I booked wasn’t available when I arrived, and I had to wait an extra hour.

May 26, 2026

Super happy with the whole experience, everything went really smoothly.

Super satisfied – got the car within just a few minutes.

May 25, 2026

Service was great, really satisfied.

Destination: San Jose

Super easy to find the place.

May 24, 2026

Everything was great – the staff were super nice, the service was excellent and the price was very, very good.

Destination: Saint Louis

At first there was a bit of miscommunication – they gave us a 5-seater even though I’d booked a 7-seater. After talking to them on site, they switched us to a 7-seat Buick. I didn’t really pay attention to the exact model, but the Buick was a bit bigger, which worked out perfectly since we had six people and a lot of luggage.

They gave us a Subaru—don’t remember the exact model, but it had three rows and fit six of us perfectly. It was basically brand new with only about 700 miles on it, and the power was great. I’d never driven one before so I wasn’t used to some of the smart features, but I eventually figured out the adaptive cruise control, which made driving a lot easier.

Everything was fine overall, just the line was a bit long so we had to wait quite a while.

Pretty good overall, at least I didn’t feel ripped off.

May 22, 2026

Destination: Miami

Absolutely amazing! The staff are all super nice and they always handle my questions really quickly. I really love Miami—people in Miami are genuinely so warm and kind.

May 21, 2026

Very satisfied

Super satisfied with the whole experience

Super convenient and hassle-free

May 20, 2026

Destination: Atlanta

Really friendly staff, no hard selling or extra charges, the car was new and very clean.

I got to the store about 27 minutes earlier than my scheduled time and ended up driving out later than my original booking. No one reminded me that the extra time would be charged, but after I filed a complaint they agreed to refund it, so overall I’m satisfied. They did try to upsell roadside assistance, and I added it just for convenience.

May 18, 2026

Destination: Salt Lake City

Really good overall, and the service was great too.

Destination: Greensboro

Service was great, super quick and everything went really smoothly.

Destination: Oklahoma City

Had a great experience with Hertz from start to finish. Both the initial pickup and a later car swap went really smoothly. What really stood out was their dedicated pickup area organized by the level of car you booked. There were lots of cars parked in that section and you could just walk around and pick the one you liked, instead of being assigned a random car and having to go back and change it if it didn’t suit you. This setup makes it so much easier to choose a model you’re comfortable with—really liked that.

May 16, 2026

Really great experience overall.

May 15, 2026

Super efficient service and the car was pretty new and really easy to drive!

May 14, 2026

Car was in great shape, clean inside, and drove really smoothly.

Everything was great, they even provided a map.

United States Car Rentals