AAA: Refrain from Hanging Masks on Your Mirrors

Window obstructions cause safety hazard for all motorists and pedestrians

AAA East Central wants to remind motorists that hanging items from a rear-view mirror, including protective masks, is a safety hazard. With varying requirements about masks/facial coverings in place, many motorists are keeping masks in their cars, and many are hanging them from their rear-view mirrors as a way to keep them handy. This has the potential to partially block their field of vision, putting them and others in harm’s way.

“It is essential to have a completely clear field of vision while driving,” says Theresa Podguski, Legislative Director, AAA East Central. “Motorists should keep their masks in their glove boxes, middle consoles, or back seats to avoid this preventable hazard.”

In Pennsylvania, it is against the law to operate a vehicle with anything hanging from the rear-view mirror. Moreover, in a typical city, a motorist encounters as many as 200 different situations per mile. The eyes provide nearly all of the information needed to respond to road conditions, traffic patterns, signals, and signs. Obstructing this field of vision, even partially, can cause you to miss things that should be seen, such as signs, pedestrians, wildlife, motorcycles, bikes, or other vehicles.

Pennsylvania Democrats notch key election-related court wins
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court has given the Democratic Party a series of victories related to November’s presidential election in the battleground state. One of Thursday’s decisions was in a lawsuit that sought favorable fixes to glitches and gray areas in the mail-in voting law. The court granted Democrats’ request to order a three-day extension of Pennsylvania’s Election Day deadline to count mailed-in ballots. It also authorized satellite election offices and drop boxes to head off an avalanche of mail ballots in Philadelphia and its populous suburbs. Another ruling kicked the Green Party’s presidential candidate off the November ballot for not strictly following procedures for getting on it.

Green Party candidate is ordered off Pennsylvania ballot
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says the Green Party’s candidate for president didn’t strictly follow procedures for getting on the state ballot in November’s election and cannot appear on it. Thursday’s decision is a win for Democrats as Joe Biden tries to recapture the critical battleground state’s electoral votes from President Donald Trump. The court in a 5-2 Democratic majority reversed the ruling by a Republican judge on the candidacy of Howie Hawkins. In this case, Democrats targeted what they said were disqualifying irregularities in how the Green Party candidate filed affidavits that accompany paperwork to get on the ballot.

Biden makes push for voters on National Black Voter Day
By KAT STAFFORD Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Biden’s campaign is unveiling a series of nationwide digital events targeting Black voters in swing states — a strategic move to further energize the key demographic as the race heads into its final weeks. The virtual events, which will commemorate Friday’s inaugural National Black Voter Day, will begin with a voter registration and early vote rally in North Carolina featuring vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris as part of the campaign’s “Turn Up and Turn out the Vote Virtual Bus Tour.”