Has anyone ever received a ticket for having a pine tree air freshener on their mirror?

Wow. I didn’t even know you aren’t allowed to have them on there (i don’t have it..but still). I would imagine this law, if it exists, is not very well known. And so you should be able to plead that and fight it in court. The traffic law also varies w/ state. What state are you in?

no, it’s definitely legit. In most states it’s illegal to have anything hanging from the mirror… it’s obstruction of view.

If the cop was in a bad mood or needing to meet a quota, he had every right to write that ticket. stupid, but legit.

Unless it’s the size of an actual pine tree, I see no way that it could present a danger in traffic. A California court thinks otherwise.

ALSO, everyone with an air freshener in their car smokes marijuana

@PnL I’m from Maryland but was in New Jersey.

@poof I think the cop was in a bad mood, he was being an ass.

NJ? absolutely legit. I live in NJ and since I got my license 8 years ago, I’ve gotten 3 of them. Sorry, but you can’t fight it.

NJ Troopers are ASSHOLES.

@poofandmonk: at some point, you’re just going to have to put up with the smell. :)

@tone: LOL none of them were air fresheners… it was decorative crap :)

@poofandmonk: no amount of crystal dolphins is worth 162 dollars!!

I actually have so much crap hanging from my rearview. I hope it’s legal in Florida. :/

Tekneakz: since you were an out-of-stater, you were easy to pick-on. Gotta keep up with the ticket quota!

Most states have laws about hanging things from mirrors/obstruction of view, but you and poofandmook are the first people I’ve heard of that has been ticketed.

Oh, that is just wrong.

PnL wrote “I would imagine this law, if it exists, is not very well known. And so you should be able to plead that and fight it in court.”

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That will never work. Ignorantia juris non excusat.

Yes!! One of the first times I ever drove at night after getting my license, I happened to be speeding (that I do admit…), and the cop who stopped me told me he would be “nice enough” to only charge me with a $250 “equipment infraction” for having an air freshener hanging from my window instead of giving me a speeding ticket that would go on my record. While I was very thankful to keep a clean driving record, it seemed a bit like he just needed to get that one last ticket out to reach that month’s quota…

Yeaaaaa its a BS ticket, but definitely something they are all about here in Jersey, my mom has gotten a couple of them.

There was a Mythbusters episode about “how to beat the radar gun”. At one point, someone suggested hanging a little disco-ball type thing from the rear view mirror. The CA state trooper on the show responded “Not only would that not work to defeat the radar gun, we’d give you an extra citation for hanging something from your mirror.”

Up until recently, you could get a ticket in California for having your GPS mounted on the windshield. Just because a law is stupid and you don’t agree doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay the ticket. It’s only 54 bucks. Just pay it and be done with it. It’s not worth your time and effort to drive back and forth to Jersey to fight it. Plus, you’ll lose.

ibalou, has that law changed? Good to know. When I rented a car in CA two years ago, I had to have the GPS mounted on the dashboard, which seemed both unsafe and inconvenient. I’m glad if/when I go back I can use my own windshield mount. Thanks!

@MrItty – It was recently signed into law by the Governator, but I think it doesn’t yet take effect until January 1, and it’s very specific as to where on the windshield you can mount the GPS. By the way- the old law didn’t only make GPS’s on the windshield illegal, but ANY GPS (or anything else) that obstructed your view in any way at all was illegal, even if it was dashboard mounted.

But yes, they finally changed it.

Here’s the link

Maybe the cop just really hated the smell of pina colada. I know I do.

rob – GA. thanks for mentioning that and helping cure my ignorance ;)

It’s illegal to have anything hanging from your rearview mirrors, anywhere in the country. Mostly because people used to hang cd’s and mirror balls and things that might flash at other drivers. It’s a hazard. Whatever cop you had sucks, but it’s true.

r just to see if i was up to anything//basically no reason and found a reason to bust me. I got the ticket dropped though, i knew some ppl at the station. i really doubt he will even issue the ticket

Air freshners for cars were designed to not restrict the drivers vision.

A violation are the blue handicap placards hanging down from a cars rearview mirror. Most are so big.

It’s a view obstruction violation.