HaveBlue

Apparently 88% tint is ok. A dangerous condition on the front or rear windshield is arrestable but the tint on the side windows is the previous section.


CALIFORNIA CODES
VEHICLE CODE

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or
upon the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear
view through the windshield or side windows.

(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Rearview mirrors.

(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.

(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other materials
which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the
windshield nearest the driver.

(4) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.

(5) Direction, destination, or termini signs upon a passenger common
carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not interfere
with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.

(6) Rear window wiper motor.

(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.

(8) The rear window or windows, when the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the
rear of the vehicle.

(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite the
driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and which occupies
an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner toward the
rear of that window and which provides the driver with a wide-angle view
through the lens.

(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section 26708.2
installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's front seat,
if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in his or her
possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed physician and
surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
medical condition, or has in his or her possession a letter or other
document signed by a licensed optometrist certifying that the person must
be shaded from the sun due to a visual condition. The devices authorized
by this paragraph shall not be used during darkness.

(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center uppermost
portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that is not greater
than 5 inches square, if the device provides either of the following:

(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of the
California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped with
the device.

(B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on public
or private roads or facilities.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be installed,
affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the windshield if the following
conditions apply:

(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above the
undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in front
of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its rearmost
and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.

(2) The material is not red or amber in color.

(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other lettering
does not affect primary colors or distort vision through the windshield.

(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into the
eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any greater extent
than the windshield without the material.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent
material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the front side windows,
located to the immediate left and right of the front seat if the following
conditions are met:

(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.

(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205),
including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and
the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as specified in that federal
standard.

(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the ability
of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful ultraviolet A rays.

(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle,
a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the
windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this
subdivision and identifies the installing company and the material's
manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the material was
installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by the material's
manufacturer certifying that the windows with the material installed
according to manufacturer's instructions meets the requirements of this
subdivision and identifies the material's manufacturer by full name
and street address.

(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or bubbles,
or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be removed
or replaced.

Amended Sec. 77, Ch. 1154, Stats. 1996. Effective September 30, 1996.
Amended Sec. 1, Ch. 476, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999.


26708.2. Sun screening devices permitted by paragraph (10) of
subdivision (b) of Section 26708 shall meet the following
requirements:
(a) The devices shall be held in place by means allowing ready
removal from the window area, such as a frame, a rigid material with
temporary fasteners, or a flexible roller shade.
(b) Devices utilizing transparent material shall be green, gray,
or a neutral smoke in color and shall have a luminous transmittance
of not less than 35 percent.
(c) Devices utilizing nontransparent louvers or other alternating
patterns of opaque and open sections shall have an essentially
uniform pattern over the entire surface, except for framing and
supports. At least 35 percent of the device area shall be open and
no individual louver or opaque section shall have a projected
vertical dimension exceeding 3/16 inch.
(d) The devices shall not have a reflective quality exceeding 35
percent on either the inner or outer surface.



26708.5. (a) No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any
transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of
any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the
light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows, except
as provided in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 26708.
(b) Tinted safety glass may be installed in a vehicle if (1) the
glass complies with motor vehicle safety standards of the United
States Department of Transportation for safety glazing materials, and
(2) the glass is installed in a location permitted by those
standards for the particular type of glass used.



26710. It is unlawful to operate any motor vehicle upon a highway
when the windshield or rear window is in such a defective condition
as to impair the driver's vision either to the front or rear.
In the event any windshield or rear window fails to comply with
this code the officer making the inspection shall direct the driver
to make the windshield and rear window conform to the requirements of
this code within 48 hours. The officer may also arrest the driver
and give him notice to appear and further require the driver or the
owner of the vehicle to produce in court satisfactory evidence that
the windshield or rear window has been made to conform to the
requirements of this code.

Tony1

Ok just when I thought I've heard it all.. That is the most insane thing I ever heard, having to do with tints.. I would NEVER let that cop put his donut stained pig hoofs on my Lexus..
Honestly, I dont have much of a temper, but that cop would of got an earful from me..

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Ouch.. i live in Fremont, so i know your pain... i used to drive a 600+hp camaro around town.. and somehow never got bothered. Same thing with my M3 (And that had 5% tint all around)... What is the officers name? Ive lived in Fremont almost all my life... and work at the Lexus dealer here

Heltah

lol I thought your car got shot up at a bank robery or something.

Premier

Hmm i thought cops weren't supposed to stop you just for tints, it had to be some other violation then he could mention the tints. Or does this depend on what state you're in?

tjp

I live in Fremont. I always knew that tinting the front side windows was illegal here. But I see this done all the time on many cars. I always figured it was one of those laws that was never enforced. I wonder why the dealer went ahead and installed it in the first place? Usually the dealers play it safe. Heck, most of them won't even disable the DRL's in case of legal issues.

I am shocked to hear that a cop made your wife rip off the tint right there on the street.

In a similar vein, I have not installed my front license plate (also illegal in CA). I wnder if this guy is going to pull me over and make me install it at the side of the road ;-)

Style2k6

I'm sorry to hear about the way this was handled but...let's look at it from the other side. Suppose it was not his wife but a bad element with bad intentions and because the windows were tinted to the point you could not see in the car and see the glock in the drivers hand. Would you want to be the one that has to go to that cops family and tell them daddy will not be coming home. The laws are not there because cops want a reason to pull you over they are there to protect not only the officers that have to walk up to that car but also the other drivers that are on the road that may not be seen in the lane next to you because your tint was too dark. I like tint as much as the next guy just not too dark and not on the windshield.

Tanster

I agree with Style2k6. Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately your wife was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Then they should change the law to: if you are pulled over, you immediately roll down all four windows and every passenger holds both arms outside the open window.

The police can order you to do this if they suspect you of being armed or dangerous. I say, make it a requirement. It's already suggested that you keep both hands on steering wheel in plain view. Why not go one step further?

I'd rather stick my hands outside the car to show I'm not armed than to give up my window tint.

teracon

I hope he has to ride up long hill, gets short winded and passes out. POS!!!

Flipsonic

IMO, it's the law in CA and there's nothing I can do but obey it. Either that or risk getting a ticket and complain, complain, complain. I'm sure the law makers put it there for a reason. It's not meant to make my car look less cool. Not only it's a visual obstruction especially at night but it's meant to protect the lives of police officers in case you have a gun and you plan to shoot them as they approach you. As for stripping the tint in front of a cop, it may be excessive. He may have been pissed that you knew the law and you chose to ignore it. Again, you take the risk of this happening if you break the law. So I say, don't break it and none of these unfortunate things will happen to you. It's that simple. Is it worth the hassle just to look cool?

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I think the only times you see a gunman hiding in a fully tinted car in the news, it's always based in California. Most freeway chases are in California. We have the worst motorists driving the L.A. freeways. We have some of the worst areas that cops patrol. Public roads are some of the most dangerous for cops to be driving in. Finally, cops are the least respected people for most of the population. I can undertand why several "annoying" laws are out there to help their job.

However, that cop was a jerk!

Style2k6

Well you also have to think that they need to see in the car to try and determine if the occupants are making movements that are suspicious. putting the hands out the window is not going to help the police see what is going on before the hands go out the window .

Example:
Cop pulls car over he can see the driver remove his seatbelt and reach over to the glovebox to get the required paperwork but he also sees the passenger take his seatbelt off and wonders why .
Now the cop is a little more alert because of that. Now if the windows are tinted one shade before limo and the cop can't see the passenger take the seatbelt off hands out the window or not it is still a higher risk JMO. If it were your life at risk everyday how would you feel about that dark of tint. If the tint is so dark that you can't see in how do you know how many are in the car ? you ask to have all the windows rolled down and all hands out the windows how can you tell if infact all hands are out the window? Most rear seats can hold 3 people how is the middle person going to put their hands out the window?

djagrinio

Wow dude...that's a pretty f'ed up thing to do...removing tints on scene? wtf?!?

Anyway, I just wanted to add that I got pulled over yesterday on my way to work at a random checkpoint. Cop checked license, registration and insurance...then asked me to roll my front window up half way. He placed my license in back of the window and looked at it. He said my tints were illegal but that he wouldn't bust my chops about it.

I told him that the tinting was done at the dealer and should be fine. He said he'd test it and prove that they're not so I asked him to do me that favor. So he gets his device and tells me that 70% is acceptable on the front windows and ...places it over window...i watch as it gets a reading...29%!!! He told me he usually lets up to 50% slide...but 29% is very low. He let me go but told me that I will get a ticket from someone in the future (he mentioned highway patrol).

Thankfully, no ticket but it sucks as I've only had the car for 1 month so far. I don't wanna worry about getting pulled over for tinting.

Flipsonic

The only thing you can do is remove the tints or get lighter ones if you don't want to worry about it. You were lucky the cop didn't give you a ticket.

Some people assume if the dealer installed the tints, it's not illegal. Cops don't care who installed it.

And for some who think cops don't really enforce it because you see other cars with tints, think again. You may get lucky for a while, but you will be pulled over for it sooner or later.

Just to clear things, I'm not against tinted windows. I just don't want to roll my windows down everytime a cop is near. That's just plain stupid. You risk getting a ticket (moving violation or not) and spending your hard earned $$$ just so your car will look cool. That's just my opinion.