$154 ticket for my tint

Ouch... fight it in court.

 

The $154 might be the $100 plus some kind of penalty assessment or some court related fee. I'm not sure when it started happening (or maybe I just started noticing it) but in California there's the fine plus some kind of extra assessment they tack on.

And I doubt its a fix-it.. the fine would seem kind of steep (especially for a first-time offender) for a fix-it.. I dont know what your ticket looks like, but in my neck of the woods, there's usually a checkbox next to the infraction that says something like "correctable" or "non-correctable". If it is correctable, that would make it a fix-it ticket.

 

And you thought about going darker?

It's a fix-it in many places. No idea about your jurisdiction but you should find out, as just paying the fine alone can have ramifications.

The other $54 could be some kind of processing fees.

 

Stories like this is exactly why I stay within the legal limit.

 

Ouch is right as this would pertain to me as well. Pardon me as I'm out of date but when did they start charging fines for tint, I always thought & experienced it to be a fix-it & is it same in all socal counties?

 

We'll see if you can afford it:

2nd violation - $200 and/or 30 days in the slammer

3rd violation - $500 and/or 3 fun months with Bubba and his bad breath

 

I think you now have the choice. The last time I was pulled over for tint was in the mid 90s but it was just a fix-it ticket (sign off and send back with like $10 fee).

I know a few years ago, I had heard that you now had the "option" of either getting it fixed or paying a fine. I found this post on another forum from Dec 2010 (coincidentally also a Prius) where the guy said the ticket was $190 or he could remove the tint and get it signed off. I also found another reference from Oct 2009 on some kind of law forum where these two options are mentioned as well. Also, as 32K kind of alluded to, each infraction you get after the 1st one will have a higher fine amount. I heard that is true, but I googled for it but just cant seem to find anything related to the fine amount in California.

I will add one more thing and that is, in my experience, it really depends a lot on what kind of car you're driving, what it looks like (lowered, big wheels), and where you are. Down in South OC, you don't really get hassled too much for tint and front plate UNLESS a cop WANTS to hassle you for it.

 

I went just one step darker than the legal limit. It's 35% in Oregon & Washington but I put on 28%. I like to leave the sunshade open so it lets some light shine in & make the tint look lighter so I never get bothered by the police.

 

Of course that is your right, just realize that the penalties and fines increase with subsequent tickets now that you are "in the system".

 

And folks, this is why we remind you to read the law in your state, even if you fail to follow it, you need to know what you are getting yourself in for.

Welcome to TintLaws.com

 

Glad to hear the cops are doing there jobs ! At least in Alabama. They should confiscate the cars with any vision inhibiting
tints.

 

Regarding the cost of that ticket: it is possible that there is a city or county ordinance in force as well, which you may well have been fined under. Check your ticket to see what the specific citing was for. That might account for the extra $$

 

Don't let the county that ticketed you find out you're willing to pay the fines and leave it on as you could become a ca$h cow for them!

I got ticketed for tint 3 times in SoCal in the late 80s or early 90s and it was a fix it ticket then and I had the tint reinstalled and gave up after the 3rd time. I even tried the sunroof open trick but it didn't work.

 

Not specific to tint, but in this area, court costs and fees are often much greater than the fine. All of the court cases are in the paper (there are only 21,000 people in 2,500 square miles), and I often see where someone is fined $45 and ends up paying $500 by the time all of the other costs are rolled in. Personally, I think the costs and fees should be part of the fine.

Tom

 

Glad to hear the cops are doing their jobs ! At least in Alabama.
Next, they should start impounding all cars with vision inhibiting extra dark tints.