Are You Breaking the Law in Maine if You Mount a Device to Your Windshield?
Like many states in the country, Maine has a distracted driving law. Since the invention of the smartphone, far too many drivers have gotten themselves into accidents by not paying attention to the road because they are doing something on their phones.
On September 19th, 2019, a new law went into effect in Maine that "prohibits drivers from holding any electronic device not part of the operating equipment of the motor vehicle, unless specifically exempted."
There are a whole bunch of definitions on the State of Maine's website on what it deems as distracted driving. Many people will mount their phones on the dashboard or attach them to their windshield with a suction cup mount. But is that legal?
According to imagnetmount.com, there are 28 states that have laws that prohibit mounting smartphones or GPS devices to a car's windshield, most of them citing that it can hinder a driver's vision of the road.
Maine however is not one of them, but the reasoning behind it is almost a bit of a loophole.
According to the article, Maine law states that “everything which is not forbidden is allowed.” It's a legal maxim that basically makes it easier to list the things you can't do than list all the things you can do. So if there is no mention of anything being forbidden on windows other than window tinting of a certain level, that makes mounting things to your windshield legal, even though some would say it's not the best idea.
Keep in mind if you drive through the New England states of Connecticut or Rhode Island, you'll want to pull that mount off your windshield because they have a law prohibiting it.
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