Well on the way to work today I was making a left out of my neighborhood when i was pulled over by the local county police. I no joke made it about 50 feet onto the main road when i got pulled over. I knew it had to be for my tint or for my lift. I wasnt too worried about my lift because ive measure it myself and found it legal (Virginia is 29 inches in the front, 31 inches in the rear. From bumper to ground). My tint on the other hand is what i thought somewhere near 15%. State legal limit on front side windows on a truck is 50%. Well the cop explained that he pulled me over for lift and tint (aka nothing better to do). Well my lift was 28" front 30" rear, so i was legal there. My windows came out to be 13% on his little machine and i was issued a ticket. So all in all it comes to about 85 dollars for a tint ticket. I explained to the cop why the tint was done on the truck to help prevent fading on the king ranch leather. He didnt care at all about the leather and explained i need to get the tint taken off and put 50% on or none at all or i will continue to get tickets from him and every other cop untill they impound it. Well my big thing is i know my tint isnt legal but its not like its hurting anyone. Im 22 years old and worked hard to get my truck on my own. I dont speed around town in my Subaru STI, or my Mitsu EVO or any other rice burner. I drive with caution and obey speed limits and road signs. Anyhow i plan on paying my ticket and leaving the tint on. Ive gone over 6 months with the tint and no problem with the fuzz. If i do get another ticket i will consider removing the tint. But i would think they have better things to do like find bank robbers and maybe "homeland security". Anyhow my venting is over.

 

All i can say is the Law is the Law. it is clear from what you say you are not in compliance with your state laws. My quess is you will be forced to abide by the Law or be forever hounded by barney the cop.

 

Or get rejected at your next state inspection and you can't drive it all. They have you flagged now. Any time they see your truck, they will slap you with a ticket. You only need to change the front windowsI don't like Va's tint law either, but we have to deal with it. Talk to your representative to get the law changed.

 

I put darker tint on all windows of my crew cab including the back glass and I will admit it was very hard to see anything while driving at night. Whenever I would change lanes on the freeway it was very difficult to determine if anyone was there. when in reverse even in a parking lot I had to roll my windows down just to even get a glimpse of how far away I was from hitting anything. I found it to be very dangerous and will never put the 15% on again. I know you might think that it is not hurting anyone else , but the first time you back into someone , pull out in front of them , or change lanes into them I think you will find that as good as the tint looks it is just not worth it.

 

I've had the same kind of tinting on the windows of all my vehicles for about 20 years now. I was only hassled once about 15 years ago by a cop but he didn't even issue me a summons. Lucked out I guess. And now, we have 5 vehicles in my household and they all have tinting. So far no hassles. The tint we have is 20% and so that would be considered illegal too. Here in NYC there are alot of police too, but I guess they are kept busy enough not to make real petty stops. If I got a ticket from some cop like the one that gave the ticket to you that will be sitting there waiting for you, I would think about using a different route everyday. I won't give up my tint. Fingers crossed and knock on wood. But the tint stays. If you see a cop ahead, roll your windows down until you pass him.

 

I think it is a bunch of made up crap just to get more funds rolling into the city/county/state. When it comes to the Law it is never about common sense or if its right or wrong, its all about the money.

I know for a fact that in Missouri a person can get a doctors note stating that they must have dark tinted windows for medical reasons and the cops must abide by it or get sued. For example; There are skin diseases that get irritated when the person is in direct sunlight, or some people's eyes are extremely sensitive to sunlight, or people with migranes are sensitive to sunlight also. I would look into this, the worst thing is that a doctor will tell you 'no'.

 

I fully understand that my tint is illegal. But i dont see how it harms anyone. I have nor problem changing lanes at night and no problem parking at night. I do roll my front windows down if i am backing into a space so i am able to see my spot mirrors. But i have not had a problem yet. The reason the tint was applied was to proctect seats. The thing i dont get is all the cop cars in my area are blacked out. The SUVs they drive or regular crown vics are blacked out tinting. I understand why the k-9 Units are blacked out but then again i dont understand why it is unsafe my my vehicle to have tint but it is fine for them to have tint. I have nothing against police at all. My mother is a Fairfax County Deputy Sheriff in the same county. And my Step Father is a Fairfax City Police Officer. My thing is if you have a reason for tint a permit should be given to allow you to have darker tint then normal. Even if a cop were to pull up next to me at a red light. The cop car would be too low anyhow to see in my window. Anyhow bottom line i know my tint is illegal and knew before the ticket. But dont have any plans on changing it unless the tickets become a problem. I guess the big thing i was wondering if cops give other trucks in different states the same probelms.

 

Hah... 50%... Try NJ, you can't have ANYTHING on the front windows.

-Jay

 

You might ask your law inforcement family members how comfortable they feel as they approach a car with black out tint in the day light, let a lone at night, when they pull it over. We may not all agree w/ the reasons the laws are in place but they they are there for a good reason.

You are in the system and tagged for being a violater. Just condition your seat's regularly and they will be fine. Light is coming in thru the front windshield so it isn't like they are really protected by your tint. Come on, you just wanted the darker tint.

 

The dark tint is a safety hazard for the law enforcement folks if they walk up on you they want to be able to see what you are doing...if you have a loaded gun pointed at them thru the window they would not see it until it was to late or if you are trying to hide stuff it is harder to see what is going on inside the vehicle when the tint is to dark.

with that said i had a citation for dark tint once i paid the fine and drove the truck for another 2 yrs with out hassle then i had a t-bird and the inspection sticker guy made me peel it right on the spot said if i wanted an inspection sticker i would have to remove the tint ASAP what could i do i need an inspection sticker so off came the tint... now i just go with the legal limit for my home state being military

 

Tint does affect the ability to see, especially at night. I guess you could get checked out, be found to have super-human night vision and be alright, maybe prove this in front of a judge. But, if you have regular human sight, without super-human night vision, your night driving is or will be adversely affected by the tint, regardless of how you "feel" about it. The law is there because MANY drivers have had accidents because of the tint. It's an undisputable fact (although many may dispute it ). You may never, and I hope you don't, have an accident. However, a typical person will find they drive better without the tint, especially at night.

By the way, I have tint on my truck. I have a skin condition and the sun irritates my skin, especially my hands. A doctor gave me a prescription for my windows to be tinted. It still adversely affects my driving at night though.

Another, more important thing, is that the amount of tint isn't probably as important as the UV rating. The tint doesn't have to be dark to provide nearly 100% UV protection.

 

Thats the way the Law is - just a bunch of hypocrites. Its ok if cops speed or perform illegal lane changes while not in pursuit, but you better not. Most cops I have seen are bad drivers.

I seen a State Trooper pass a guy on the right shoulder before (no lights or siren and not in pursuit)! I called 911 to report reckless driving and told them "this guy is going to kill someone" and all the dispatcher said was "we will let the Highway Patrol supervisor know". Obviously if I called on the average driver, they would be right on it.

Lawlessness - Just get use to it, it's only going to get worse with time.

 

Here in IL it's illegal to have any tint on the front doors as well. I don't buy the idea of the cops walking up to the vehicle bit at all. To me it is pretty much useless for only the front window to be untinted for this. If I was a cop I would much rather have the back windshield untinted so I can see the driver the entire time I am walking up to the vehicle, rather than not being able to see him until I am right next to him and he has already got the gun out or whatever else.

When I get my new truck I plan on tinting the front windows to match the back. If I start getting hassled by cops I will go to an eye doctor to get a perscription because I get a headache when I drive outside on a bright day because of the sunlight, or from the pressure on my nose if I try to wear sunglasses.

 

Not being able to SEE CLEARLY is a safety issue.....Theres no way a person looking though heavy tint at night in the rain can see out like HE NEEDS TO FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS NEAR HIM,,,,,,,,,,case closed,,,,,,,,,,I guess using a cell phone also has no affect on the safe driving ability of the driver either? Get that mess off those windows before you cause an accident and get sued,,,,,,,,,,,,gezzzzz

 

ya the cops are useful, they pull you over for busted lisence plat lights, or in my case i had a laptop in the front seat, so i got a 50 dollar fine for that, so watch out. its ok for the cops to be on there laptops and having them in the front seat, and ok for them to speed, fire up there lights when they want to run a red light. got to love the cops.