Air Freshener Citations on the Rise, Stir Controversy

In 2004, roughly 20,000 drivers were warned or cited by police for window obstructions. This year that figure is supposed to top 38,000 — a 91% increase. The law says drivers can be cited for anything a police officer thinks might “materially obstruct” a driver’s vision, which can include a 2-inch car deodorizer.

While safety concerns always have a place, many civil rights advocates and defense lawyers say the law is used for more insidious purposes: as a reason to pull drivers over and perform a search of their vehicles. An Illinois appeal court upheld a ruling that threw out the conviction for Xanax possession against a southern Illinoisan. He was pulled over in 2006 because of a tree-shaped deodorizer in his car.

In Michigan a state senator sponsored legislation to overturn the law against dangling ornaments after his own teenage daughter was pulled over for having a string hanging from her rearview mirror. State Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks), shepherded the bill through the Senate 37-0, and it now faces action in the state House of Representatives.

The feeling is police can use the window-obstruction law to pull over vehicles arbitrarily, and minorities bear the brunt of this practice. A 2008 review of traffic stops showed that minority drivers were 13% more likely to get pulled over than white drivers and 8% more likely to be cited for an offense, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study.

Do you hang anything from your car’s rearview mirror? What do you think about the prospects of the windshield-obstruction law remaining on the books?

Police Handing Out Tickets for Air Freshener (Chicago Tribune)