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 20, 2026

Destination: Los Angeles

10Excellent

Pretty solid rental company, and they even handle the toll payments for you, which is super convenient.

June 19, 2026

Destination: Ontario

8Very good

Picking up and dropping off the car was really easy.

June 18, 2026

Destination: San Francisco

The staff were really warm and friendly.

Destination: Las Vegas

Service was prompt, plenty of car options to choose from, and communication throughout was smooth and easy.

Destination: Minneapolis

They downgraded me from a full-size to a mid-size, and there was no way all my hockey gear was going to fit.

Destination: Reno

Really great experience overall.

Destination: Washington D.C.

Really good

Really good overall

Destination: Phoenix

Shuttle bus worked well

June 17, 2026

Destination: Tampa

Staff at the rental counter were really friendly and helpful, but there was some confusion between the insurance I bought on the platform and what the rental company had on their system.

Pick-up was super quick and hassle-free, and there were no extra charges at all.

Destination: Jackson Hole

Absolutely fantastic experience.

Overall, I was really satisfied with the whole experience.

June 16, 2026

Destination: San Diego

Pretty happy overall, everything went really smoothly the whole way.

Destination: Salt Lake City

I'm really happy with QEEQ—everything about their service was excellent!

Destination: Houston

It was okay, nothing special but nothing really bad either.

They responded really quickly.

The front desk staff were really patient and had a great attitude.

Overall it was a pretty good experience: the car was quite new and smooth to drive. But the information wasn’t very clear. When I booked, it showed Tesla, but when I arrived at SFO they told me there was no Tesla available, only other models, and they even had to double-check if they had any EVs at all. That’s when I realized there was a tiny line in the booking that said Tesla or similar. If you don’t look closely, you’d totally miss that, so I was a bit disappointed. That said, apart from not getting the exact car I was expecting, I was quite happy with everything else and the service overall.

June 15, 2026

Destination: Hawaii - Hawaii Island

Renewing it myself was way too expensive.

Service was decent overall.

Destination: Portland

Great service and a really nice car—made for a very smooth and pleasant business trip.

June 14, 2026

Destination: Austin

Great service.

Staff were just so-so at first and tried to give us a worse car in the same class, but after QEEQ stepped in we were able to switch to a much more reliable vehicle without any hassle.

Super satisfied with everything from start to finish.

Destination: Detroit

Renting and returning the car was super easy, everything was done in just a few minutes. Really happy with the whole experience.

June 13, 2026

Destination: Hawaii - Maui Island

Pretty satisfied overall.

June 12, 2026

Destination: Philadelphia

Overall everything felt pretty good.

June 11, 2026

Destination: Boston

The staff were really patient. We didn’t share a common language, but they took their time using translation apps to communicate with me.

June 10, 2026

Destination: Seattle

They were out of the XC90 so they upgraded us to an Audi Q7 instead, which was fantastic.

Destination: New York

Excellent experience.

June 9, 2026

Destination: Anaheim

Super satisfied with the whole experience.

Super efficient service and the staff were really friendly.

Really good, way better value for money than we expected. We had four people, one big suitcase and three 20-inch carry-ons, all packed to the max. The car was so full the rearview mirror was basically only useful for checking the sides, haha. Our plans changed later so we didn’t do a one-way drop anymore, and switched to the Portland rental location instead—just dropped the keys and left, super easy and hassle-free!

June 8, 2026

Destination: Raleigh

Pick‑up and return were really easy, and the car was pretty new and in great shape.

One of the latches on the soft-top Wrangler was broken, so when it poured, water leaked in… There weren’t any other Wranglers to swap into, so I just had to put up with it. Then on the way down from the volcano the wind was so strong it literally lifted the top—such a mess… But once we’d already been up to the stargazing lookout, I didn’t really care anymore. They switched me into a very new Altima and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing—sedans are definitely more comfortable.

Fair prices and really good service.

Destination: Tustin

The car was really new and in great condition.

Picked the car up around 6:30 with no line at all. Paperwork was done really fast, and they even offered me two models to choose from. I went for the Highlander and it turned out to be the larger Grand Highlander. It used more gas than I expected, but with four people and four big suitcases, it was definitely more comfortable.

Overall the service was pretty good.

June 7, 2026

Super satisfied with everything.

Destination: Denver

Everything went smoothly, nothing to complain about at all.

Pretty satisfied overall

AVIS staff were really friendly, explained everything clearly, and even gave helpful reminders.

June 6, 2026

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.

United States Car Rentals