Dirty Driving In The DVD Age

The indecency cops seem to be expanding their beat to cover the nation's roads, and they are hoping to recruit real cops to their cause: a crackdown on "drive-by porn"--that is, folks playing blue movies in their cars. Parents whose kids have been exposed to the stuff by seeing the images as they pass a car are urging lawmakers to curb the road shows. A Tennessee measure banning the display of externally visible, "obscene or patently offensive" video in cars passed the senate last March and is expected to become law on July 1. A councilwoman in Flint, Mich., proposed a similar ordinance last February, but it has been tabled for legal clarification. The Oklahoma statehouse last week passed a "dirty driving" amendment. It was tacked onto a bill that died but will probably be back.

Trouble is, say civil rights advocates, the bans are too vague and probably violate free-speech and privacy rights. Would a cop levy a fine for airing, say, an NC-17 flick like Showgirls or only for more explicit fare like Debbie Does Dallas? Republican Mark Norris, a sponsor of the Tennessee bill, has an idea but can't quite put it into words. Scooby-Doo, he says, is fine, but "if it's too Scooby, that's another matter."

--By Daren Fonda. With reporting by Elizabeth Kauffman and Joseph R. Szczesny