Rhode Island Has No Windshield Mount Exception, So a Dash Cam Rides on the Obstruction Test

The starting point is that accessories Rhode Island has not regulated are allowed. Section 31-23-2(a) says nothing in chapter 31-23 or chapter 31-24 shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories on a vehicle not inconsistent with those chapters, and § 31-23-2(b) makes it an offense only to install equipment that would put the vehicle or its operation at odds with them. A camera is therefore lawful equipment; the question is where it sits and whether its screen faces the driver.

The placement rule is § 31-23-16(a). It forbids driving any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, or other nontransparent material, or dirt, snow or ice upon the front windshield, side wings, or side or rear windows that obstructs the driver's clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway. The reference to an intersecting highway is doing real work: a camera parked at the top center of the windshield behind the mirror shroud usually clears the forward view, while one stuck low on the A-pillar side of the glass can obstruct the diagonal sightline into a cross street and fail the test even though the road straight ahead is unimpeded. The subsection then adds a proviso letting the administrator of the Division of Motor Vehicles permit special stickers on the windshield or windows in the manner the administrator specifies. That proviso, not a camera exemption, is the only affirmative windshield permission the section contains.

What the Division has actually authorized is a closed list, and it does not include a camera. Section 3.5.15(E) of the Official Manual for Vehicle Inspection, 280-RICR-30-15-3, states that the only stickers so authorized are the current inspection approval sticker, an emergency vehicle flashing light permit, and utility stickers used for vehicle identification with a maximum size of three by three and a half inches, and § 3.5.15(F) requires a utility sticker to be placed in the lower right or left corner of the windshield so as not to interfere with the driver's vision. A dash cam is not a sticker and does not need to appear on that list, but the list shows how narrowly Rhode Island reads permission to attach things to glass.

The screen is governed by a separate section written in 1950 and updated in 1999. Section 31-23-38(a) provides that no television viewer, screen, or other means of visually receiving a television broadcast shall be located in the field of view of the operator, and punishes a driver who violates it by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100). Subsection (b) then states that the section does not prohibit the use of an electronic display used exclusively for safety or in conjunction with a vehicle navigation system. Two readings each keep a dash cam out of trouble: a recorder's live preview is not a means of visually receiving a television broadcast, and a device whose function is capturing evidence of the road ahead is an electronic display used for safety. A driver who parks a screen in the forward field of view and watches recorded footage while moving is a different case and is what the subsection is aimed at.

Rhode Island's distracted driving statute reaches the phone, not the camera. Section 31-22-30(b), most recently amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 401 and ch. 402 effective July 2, 2025, prohibits using a wireless handset or personal wireless communication device to compose, read or send text messages or for any other purpose while driving, and § 31-22-30(a)(10) defines a wireless handset as a portable electronic or computing device capable of transmitting data. A purpose-built dash cam does not transmit personal wireless services and is not a handset. A smartphone running a dash cam app is a wireless handset, so mounting a phone as a camera puts the driver inside § 31-22-30 and its hands-free requirement, including the rule in subsection (c) that only a hands-free accessory or a single swipe or tap may activate or deactivate a function. Note that (a)(6) expressly excludes a global navigation satellite receiver used for positioning, emergency notification or navigation purposes from the definition of a personal wireless communication device, so a dedicated GPS unit is treated differently from a phone.

One more rule bears on mounting position. Section 31-23-15(b) requires every motor vehicle whose primary function is carrying passengers to have a rear-view mirror on the left front door or fender reflecting the highway at least two hundred feet (200') to the rear, and § 31-23-15(a) requires an interior or equivalent mirror where the vehicle's construction or load obstructs the rearward view. A rear-facing cabin camera does not satisfy either requirement, and § 3.5.19(F) of the inspection manual makes mirrors that do not meet the state or federal requirements a cause for rejection. A camera is an addition to the mirrors, not a substitute for them.

On audio, Rhode Island is a one-party-consent state under § 11-35-21(c)(3), which makes interception lawful for a person not acting under color of law who is a party to the communication or where one party has consented. A cabin-facing dash cam recording conversations the owner is part of is within that exception, while one left recording passengers the owner is not talking to depends on whether their speech meets the definition of oral communications in § 12-5.1-1(10), which reaches only speech uttered with an expectation of non-interception the circumstances justify. Unlawful interception carries up to five (5) years under § 11-35-21(a) and a civil claim of at least one thousand dollars ($1,000) under § 12-5.1-13.

An obstruction charge under § 31-23-16 is priced at one hundred dollars ($100.00) in the traffic-tribunal schedule at § 31-41.1-4, listed there as windshield and window stickers (visibility). Section 31-23-16(b) adds a separate offense for driving with significant amounts of snow or ice on the vehicle, defined as any accumulation which might reasonably be expected, when blowing off while driving, to obscure the vision of another vehicle's operator, with natural accumulation during adverse weather excluded.

A screen in the field of view is charged under § 31-23-38(a) and carries a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100), set by the section itself rather than by the schedule.

Installing a mount that puts the vehicle at odds with the equipment chapters is charged under § 31-23-2(b) at two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a first violation, five hundred dollars ($500) for a second and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a third and subsequent violations. An officer may also invoke § 31-38-2 and issue a written notice requiring the vehicle be corrected and approved within five (5) days, and three notices for the same defect within twelve months force the Director of Revenue to suspend the registration.

Using a phone as the camera brings § 31-22-30(d) into play, at one hundred dollars ($100) for a first conviction, one hundred fifty dollars ($150) for a second and two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a third or subsequent conviction, all heard in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. A driver who does not want to appear may dispose of the charge under § 31-41.1-3 by returning the executed form and summons with payment within twenty (20) days of the summons date, plus the technology surcharge assessed under § 8-15-11.