Objects hanging from rear view mirror may be legaler than they appear

Many police in Massachusetts consider any object hanging from a rear
view mirror to be an excuse to stop a car. The state Appeals Court
overruled that policy this week, finding that the state law does not
unconditionally prohibit hanging objects. The judges wrote: "Indeed,
we take judicial notice of the fact that objects such as air
fresheners, graduation tassels, and religious medals commonly are hung
from the rearview mirrors of motor vehicles driven in the
Commonwealth. We doubt that the Legislature intended this ordinary
practice to be grounds, without more, for issuing a citation or for
justifying a stop by police." Based on this decision, there must be
reason to believe that there is a real effect on safe operation, such
as the hanging objects obstructing the driver's view of the road or
actually distracting the driver.

<http://www.socialaw.com/slip.htm?cid=15365&sid=119>

The court noted that Minnesota and South Dakota have laws explicitly
prohibiting hanging objects from the rear view mirror.

--
John Carr )

> Many police in Massachusetts consider any object hanging from a rear
> view mirror to be an excuse to stop a car.

Some property management companies issue parking placards designed to
be hung from the rear view mirror, as does the Registry itself for
handicapped parking placards.

--
- David Chesler >
Iacta alea est

In article .com>,
"David Chesler" > wrote:

> Some property management companies issue parking placards designed to
> be hung from the rear view mirror, as does the Registry itself for
> handicapped parking placards.



The HP placard is only meant to be hung when you take a parking space.

I had one for a number of years.

David Chesler wrote:

> > Many police in Massachusetts consider any object hanging from a rear
> > view mirror to be an excuse to stop a car.
>
> Some property management companies issue parking placards designed to
> be hung from the rear view mirror, as does the Registry itself for
> handicapped parking placards.

Right, but I assume it is only a problem when the car is being driven. I
can't think of a reason to hang a parking pass or a handicapped parking
permit when driving. I do see a lot of people driving around with their
handicapped placards dangling from their mirrors though. Sometimes I
almost feel that I am the only one without one.

It is probably a good idea to remove obstructions from your line of
vision.

>> Some property management companies issue parking placards designed to
>> be hung from the rear view mirror, as does the Registry itself for
>> handicapped parking placards.

> Right, but I assume it is only a problem when the car is being driven. I
> can't think of a reason to hang a parking pass or a handicapped parking
> permit when driving. I do see a lot of people driving around with their
> handicapped placards dangling from their mirrors though. Sometimes I
> almost feel that I am the only one without one.

Around here (northern California) the best way to predict that a driver
will be a needless slowpoke is the handicap plates. There must be a
policy of issuing them to mentally handicapped geezers. How about just
red-tagging the dummies instead?

John S wrote:
> Right, but I assume it is only a problem when the car is being driven. I
> can't think of a reason to hang a parking pass or a handicapped parking
> permit when driving.

The placard has a 7-year or so expiration. After 2 years of flipping
it on and off the mirror it's already getting worn out.

Putting it on and off is just one more pain-in-the-ass thing to
worry about -- sometimes leaving it up is not worth the extra
visibility.

Since I'm able-bodied, I don't want to appear that I took the
spot when I wasn't entitled, so I want to leave it up the entire
time I'm in the spot, which includes some time that I'm driving.
(The placard is issued to my wife, who has radiation-therapy-induced
pneumonitis [She can still use her right ankle quite well, when
she's driving.] If we parked in an HP spot but she's not in the car,
it usually means she didn't feel she could walk all the way back to
the car, and I've gone round to get the car and pick her up.)


> I do see a lot of people driving around with their
> handicapped placards dangling from their mirrors though. Sometimes I
> almost feel that I am the only one without one.

Almost anybody aged or infirm can probably get the requisite
doctor's note.

> It is probably a good idea to remove obstructions from your line of
> vision.

Is that why you've taken a Dremel to the day/night paddle on the
bottom of your mirror?

--
- David Chesler >
Iacta alea est

David Chesler wrote:

> John S wrote:
>
>> Right, but I assume it is only a problem when the car is being driven. I
>> can't think of a reason to hang a parking pass or a handicapped parking
>> permit when driving.
>
>
> The placard has a 7-year or so expiration. After 2 years of flipping
> it on and off the mirror it's already getting worn out.
>
> Putting it on and off is just one more pain-in-the-ass thing to
> worry about -- sometimes leaving it up is not worth the extra
> visibility.
>
> Since I'm able-bodied, I don't want to appear that I took the
> spot when I wasn't entitled, so I want to leave it up the entire
> time I'm in the spot, which includes some time that I'm driving.
> (The placard is issued to my wife, who has radiation-therapy-induced
> pneumonitis [She can still use her right ankle quite well, when
> she's driving.] If we parked in an HP spot but she's not in the car,
> it usually means she didn't feel she could walk all the way back to
> the car, and I've gone round to get the car and pick her up.)
>
>
>> I do see a lot of people driving around with their
>> handicapped placards dangling from their mirrors though. Sometimes I
>> almost feel that I am the only one without one.
>
>
> Almost anybody aged or infirm can probably get the requisite
> doctor's note.
>
>> It is probably a good idea to remove obstructions from your line of
>> vision.
>
>
> Is that why you've taken a Dremel to the day/night paddle on the
> bottom of your mirror?

day/night paddle, what's that? My car's mirror dims automagically,
and even before that wonderful invention came along I can't recall my
vision being obstructed by anything. I have had a (not handicapped)
parking pass hanging off the mirror and if I forget to remove it before
starting the engine, I've ripped it off by the time I've exited the
parking garage because I don't feel comfortable with a piece of plastic
obstructing my view while I'm driving. I've never found it to be a pain
in the ass to do, and I've never put any wear/tear on it either. I just
store it in a handy place in my car while not in use.

John S wrote:
> David Chesler wrote:
>> Is that why you've taken a Dremel to the day/night paddle on the
>> bottom of your mirror?
>
>
> day/night paddle, what's that? My car's mirror dims automagically,
> and even before that wonderful invention came along I can't recall my
> vision being obstructed by anything. I have had a (not handicapped)
> parking pass hanging off the mirror and if I forget to remove it before
> starting the engine, I've ripped it off by the time I've exited the
> parking garage because I don't feel comfortable with a piece of plastic
> obstructing my view while I'm driving. I've never found it to be a pain
> in the ass to do, and I've never put any wear/tear on it either. I just
> store it in a handy place in my car while not in use.

I found the handiest place to be on the mirror :-)

All cars have blind spots. (Even convertibles have A pillars, not
to mention the spot behind the rear view mirror itself. Even
snub-nose buses have a blind spot directly in front of the vehicle.)
You've got to know where the blind spots are, and compensate. As long
as they're reasonable, it's easy enough to compensate.

As for pickup trucks (with dogs, caps, etc. blocking the inboard
mirror) as long as you've got mirrors on both sides of the vehicle,
you're in pretty good shape and probably legal. (You never know,
the code could well be written that any mirror must be unobstructed,
so you'd better remove the inboard mirror, or if that's illegal too,
order one from the factory without that mirror in the first place.)

--
- David Chesler >
Iacta alea est

John S wrote:
>
> David Chesler wrote:
>
> > > Many police in Massachusetts consider any object hanging from a rear
> > > view mirror to be an excuse to stop a car.
> >
> > Some property management companies issue parking placards designed to
> > be hung from the rear view mirror, as does the Registry itself for
> > handicapped parking placards.
>
> Right, but I assume it is only a problem when the car is being driven. I
> can't think of a reason to hang a parking pass or a handicapped parking
> permit when driving. I do see a lot of people driving around with their
> handicapped placards dangling from their mirrors though. Sometimes I
> almost feel that I am the only one without one.

Worst things -- beautiful prismatic crystals which can momentarily blind
people in other cars.

> It is probably a good idea to remove obstructions from your line of
> vision.

It's illegal here to put anything on your rear window except in the bottom
farthest-from-driver corner. I also use the spot on my pickup rear window
directly behind my head -- if anybody thinks I can see out that spot they've
watched The Exorcist way too many times.

--
Cheers,
Bev
===============================================
Last night I played a blank tape at full blast.
The mime next door went nuts!

The Real Bev wrote:
>
[snip]

> It's illegal here to put anything on your rear window except in the bottom
> farthest-from-driver corner.

Even a center-mounted brake light? What about those people with the
menagerie of stuffed animals sitting on their rear-window shelf?

> I also use the spot on my pickup rear window
> directly behind my head -- if anybody thinks I can see out that spot they've
> watched The Exorcist way too many times.

Thin about a canopy or the typical pile of toolboxes and other gear
found in many pickups. A lousy sticker in the window is going to be
worse?

A friend has a pickup truck, and when he looks back, all he sees is a
big, ugly dog staring back at him.

;-)


--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon.