Window Tint... got busted

As a motorcyclist I rely heavily on visual cues--specifically eye contact with other drivers.

There's nothing that chills me more than to have to cope with another driver that I can't clearly see.

 

50% is actually a noticeable difference from 35%. Under bright sun, 50% hardly looks any different from factory whereas you can readily tell 35% is tinted.

Stick with 50% if you reside in a state with liberal but more strictly enforced tint laws.

 

Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard of someone being "forced" to peel the tint off the windows.

 

Wow. That sucks. I understand it's illegal but you're right about the 35% not being that dark at all. I have 35% all around, too, except for the windshield. Even at night with no interior lights on, some ambient light form the streets but not much, I can still clearly see everything inside.

 

It's actually a common practice.

 

That's the first time I've heard of it, too. I've heard of people getting a ticket and then have that rescinded as long as they provide proof they had it removed. But peeling it off on the spot? It sounds like a cop having a bad day and wanted to punish you for having tints. Just like a drill sergeant making you do push-ups for sneezing while he was talking.

 

Well, you have the right not to peel it off on the spot but you'd get a ticket instead and have to peel it off anyway.

 

I've learned not to piss off a pissed off cop. LOL. I'm just saying I've never heard of it before. All of my NYPD friends, all 6 of them, I've never heard a story about them busting anyone for tints so this is all news to me. I've been busted before for 20% in my '06 Eclipse and 35% in my '14 Sienna but my PBA card saved me.

 

Hmm....
That seems like a strange protocol for a law officer to follow.

Remove the tint immediately or have your vehicle towed?

That can't be the official protocol they are told to follow...can it?

Is having a too dark a tint an offense that can lead to immediate impoundment of your vehicle? That seems ridiculous.

I can understand, a fine, warning...ticket...but remove or impound? That doesn't even sound legitimate to me.

I think I'd call the Police Department anonymously, or have someone call for me, and ask what the usual procedure is for such a happening.

 

The way I see it, either you choose to pay to play or don't break laws at all.

 

They don't offer fix it tickets?

 

In the few instances that I've had with state troopers I have found them to be extremely polite. It would be interesting to hear his side of this, but there's little chance of that.

 

Putting dark tint on your car makes you a cop magnet.

I used to be in Federal Law Enforcement. All law enforcement zero in on the obviously different.

Yes, you can refuse to take off the tint. I've also seen the California Highway Patrol impound and tow away a non-complying vehicle at the San Ysidro Border Station.

The driver walked away and had to take the bus.

 

Don't break the law!!
Think of the officer, pulling somebody over; the officer walks up and gets shot; because the officer could not see into the vehicle.

 

Breaking the law doesn't necessarily involve not being able to see into the vehicle or the driver's face even at nights. Put a transparent 90% film on the front side windows in states like California and you're technically breaking the law.

 

It's a freakin Prius. Who tints a Prius to hide from law enforcement? Heck, who uses a Prius to do anything bad? Cop must hate the car. Most law enforcement people have too much sense. Now, I can see a black escalade with loud music and tinted windows being pulled over. That ticket was to satisfy a quota.

 

Apparently not as the OP was let go without a ticket.

 

I'm sorry, but cops don't hate Priuses. They generally do hate scofflaws though.

It's very common for LEO to give you the choice of peeling the tint or getting the ticket, but this is the first I've heard of "peel it or you get towed."
Frankly...I'm a fan of the former since it cuts down on paperwork.
Normally I would ascribe this to a driver trying to give the LEO a bunch of attitude, but the OP doesn't sound like that SO......
LEO was either an nice person or was just having a bad day.

As a cyclist, I just see it (pun almost unintended) as another driver that I can LOOK at and make sure that they're looking at me.
It helps assure me that they're not one of the morons out there tipping a can of beer, diddling with their cell phones, watching TV, reading a book, or whatever it is that people are doing when they're supposed to be DRIVING and not turning me into a greasy red smear on the road.
One of the cool things about living in the United States is that there are 50 different states that get to weigh in on the tint issue.
States With No tint law: Zero.
States with tint laws: 50.

I get the modding thing, and sometimes where noise and lighting are concerned there's the issue of zealous over-enforcement, but loud pipes don't get Cops shot on some roadside traffic stop. Generally speaking Prius drivers are a pretty law-abiding bunch, and LEO isn't a jerk.

Be safe!