12% TINT FROM TOYOTA FACTORY WITH DOT STICKER?

I have a 2014 Tacoma that I bought from a dealership in Florida back in November-LOVE MY TRUCK! However on my way back from a trip to Florida (I live in Alabama) I was pulled over in Richland, Ga. and given a ticket for my tint being too dark ($265!!!). I guess my question is...if it is from the factory, how can I be responsible for that? I asked the cop and his response was "these tint tickets are our bread and butter here, maybe you should have asked how dark the tint was when you bought it". WHO WOULD THINK OF THAT? My state doesn't have a tint law!!! Any advice would help-THANKS

 

If your state has no tint law then you are not required to pass their state inspection requirements for simply driving through.

 

Was it local PD, Sheriff's Dept, or State Patrol? I'm from that area and they sure do hit the window tint hard. Strange, considering how friggin' hot and bright it gets down there. A LOT of drugs come up I-75. LE hit that corridor hard for the past two decades and a lot of the drug running has shifted to alternate routes up to the Columbus area. They use the tint violation to pull you over in hopes of finding drugs. If there are no drugs suspected, then they write you up for the tint or anything else they can find so they generate some revenue. My coworker had car trouble last week and they ticketed her for faulty equipment. Like, don't give someone a ticket when they have car trouble, that's adding insult to injury. Help them with their car! She's barely 100# wet and needed help.
I passed 12 PD, Sheriff, and GSP on my way to work this AM. They're hitting it hard here at the end of the month. They say there are no quotas, but there are. Without giving too much away, I'm very familiar with the LE climate down there.

 

That's what I thought, but I have a $265 ticket that says different LOL just wanted to see if anyone else had ever had this happen-also the end result

 

Deputy down there made my cousin pull his tint off on the side of the road. My cousin was so pissed, but it was too dark. It's 32% here in Georgia.

 

@MadDaddy I'm not really sure if it was PD or Sheriff it was on HWY 520 mile marker 10 - I know it wasn't State though because the officer said that if it had been-that troopers actually have the right to cut an X into your tint.

 

Anther reason why Florida is the best state.

 

Georgia Code 40-8-73.1. Subsection c.6.D may help you:

Georgia Code 40-8-73.1.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
1) 'Light reflectance' means the ratio of the amount of total light that is reflected outward by a product or material to the amount of total light falling on the product or material.
(2) 'Light transmission' means the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, which is allowed to pass through a surface to the amount of light falling on the surface.
(3) 'Manufacturer' means a person who produces or assembles a vehicle glass-coating material or who fabricates, laminates, or tempers a safety-glazing material, which material reduces light transmission.
(4) 'Material' means any transparent product or substance which reduces light transmission.
(5) 'Multipurpose passenger vehicle' means a motor vehicle designed to carry ten persons or less which is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation.
(b) Except as provided in this Code section, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle in this state:
(1) Which has material and glazing applied or affixed to the front windshield, which material and glazing when so applied or affixed reduce light transmission through the windshield; or
(2) Which has material and glazing applied or affixed to the rear windshield or the side or door windows, which material and glazing when so applied or affixed reduce light transmission through the windshield or window to less than 32 percent, plus or minus 3 percent, or increase light reflectance to more than 20 percent.
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section shall not apply to:
(1) Adjustable sun visors which are mounted forward of the side windows and are not attached to the glass;
(2) Signs, stickers, or other matter which is displayed in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver or signs, stickers, or other matter which is displayed in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest the driver;
(3) Direction, destination, or termination signs upon a passenger common carrier motor vehicle if the signs do not interfere with the driveŕs clear view of approaching traffic;
(4) Any transparent item which is not red or amber in color which is placed on the uppermost six inches of the windshield;
(5) Any federal, state, or local sticker or certificate which is required by law to be placed on any windshield or window;
(6) The rear windshield or the side or door windows, except those windows to the right and left of the driver of:
(A) A multipurpose passenger vehicle;
(B) A school bus, any other bus used for public transportation, and any bus or van owned or leased by any religious or any nonprofit organization duly incorporated under the laws of this state;
(C) Any limousine owned or leased by a public or private entity; or
(D) Any other vehicle, the windows or windshields of which have been tinted or darkened before factory delivery or permitted by federal law or regulation; or
(7) Any law enforcement vehicle.
(d) The Department of Motor Vehicle Safety may, upon application from a person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the direct rays of the sun and only if such application is supported by written attestation of such fact from a person licensed to practice medicine under Chapter 34 of Title 43, issue an exemption from the provisions of this Code section for any motor vehicle owned by such person or in which such person is a habitual passenger. The exemption shall be issued with such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed by the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety.
(e) No person shall install any material upon the windshields or windows of any motor vehicle, the installation of which would result in a reduction of light transmission or an increase in light reflectance in violation of subsection (b) of this Code section.
(f) The Department of Motor Vehicle Safety is authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Code section.
(g) Any person who violates subsection (b) or (e) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

@Gunshot-6A (D) Any other vehicle, the windows or windshields of which have been tinted or darkened before factory delivery or permitted by federal law or regulation- I read this yesterday and that is why I was thinking that because it was done by the factory, maybe the ticket could be exempt? I called down to City Hall there in Richland and "Wanda" the clerk was in a meeting so I am supposed to call back in 30 minutes (LOL I guess they only have 1 clerk?)

 

Richland, GA is a town of 1800 people. Lucky you didn't get the 1 man Police Dept that wrote you the ticket

 

They likely will still get you on the parent clause depending on if your front side windows were tinted:

(6) The rear windshield or the side or door windows, except those windows to the right and left of the driver of:

 

Appeal it. If that isn’t where you reside then your vehicle doesn’t have to meet their standards.

 

I agree :-( the cop told me to go have the front ones "legal tinted" and submit paperwork- OTHER THAN THAT - I just have to pay the ticket

 

@Rustytaco71 see....that's where they get you! I live about 3 hours from there-so it would cost me more just going there to fight it, ya know? Most people just pay it because its a headache.

 

I hate hearing these stories. Typical small town revenue generator.

How do you have a 12% tint from the factory? Am I just not used to seeing this since I live in GA and we have a tint law?

 

All you have to do is contact their court system. Find out which agency issued the ticket. I’m sure or would hope that it doesn’t become a pain as it wa

I think you can your appeals via letters in the mail, I could be wrong though. It would be worth your while to fight it and get it removed versus paying it and keeping it on your driving record though.

 

I spent 20 years down there and had to google "Richland, Ga," it's so small I didn't even know where it was.

 

I googled it. What do I look like, an atlas?

 

I was under the impression you have to follow the state laws that you are currently driving in. So it may be legal in your residing state but as soon as you drive into another state that considers it too dark, then it's illegal. I could be wrong with that though.

12% tint? I thought only rear doors and back window was factory tinted and that was at 20%.

 

Which windows were you cited for? The back seat windows have factory tinted glass (the actual glass, not a layer of film) and the fronts are barely shaded beyond clear. Anything else is not factory applied.