Hanging Your Mask On Your Rearview Mirror Could Get You A Ticket
I remember about 20 years ago, I was riding on the highway with my girlfriend at the time. We were both much younger, in our twenties. And frankly, she was kind of a hippie, I guess you'd say. So she had like a dream catcher with feathers and stuff hanging from her rear view mirror. this one day, she got pulled over.
We were a bit confused, as her tendency was to drive at, or slightly under, the speed limit. Speeding was not really her thing. And since the inspection and registration were all good, we were curious what the deal was. Maybe we looked like thoroughly irresponsible adults or whatnot. In my twenties, I'm sure I did, hahaha.
He told us the reason he pulled us over was because of all the hippie ornaments she had hanging from her mirror. The trooper was extremely polite, did not giver her a ticket, and sent us on our way, no big deal. But I never forgot it. And this year, as I've seen masks constantly hanging from windows, I wondered when it would come up.
Well, now it has.The Maine Department of the Secretary of State has been trying to get the word out that this practice is against the law because it obstructs your main view. Law stipulates that nothing should ever be hanging from your rear view mirror. Not even those stinky little pine trees.
Not to mention, it's no chump change fine either. If you actually got a ticket for doing it. The fine is $325. I'm not sure what it would take to actually get that fine. I imagine you'd have to be a habitual offender. I doubt you'd get one right out of the gate. Unless of course, you're the type that wants to argue with cops. That'll just be a different problem.
At the end of the day, it certainly isn't worth a ticket that costs that much to keep your masks out of the way. I hang mine off the little tab on the heating vent. It's out of the way, can hang to dry a bit, and won't get me a $325 ticket. Seems like win-win option to me. So maybe it's time to find a new place to hang yours?