I think they mean hitches that people leave on their vehicles when not towing. I agree that people should stow their hitches if not actively towing for a variety of reasons.

Yeah, I’m not referring to useful ones being actively used for towing. I’m referring to people that leave them in while driving around not towing anything. Some are designed to extend upward as well with no practical towing purpose. Look up pictures of collisions after someone has a tow hitch in and you’ll see what I mean.