Motorcyclists urge motorists not to hang a mouth mask on the rear-view mirror. It would limit the view forward to such an extent that dangerous situations could arise.
Motor platform MotorNL comes with this call. A face mask hanging from the rear-view mirror makes people on motorcycles, bicycles and mopeds, but also pedestrians ‘invisible’. According to MotorNL, this creates dangerous situations. Ad van de Wiel, motor test coordinator at MotorNL, says that he does everything he can to be visible in traffic, but that the mouth mask creates a new danger. “Fluorescent suit, reflection on my bike, change places on the road as I approach an intersection; I do everything I can to be visible in traffic. And now I’m disappearing behind a face mask?”
According to MotorNL, there is even legislation in other countries that prohibits the use of masks on the mirror. In Luxembourg, for example, there is a fine of € 49. In the Netherlands and Belgium it is not so explicitly stated in the traffic rules, but in both countries you can be fined if your view is obstructed by an unnecessary object, in this case, for example, a mouth mask. According to the platform, the fine in the Netherlands is € 150, in Belgium between € 110 and € 120.