Americans spend a lot of time in their cars. By some estimates, the average American spends around 300 hours in their vehicle every year.
Given this, it’s understandable that people do everything they can to make their car as comfortable as possible. This could include swapping out their car’s infotainment system, modifying their vehicle’s cupholders, or even doing something as simple as adding an air freshener to their car.
The latter may seem harmless. However, a man says that his simple act of hanging a car air freshener off of his mirror resulted in him being pulled over by the police. Here’s what he did wrong.
Is It Illegal To Use A Car Air Freshener?
In a video with over 144,000 views, TikTok user @veilvial offers a piece of advice after a recent interaction with a police officer.
“If you live in the states of Michigan, Texas, or California—there might be more, but I only know about those three right now—don’t hang the Little Tree fragrant scent things from your rearview mirror, because you will get pulled over,” he states.
“I was tonight,” he continues. “It was not fun. But no ticket.”
Some commenters were in disbelief about whether this was really a crime. As it turns out, there are several states that do not allow drivers to hang air fresheners off their rearview mirror. But it’s not for the reasons you might expect.
Why You Shouldn’t Hang Things From Your Rearview Mirror
According to AAA, there are at least nine states that ban drivers from hanging anything on their rearview mirror: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Florida.
In some states, like Virginia, the police cannot stop a driver solely for having something hanging from their rearview mirror. In others, however, police can use the existence of something hanging from the rearview mirror—like a car air freshener—as an excuse to pull someone over.
This practice has been criticized by legal advocates who claim that such stops unfairly target minorities.
“I do not remember in my career as a defense attorney representing someone stopped for an obstructed view who was white,” explained Brad Haywood, executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, to local CBS affiliate WANE. “It’s just been Black and brown people.”
So why do states have bans on this practice in the first place? According to AAA, these bans were initially put in place for safety reasons. Legislatures wanted to make sure nothing was dangling in a driver’s line of sight or pulling their attention away from the road. However, there are other reasons why a state may ban items hanging from the mirror. For example, over time, the constant tug of a hanging object can slowly pry the rearview mirror from its mount, which can cause it to fall.
Additionally, there are some concerns about the potential health impact of these car air fresheners. One study found that volatile organic compounds were emitted from Little Trees air fresheners, which, over time, could have an adverse impact on the health of the driver and their passengers.
Commenters Share Their Thoughts
In the comments section, users offered their views on the TikToker’s situation.
“Why are we cracking down on synthetic fragrances now?” asked a user.
“Life is becoming ridiculous to live in,” declared another.
“Meanwhile all the cool jeeps have like 30 ducks lined up on the dashboard,” observed a third.
“Guys! It’s ‘ok’ until u are in court for an accident and find out u were negligent for obstructing ur own view. Or ur insurance claim was denied because u did something that was ‘illegal,’” wrote a further TikToker.
BroBible reached out to @veilvial via TikTok direct message and comment.