Among the perks of getting your own car is the chance to personalize it — with ducks, graduation tassels, fuzzy dice or even just a scented pine tree dangling from the rearview mirror.
Well, you may have to curb that decorative urge, depending on what state you live in. At least nine of the 50 states prohibit hanging items from a car’s rearview mirror, although both awareness and enforcement of the laws vary.
The states where it is illegal to hang things from your rearview mirror:
The main reason behind the prohibitions is to ensure drivers can look through the windshield unimpeded and are not distracted by the decorations. Another concern is preventing damage to the rearview mirror. Over time, hanging objects could weaken the glue holding the mirror in place.
The issue drew renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people started hanging masks from rearview mirrors when they were not in use, prompting warnings about their potential to block a driver’s view.
Any measures that improve driver safety are pluses, said Alec Slatky, managing director of public and government affairs for AAA Northeast.
“In general, the more visibility you have, the better,” Slatky noted. “Whether to spot a pedestrian, a deer or a pothole. If there’s something that’s obstructing your line of sight to the road, it’s probably better not to have it hanging.”
Consequences for drivers violating states’ laws include traffic citations and liability in the event of a crash in which it is determined that the driver’s vision was obstructed by a hanging object.
So, if you’re thinking of things you can hang from your car mirror — don’t. It may not be worth it.
Do you have anything hanging from your rearview mirror? Tell us in the comments.
Last updated on February 6, 2025 by AAA Staff
Ellen is a content producer for AAA Northeast, covering automotive, finance, public affairs and electric vehicle news. She is a former newspaper reporter with experience writing for print and online publications about everything from higher education to sustainability. She recently returned to her native Long Island after living in Connecticut for 20-plus years, and has never met a beach she didn’t like.
