Infamous3

in CA your not allowed to have any type of tint on the front windows anymore, its a safety issue apparently. If something were to happen to you the cops wouldn't be able to get you out of the car because of the front tints, thats what the officers told me

AJLex19

There have been instances here in NY where officers have been shot at through tinted windows after pulling over a car, unable to see through tinted glass.

I understand the safety issues but some things don't seem to make sense - for instance, with the new rules in NY, an SUV or sedan can have its rear-windshield as dark as you want (as long as the vehicle has side-view mirrors) but when officers pull you over, they typically approach the car from the rear so there is still a hazard to law enforcement if they can't see through the car's back windshield either.

I think 50%-60% would be a reasonable compromise but 70% seems a bit on the high side. Additionally, there are certain variables too (time of day, car color, interior color). I know for a fact that tint on cars with darker interiors tend to appear to the naked eye as darker...my dad's GS is smokey granite with a black interior and his tint looks wayyyy darker than mine (i have white with a flaxen interior) and we both have 35% tint.

DP03

Yup. And SUV's and trucks come with rear windows dark from the factory. Crazy that the rules are different than cars.

jtrue28

70% window tint may as well not be tinted at all. What a ridiculous law.

glm318

When did this happen? I have 15% on my front and I've had LEOs look straight at me when they pull up next to me lol

shurik74

iTrader: (5)

In CA it's been for years... with your 15% front you just got lucky not to be pulled over. I think it depends which city you live in, I'm driving with 35% though for last 10+ years and no issues.

spoogenet

If you want tint to reject heat & UV, 30% can do a pretty dandy job.

The safety stuff sounds like a bunch of political woo-hah with no practical basis. Here in TX, police cruisers are not required to follow the tint laws and many of them have 15%.

How it's enforced varies by state. Many FL drivers who've been to GA understand the pains of dealing with GA stops for tint that may be legal in FL but is not in GA.

shurik74

iTrader: (5)

if you driving with FL license plates, GA police/sheriff can write you a ticket anyway? If yes, it's weird... so far I know in CA police don't give tint tickets to other states vehicles.

spoogenet

The laws of the state apply to all who are within its borders. How officers exercise their discretion is another matter. At least a number of years ago, some areas of GA seemed to relish in ticketing Floridians with their dark tints.

I don't know anybody here with illegal tint, so haven't really heard of any cases of ticketing. I do see a number of cars obviously beyond the limit, and as with front license plates (or lack thereof) here, I'm sure there's plenty of discretion exercised.

AJLex19

Unfortunately, today I was pulled over by two police officers. I was in my neighborhood about 2 blocks away from my house. A young male police officer and a female officer came out of their car and approached the driver side window. She asked me for my license and insurance information and asked if I knew why I was pulled over. I said I did not. Looked like she was also training the young male police officer as he said almost nothing the entire time.

She then said I pulled you over because your tint looks too dark. She asked me to roll my driver side window down to about half way and she shows me a tint meter and asked if knew the legal limit for tint in NY. I said i was unsure and she placed the meter on my driver side door glass and it read "36". She said the legal limit for tint in NY should allow 70% light to pass through the windshield. She also said my car should not have passed my NYS inspection (which I just renewed). I told her i recently had my car inspected and there was no mention of failing my inspection due to tint. She then asked if I had some kind of reflective material on my plates making them harder to see or read and I said no, I do not.

I then proceeded to give her my license along with my uncle's NYC PBA card and my registration/insurance information. I mentioned to her that he works at our local precinct (but it wasn't the same precinct she worked out of i learned later from my uncle). She said sit tight and the two officers went back to their patrol car. After about 5min, they came back and she asked me detailed questions about my uncle. She seemed to not believe me and asked if I had his phone number. I pulled out my cell phone and showed her his information per her request. She asked me to call him. I called him, he answered, we exchanged pleasantries and I told him that I have two police officers here that pulled me over and would like to speak to him. He said sure no problem.

She asked him to verify my name and information. She thanked him, said a few other things that i couldn't hear and returned my cell phone. She then told me that she would be letting me go without any infractions but I would need to remove my tint and get a new PBA card from my uncle. I said thank you for the courtesy and they left and I went home.

Although I know most people would say they are just doing their job in this instance - but man, if you have ever been pulled over for any reason, its a gut wrenching feeling. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I will likely be looking into removing my tint (currently 35%) and consider something closer to the NYS legal limits. I called my uncle back immediately and he said you might want to consider changing out the tint so you don't get pulled over randomly since its up to the officer's discretion. I thanked him of course and bought him dinner tonight for helping me out lol...good 'ol unc'!!

I'd like to reference one other point here: The NYS law indicates that the rear-windshield can be as dark you like. Again, the officers approached my car from the rear with my windshield tint at 35%. If I had my sunshade up, it would've been almost impossible to see into the vehicle. I would THINK this would be a problem for their safety as well but apparently its not...maybe because the tint meters cannot give an accurate reading directly on the windshield as its sensors need both sides of the glass (no idea just guessing here).

Also, asking me about the reflective material on my plates was a bit of stretch as well. I think if i didn't have any connections, I would've been hit with both a ticket for tint and plate obstruction ticket! I love the way my 4GS looks with the tint but it may have to go so I don't attract unwanted attention from the cops.

Edit: Wifey was in the front seat and I know I was driving kind slow because we came around a bend that had some cardboard boxes blown into the middle of the street street I had to avoid (kinda windy day today). This probably gave the cops time to really look/see the tint on my car.

boostinsc

This is some bull**** Gov.Cuomo trying to pass there is a petition on going to end this madness . I will find the link and post it up.


heres the link

https://www.change.org/p/new-york-st...etition-no_msg

NYLiqPlat

Sorry to hear you got pulled over and harassed AJLex19. Sounds like you just happened to be the perfect example for an officer trainee. I'm hoping this absurd regulation gets overturned or relaxed because I'm due for an inspection this month . Not sure how vigilant they are in enforcing this in NYC, but up by me in Orange County I haven't been bothered...yet? May have to reach out to some friends for a "pass" because there's no way I'm taking my tint off!

Here's my tint..35% all around w/ Flaxen interior so it doesn't look that dark plus I've had my sunroof shade open a lot more lately.

AJLex19

Thanks - i was thinking i got pulled over on April 29th so it was end of the month and those quotas have to be reached. As far as the state inspection goes, its hit or miss about the tint because when my dad went, they told him about it but when I went, they didn't even care and we went to the same inspection station.

Nice ride btw looks like you have the Lux pkg...I too have 35% tint with a Flaxen interior but i think b/c my car is white, the tint appears really dark. The officers were wearing sunglasses the whole time so that couldn't have helped my cause either! I'm waiting on a call-back to hear how much my tint guy wants to remove and reinstall a lighter tint. Here's a shot of mine in direct sunlight midday (sunroof shade closed):

jtrue28

I'm confused. "Allow 70% light to pass through the windshield".... what does that even mean? If the windshield doesn't have any tint, shouldn't it be allowing 100% light in?

When using the word "windshield", I'm always referring to the big window on the front of the car that the windshield wipers clean during rain storms.

AJLex19

I agree that even the terminology the cops use when they pull you over can be confusing. She used the word "windshield" but I knew they really meant windows.


Basically in NYS, the front windshield, front driver/passenger windows, and rear driver-side and passenger side windows cannot block more than 30% light. The rear windshield can be as dark as you want as long as you have side-view mirrors that allow a clear view of your rear.


According to the website (https://dmv.ny.gov/registration/tinted-windows):

• The windshield and front side windows cannot block more than 30% of the light.
  • Seventy percent or more of the light from the outside must pass through the window.
    
• Rear side windows must also allow at least seventy percent of light from the outside to pass through the window if the vehicle is classified as a
  • station wagon
    
  • sedan
    
  • hardtop
    
  • coupe
    
  • hatchback
    
  • convertible
    

• This law also applies to the rear window unless the vehicle has outside rear-view mirrors on both sides.
  • The mirrors must give the driver a full and clear view behind the vehicle.