Law Banning Items From Rearview Mirrors Being Rethought

      The title of this article, "Law banning items from rearview mirrors is being rethought", is pretty self-explanatory. Helms states that in Michigan there is a law banning all items that people hang from their rearview mirrors. This law isn’t widely known and police officers rarely enforce it. Most people believe that dangling items from their rearviews is acceptable as long as it isn't obstructing their view. New legislation is being considered to allow drivers to hang small items but still prohibit ones that would block their view. However, the bill doesn’t specify how big or small the items can be and police would have the arbitrary power of when to pull people over.
      Helms quotes Detroiter John Ortiz, “’Some things are gaudy, and I could understand banning that, but this air freshener doesn’t distract my view.’” This quote stuck out to me because I think it really demonstrates how pointless the current ban is. John Ortiz disagrees with the ban as do I. The current ban is not necessary and the new bill that softens the ban should be enough to avoid any problems. While the new bill doesn’t specify what sized items are allowed, I believe Michigan drivers will have the common sense to discern which items will be acceptable and which ones will be a danger to their driving. Also, while it will give police arbitrary power to pull people over, the same thing is true now with the current ban. Senator Ron Jelinek said about the current ban, “’I call it a ‘gotcha’ law. It’s an excuse to pull someone over.’” However, if the new bill is passed, police will have less of an excuse to pull driver’s over as more items will be allowed to hang from rearview mirrors. The current ban is impractical and should be replaced by the new legislation in consideration.