Red Car Harrasment Ticket
 

Heres a good one for all the peace officers out there. Got stopped by Ohio State Trooper. Got a ticket for "illegal window tinting". The car is 11 years old and totally stock. He checked it with a piece of paper and said they were illegal. It was dark, and the windows were filthy since I had just driven 600 miles. I ask him what I was supposed to do and he said, "get new windows, these are illegal in Ohio". Well, I bought the car brand new in Ohio in 91. It has 150,000 miles on it, still runs like a top, and Im not buying new glass for it. Any suggestions before I go to court? Dont they have some king of gun to check light penetration through windows? Mine have the stock tinting in the glass :mad:

Sounds to me like you have a case. If it was sold as stock in that state I do not think that they can do that. At leaste that is the law in MA. I used to be really up on the Tint laws. Another law in MA and most other states is that you can tint any window as dark as you want as long as it does not roll down.

Jon

I would definately fight the ticket. The card that he used to test with is not real accurate. We use tint meters that we have to calibrate. They measure light transmission through the glass. I have never heard of any factory glass that is too dark.
The amount of light transmission should be defined in the state law. Window tint laws vary from state to state. I would start by investigating the parameters of your state's law and then try and get it retested.

I want to get it retested in the dayligth with clean windows but dont know where to go. I would think the local trooper station might not be the best idea. Who else would have those meters?

Find a tint shop most of them should be able to help you out.

Jon

Factory is factory have your bill of sale in hand when going to court.
I have mine tinted to one level over illegal in MN Troutly stay away :)
the legal tint in MN is a friggin joke.
I I always roll down at least the drivers window in bad weather. If at night I always stopp under a street lamp. Period. I know several officers and they do like it when the window or windows are open BEFORE they walk up to hte car. Makes them know they can see you.
Also its not a red car thing. My cutlass is red.
I know Illinios is real bad on tinted windows.
Take your bill of sale and a statement from the selling dealer.

The bill of sale won't cut it. Go to the dealer and have him inspect the glass and write a sworn affidavit that the windows are not tinted beyond the factory tint.

Your still screwed because the judge will just think you removed the tape prior to going to the dealer.

Did the cop scratch the glass so that he could tell that there was no tape applied to the glass? I hope you have an honest cop.
Get your questions in order before the trial.

Formula31,

Get your window cleaned up and go to the local State Police Post and have it checked. If you are legal, they might be able to dismiss it for you. I know that if one of my Deputies wrote the ticket, and later turned out to be wrong, we can change it, and I have dismissed tickets in the past for mistakes.

Mnfastboater, doesn't matter if the car was sold with tint, illegal is illegal.

being a dealer in ohio I can tell you for a FACT that 50% is the max legal. keep in mind that most cars have a 10% tint on side windows so adding a 50% tint makes it 40%. darker on the back is legal on trucks and vans. windshields are not to be tinted at all

Troutly will want you to just pay it and learn to be a better citizen.

Ha ha.... :p :p :p

.......$35 ticket here in Floriduh!!!!!! :D

The Stang is all Black...of course...and the top is tan.......as for the windows...5%.

That's the way I like 'em and that's the way it will stay... :mad:

Besides Floriduh is rough on interiors..... :rolleyes:


I love rollin up to the lights next to the POlice......and lookin right at him..you know tongue hangin out and such.. :p

Can't see a damn thing and that's the way it should be....but when stopped they are the first thing down..... ;)

I understand and know that
Why I said to get the bill of sale and a dealer statement is to prove the car was sold with FACTORY tint. Not an aftermarket add on film. If the car was truly factory tint ( in the glass, not added on film or spray) Then is should NOT be the buyers fault, but the dealer that sold it. Which I am sure was not the case.
But now if film was added at the dealer as an aftermarket addon, sucks to be him :) :)

Here in Texas, you won't pass inspection if you're window are tinted illegally. Unless you know someone who's willing to pass you
:) I'm pretty sure every state prob. has a clause like that, check into it.

As for dealerships, (worked at dealers for 10 yrs-3 of that aftermarket mgr till now)it is against the law for us to put illegal tint jobs on vehicles. That's when you get them done on the side. Plus, the tint co. has to put a sticker on the film-they won't do that on illegal or they could get fined.

So, check it out!

In MA it is illigal for me or anyone to put tint on that is to dark. 10,000 buck fine for the instalation place if they do. The out for us was to have the customer sign that the car is for show purposes only, and not to be driven.

Formula, yes they have a meter that they use to check it in Ohio. They make you roll down the window a little and then the unit kinda slides over the top (has a slot). I've had two warnings but never a ticket.

I understand - I drive a purple and yellow Pace Car Corvette in the summer and tas given a ticket for going too slow in a 25 mph zone a block from my work in daylight when the light in front of me was red. He claims I was going around 19. Went to court with no lawyer thinking it was an easy and rediculous thing, and the Mayor/Judge sided with his officer. Could not beleive it, but it did get me out of a ticket in Tennesse when the trooper saw it on my record 2 years later.

I have my side and back windows tinted - Mother's Day present a couple of years ago. Back window is pretty dark, sides aren't too bad, and front is factory.I know the side windows are illegal, figure if I get a ticket or R&R I'll just take the sides off (illegal because it covers the whole window). It's not a real big deal to me - I got them because I have a little boy. I had bought the shades that you pull down for my back window and they were SOOOOOO distracting I couldn't stop looking at them. Figured they were more of a hazard than the sun was!! I can still see through my windows just fine with no problem and have never been pulled over for them (knock on wood). I see a hundred cars everyday whose windows are so much darker than mine!!

I have my Dually tinted and with the cap on the back now it makes the truck look VERY dark. I find that most times the cops wont bother you unless you are doing something to attract their attention!! I mean hell...look at the size and color of my Dually! :eek: If that dont get your attention i dont know what will!!! :D And luck for me <knock on wood> I have yet to be harrased for the tints! :D

Black tahoe with chrome 2002 denali rims and all the way black windows, I was worried about getting pulled over from the window tint, but it's been over a year and they are still not bothering me thank god! I did the tint myself $10 from the auto parts store, a real ***** to install, pull out the window, tint it in the garage, reinstall it. The hard way for sure, but I give credit to the guys that do it for a living, that **** ain't easy to install. I have been pulled over, and they did say it was too dark, but said since I rolled down the windows That I had respected thier concerns about not having tinted windows, they wouldn't ticket me for them which was cool, They had only been tinted for a few weeks at that point. I'd say clean your windows real good and take your to the poice station again and have them test them again, and explain how they aren't tinted, if you pass there are no grounds to not throw out the case.

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: advantage_ROB ]

Reindl.. I know where youre shop is. I would guess it must have been a Deer Park cop. Dont waste youre time in Candy Court you will lose no matter what unless you are one of "the boys" {I could tell you stories!!}

I haven't had no problem with 5% on my windows.. Like wally said, they usaully don't harrass you unless your creating attention to yourself.


attention.... s-10 layed on the ground with the stereo shakin the car next to me :D :D :D :D

Is it the factory glass tint or did the dealership add tint to it? If they added to it, then its likely illegal (not sure of the law in your state).

it doent matter who did the tinting or when. if its to dark its to dark, there are a ton of products out there that are marketed to meet a certain code and dont, clean the windows good and go to the state troopers and explain real nice and ask them to retest them.

Had them retested. Did worse. Meter showed 30%. Yikes. Dealer said, "You've got to be kidding me, you've had the car for 11 years and 150,000 miles and now you want to complain about the windows? I had to agree with that logic. Oh well, go pay my fine and hope I dont run into the same trooper again. I had a tint shop look at it and he said the tint was added, real good job too, probably done at the dealer as this was a demo car. He wanted $60 a window to try and get it off. :confused: :rolleyes:

I took mine off on my last truck, cuz of a ticket, it peeled off in about 5 seconds, then a spray bottle with alcohol to cut thru the adhesive and a half hour per window scraping the residue off, really not fun, but $60 per window, c'mon!!!

That tint film is very easy to take off. It just peels off then use laquer thinner and glass cleaner to take off the glue residue. It will take you 10 minutes.

birdog,

A Deer Park boy it was. Makes me cringe for the 500 yards of their territory I have to cover to get to work every morning.
Swing by the shop sometime, I will be back in town after the Miami Show.
[email protected]

Reindl:
Have fun at Miami!!! I will have to come by @ see you're shop. Nobody around there can figure out what those boats are !!!! I try to tell them but......

Formula31-sorry to hear @ that. You could look at it a couple of ways-
1)u've gone 11 yrs-scotch free (or 3m free)
2)u didn't do it-
3)make a fuss to the GM, then owner-then the tv people that look into consumer complaints
they should either remove the film OR pay the fine for you(granted you still have the buyers agreement/aftermarket added sticker?)
You should not have to pay for buying a demo-when doing demos, we do what they ask OR what we feel like.It's never illegal though.

If they won't do anything above-at least get a written stmt saying this was on the car-b4 purchase w/out you r known consent.

OR....the laws have changed since then re:tinting-check w. your local DA's office to see what your recourse may be.
Good Luck! Keep us posted.

My 72' Blazer has MAJOR tint on it...so being a real genius I asked my opthamologist (that's EYE DOCTOR for you country folks) to write me a note on his letterhead stating I needed tint, which he did.
2 years later I got pulled over, whipped out my little note, and was told that
1) It wasn't from an "M.D"
2) For it to mean anything, the doctor has to send forms to the Secretary of State wheer they issue a handicap thingie
3) It needs to be renewed every 6 months

Wally...I got pulled over in Morton Grove. Bastards were issuing tint tickets all morning they said..... :mad: Had the ticket pre-made out, just had to fill in my name and particulars.

I will sleep better knowing the law of the land is being vigorously enforced....... :cool: :cool: :cool:

A tint METER!!!....Issueing illegal tint tickets all day!!! Oh my GOD!!! I once phoned up my (in our case regional elected represenative) every day for a month when the cops set up a speed trap 200 yards away from where the limit increased from 35 to 50 in a deserted stretch of road. I finally got the prick on the phone and reminded him he had an election coming up and how I didnt appreciate his Police force's obvious "revenue oriented" tactics. And how when the cops do bull**** things like that,infuriating the public with stupid tickets, then the next day they have a case where they need the publics help they cant figure out why nobody will step forward!!! :mad: :mad: