TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey is home to some pretty bizarre laws, but did you know you can get a ticket for hanging an air freshener or any other small object from your rearview mirror in your car?
According to New Jersey law, “[N]o person shall drive any vehicle so constructed, equipped or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver’s vision to the front and to the sides.”
That means your air freshener, graduation tassel and other small objects as small as 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches could land you a summons by a cop who is willing to write and issue it.
It happens more than you think too.
According to the Richardson Law Offices in Woodbury, “The New Jersey Appellate Court has ruled ruled (in State v. Barrow) that a pair of tiny boxing gloves, measuring 3 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches that were hanging from the defendant’s rear-view mirror, provided a police officer with sufficient reasonable suspicion to stop of the defendant’s car. This stop ultimately resulted in the discovery of drugs in the defendant’s possession.”
“The irony of the case is that the court commented that the tiny gloves may not have been large enough to support a conviction for hanging an object from the mirror, but they did provide enough probable cause to support the stop and the discovery of the drugs,” the firm said.
The fine for that violation is a $55 ticket.
If a cop suspects you are involved in some kind of other nefarious activity, or just wants to bust chops for whatever reason, he can legally initiate a traffic stop because of the air freshener hanging from your window in hopes that he will find whatever it is he thinks you are doing.
Welcome to New Jersey.
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