Can police in NC stop you for items hanging on your car’s rearview mirror? Here’s the law
It’s pretty common for drivers to hang items from their rearview mirrors, but could it get you in trouble with the law?
Traffic laws vary across the country, and in some states, there are strict rules about objects hanging from rear view mirrors and windshields.
It’s a question more people have asked since the April 2021 killing of 20-year-old Duante Wright during a traffic stop. Wright was pulled over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, the Associated Press reported. Officers then tried to arrest him when they discovered he had a warrant for a weapons charge — but he was originally pulled over for his tags and air freshener.
The legalities of items on rearview mirrors differ across the country, but what are the rules in North Carolina? Can you get pulled over by police for having a hanging air freshener, key chain or face mask?
Here’s what to know about the state laws regarding rear view mirrors:
Can a driver be pulled over in NC for an item on a rearview mirror?
First of all, you must have a rearview mirror.
According to state law, “no person shall drive a motor vehicle on the streets or highways of this State unless equipped with an inside rearview mirror of a type approved by the Commissioner, which provides the driver with a clear, undistorted, and reasonably unobstructed view of the highway to the rear of such vehicle.”
So while it is illegal to drive without a rearview mirror, state law does not explicitly criminalize hanging objects from the rearview mirror.
However, you could still be pulled over, depending on the circumstances.
“In the law, it states it must have a clear, undistorted and reasonably unobstructed view … If I can articulate that it [an object] was obstructing your view reasonably of the ear of the highway, I guess I could stop you,” Christopher Casey, a master trooper with North Carolina State Highway Patrol, told The Charlotte Observer.
“That’s all going to come down to officer discretion … so as long as it’s not obstructing or distorting the view to the rear, you can hang whatever you would like.”
So as Casey explained, it would be up to an officer’s discretion on whether or not they believed a driver could be at risk with a blocked view of other traffic on the road.
“We’re constantly telling people to check their mirrors every seven to eight seconds, just so that you’re aware of your surroundings, so if you don’t know what’s coming up behind, if something is obstructing that, you might possibly get hit,” Casey said.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 7:10 AM with the headline "Can police in NC stop you for items hanging on your car’s rearview mirror? Here’s the law."
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