A Michigan state senator has introduced a bill that would prohibit motorists from viewing sexually explicit material that could be seen or heard by anyone outside the vehicle, according to a report in the Lansing State Journal. Fines would range from $1,500 for a first offense to $10,000 and possible jail time for a third offense. State Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond, said he introduced the bill after a mother called him to complain about an incident last year. The woman told the senator that while she was stuck in traffic with her kids in the car she noticed the car in front of her was playing a pornographic movie. The law would apply only if people outside the vehicle could see or hear the offensive material and are within 100 feet of the vehicle, the report said. The legislation has prompted criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan because the bill does not clearly define "sexually explicit material." Purchases of vehicle video systems have quadrupled since 1999, and the market is expected to grow from $625 million in 2002 to more than $1.25 billion by 2006, according to Venture Development Corp., a Natick, Mass., technology market research firm. Louisiana and Tennessee already have laws banning “drive-by pornography,” according to the report.
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