Front wheel well shield

On the front passenger side wheel well shields, there are louvers cut into the front part of it. To me, it looks like the tire will spray water n mud right through those louvers. Can anyone explain the reason for the louvers???

 

90% of what the tire is spraying isn't going forward. But if you look though them I believe you'll see that mud and water won't affect anything in there. I believe they're for the air intake since that is located near there. I'm sure Toyota factored the spray in when they put them there. The intake would be higher than that point.

 

I believe it's to allow air to pass through, for less turbulent air at the intake.

 

It’s definitely a relief for the intake.