My fiance was given a ticket for having a small air freshener from her rearview.
Personally I think it was an “end of the month” thing. But is it really against the law?
IIRC, you’re not supposed to hang anything from your rear-view mirror-it’s considered a distraction.
Illegal in what jurisdiction? Unless you specify that, none of the answers given here are necessarily going to apply to you. Some jurisdictions might allow things to hang from one’s rear view mirror, and some might not (and probably enforce the law only as a pretext for pulling someone over on suspicion of some more serious crime).
It’s illegal in CA, but from what I’ve heard, cops usually only cite people for it as punishment for being jerks.
Yes.
In places where it is illegal, can they pull you over just for that, or can they tack it on if they pulled you over for, say, speeding? I seem to remember for the first few months of PA’s seatbelt law (maybe even still), we wouldn’t get a ticket solely for not having it buckled, but if they pulled you over for running a stop sign or some other moving violation, they could add it on. Until the law went into full effect, I believe they could pull you over and give you a warning in the form of a pamphlet, but they wouldn’t write you up simply because your seatbelt wasn’t buckled.
If it is considered an obstructed view, I would think that they could pull you over just for the obstruction. The secondary violation thing is usually reserved for when your illegal behavior can harm only you. If you replace little pine tree air freshener with boquet of balloons in the front seat, then pulling you over immediately makes sense.
I’m not sayin’ that they should…but that they can. I would venture a guess that the GF of the OP did something to make the cops suspicous and that is why she got pulled over. She may not even realise that she did something suspicous.
In college I had a campus parking tag that hung from the rearview mirror. It clearly said (in bold writing on the back) that I had to remove it while driving.
Yes, it is illegal (i.e. ticketable) to drive around with it hanging from the mirror.
Since this is the case though, why do they still sell rearview-mirror-hangables? Air fresheners, fuzzy die… Is there a disclaimer on them to take them off when driving?
What’s the infraction say? I’m betting it’s not “broke the no-things-hanging-from-the-mirror law.” Something about obstructed view? Also, this may be a ticket you can have a cop sign off on and get dismissed.
There’s nothing saying you must hang it from your rearview mirror on these things, I’m betting.
I put air fresheners on my gear shifter. (Why does that sound funny? And I’m not even a guy… 
) They last longer out of the direct sun, too. I don’t like having things dangling in front of me when I’m driving.
It’s illegal in Michigan too, but I don’t think it’s really enforced.
Getting back to the OP. If traffic cites work where you are like they do in California there is a vehicle code section listed on the cite.
Look up that vehicle code and find out the straight dope.
Where I grew up, I believe that you could be cited if you had an obstruction bigger than a certain size (I believe it was 4 square inches). I would think that any law outlawing obstructions would make exceptions for very small ones (having an obstruction the size of a dime on your windshield isn’t going to cause an accident).
while driving with my mom.
i live in california and have a 2" by 3" air freshener hanging from my rearview mirror.
while my mom was driving my car while i was in the passengers seat she was telling me that it was extremely illegal to have an air freshener hanging there, even though that is what it is intended for. i didnt know if she was right, but i pointed out about 10 cars in one minute which also had things hanging from their mirrors.
i see it ALL the time and have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for it until now. i can see how it is illegal if it is right in your face, but in alot of cars it doesnt block much but the sky…and maybe the tops of buildings. it just depends on how low you sit compared to the windshield i guess.
anyways, yes…it is illegal in california. but i wouldnt snap it off your mirror if you see a cop next to you or anything like that. the only reason you would get a ticket for it would be if they are already pulling you over or if you are driving horribly. haha.
i hope this helps(:
For what it’s worth, here’s the relevant section of the California vehicle code. The first line of that section:
…doesn’t address mirrors, is what I’m sure you were going to say. But I wonder if this is why most rearview mirrors no longer attach to the windshield directly, but rather to the roof of the car, as an “unintended consequence” of these sorts of laws.
I’ll have to remember not to drive in California: my car has four separate “staff parking” stickers for various institutions stuck to the corners of it’s windows.
From further down in the same section.
Windshields are cheaper to replace without the rear view mirror attached to it as well. Sure it’s just a metal bolt that goes through the glass that the mirror screws on to, but it’s still an expense.
When was the last time you saw a bolt going through exterior glass to hold the mirror? Any car I’ve ever had where it’s directly attached, it’s a stick on metal base, and the screw visible from the inside, tightens the mirror assembly to the mounting base.
Once the metal is removed from the glass, it is impossible to keep attached. Regardless of which glue you use, kit you buy, or god you sacrifice to. The professional windshield installers are keeping the “good stuff” secret.
As for the OP, like anything else, there is “illegal, and enforced”, and “illegal, usually overlooked, but adds $40 to a ticket if you’re being a jerk when pulled over.” Unless you’ve got an obnoxious display hanging from your mirror, or the cop is in a bad mood, I’d say it’s not likely to be a primary enforcement issue. (One that you can be “stopped for.”)
I disagree. You can buy special rearview mirror glue at auto parts stores. I have used it several times, but never more than once on the same car.