Windshield Tint Exemption In California

The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not be used during darkness.

This means that if you do tint your front window you are not allowed to drive at night.......

Here's updated infofrom 2017 in my previous link:


(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the windshield, side, or rear windows of a motor vehicle if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS–14 glazing, as specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the ability of the existing window glass to block the sun’s harmful ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by a licensed dermatologist certifying that the person should not be exposed to ultraviolet rays because of a medical condition that necessitates clear, colorless, and transparent film material to be installed on the windshield, side, or rear windows.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be removed or replaced.

 

@LkdTaco

Wow!

You've been around a while and seems like you rarely post. I dig that! lol (I also like your "Fly By Night" avatar)

I have a tint waiver here in Delaware. The DMV has the application to fill out...and all you need is a Physician Assistant to sign off.

Take it to the DMV to get application paper sealed and get a new registration with the annotation, "Tint Waiver". (Free of charge)

There's a method but I'm not going to reveal that...

This is only for the side windows...the windshield is not what I applied for.

EDIT: Driving at night was challenging the first time I experienced it! lol

 

No tint is legal here but the cops don’t enforce it. The DMV does the enforcement …..it’s called an inspection sticker. State inspectors will get your tint every other year.

 

Go Pro mount?

 

I know a doctor……

 

Not sure why it’s cash off the books.

There are tons of shops in CA that “legitimately” tint your windows. Never heard of them only accepting cash.

Opinions of the laws aside, that southwest sun is harsh. Sitting in a car that baked in 115 degree sun for hours is NOT fun.

 

Why the backstreets mystery? Maybe for bravado. It would be one of the few things police enforce here ... people drive without any lights at all every night and no police stop them. Still, it may be blocking Mastercard/Discover/Visa from connecting the services to the purchaser ... and local police are buying something they must by policy tell the public is ill-advised.

I did "mod" my Corolla when I moved here by adding window tint. To that point only limousine companies and drug gangs used it ... at least that was my view living in Ohio/NorthCarolina. Out here it can literally save your life (or at least your engine) by keeping interior heat down even when AC is already running.

 

It's been a while since I measured windshields for UV transmission but from what I recall, they do fully filter out UV A/B, just the same as every single pair of sunglasses, either glass or plastic, that I own. I bought a special UV A/B light meter years ago just for that purpose - mostly to make sure that my sunglasses weren't actually damaging my eyes by letting them absorb more UV with a wider iris. And it turns out that all plastic lensed sunglasses, even the super cheap one fully filter out UV. I can re-measure my windshield to double-check but I'm sure it'll measure zero as well.

 

In front of the glass


And behind the glass

 

I can't really read what your meter is telling us, what it's reading and in what units, but it seems like it's registering all zeros under the glass and something else above. If that's the case, and it is indeed measuring UV a/b then that comports with what I've measured in the past. We were fully overcast all day long here in L.A. so no chance to measure anything.

 

Interesting thought, I guess it depends on the reason (vision or skin) for one thing? Not sure honestly.

That could be the sticking point here, I'm not up on the laws for side or front but OP said his is the front. And 100% your last sentence.

WOW. Thank you for your service, my friend. I wonder if CA just doesn't have that exemption or if it's state to state (which it sounds like).

A less permanent one to be sure, though it could be more than just vision related reasons this is allowed in some states.

Myself, I have excellent peripheral vision to the point I hate the sun in the side of my eyes like most glasses will still let in (such as the Wayfarers). I wish there was a good quality pair that had a goggle style lens on sunglass frames like I had 30 years ago, though those were just cheapies.

 

As @PTSDTherapy mentioned there are some valid reasons for it. HOPEFULLY just a short term thing but my wife sustained a concussion Christmas week and isn't yet medically cleared to drive (among other things). Headlights and other bright lights have a "starburst" effect on her presently. In time it is supposed to cease, but UGH..even sunglasses do little more than take the edge off the effect.

 

Sliding rear windows with a lock "affixed?"

 

Windshield wipers "installed" on windshield?

 

I have pretty good vision, for me not at all. But, you can def tell a difference more so at night.

 

so technically, I can beat this in court because they gave me a ticket during the day, I could say that I don't drive this vehicle at night. However, back and forth to court or even going once feels like a huge waste of time.

 

In the old days, you just needed a cop friend to sign off on you having had it removed to get the fixit ticket dealt with. I got lucky with that once.

These days you might need ChP or DMV inspection? Not sure.

I got exactly one of these (in my '02 Tundra on the 5 freeway) in my 20 years as a Cali resident tinting every vehicle I drove. It's a tax you have to pay as @chuam indicates. Most good tint guys don't get stressed if you ask them to scrape so you can get it dealt with and then put the tint back on after, they know the drill better than anyone.

It's just part of the game really.

Ironically, I'm considering removing tint on some of my rigs as the PNW is rainville and I haven't had any sun exposure since moving here in August. The problem here is cold, not heat, and the interiors don't get hot, they don't even really dry out. On the flip side, when you don't have to feel like a criminal for tinting your front windows, it's a little bit of cheap security on someone stealing crap out of your truck.

A good rule of thumb is just roll down both D and P windows if you do get pulled over.

 

California. /end thread

 

238 µW/cm^2 in the first reading and the second is zero. The bottom number shows the max value for the scale (2.0 mW/cm^2)