Windshield tent

My experience only. Tint is illegal depending on individual LEO. State limits don’t matter.

In college had my windows tinted from a dealer. Law is 28%.

Asked for their recommendation because I didn’t want to get pulled over for too dark. They recommended 35% so I went with that.
Got pulled over leaving campus two weeks later for “excessively dark window tint”. Only reason listed for stop.

Cop put a meter on my drivers side and said illegal. Called bullshit, explained the legal limit and had dealer installed 35%. Asked if I could see the meter reading. He said no.

Wrote me a 224$ ticket and said I could take it up with the judge.

Went to court, with the installation papers stating it was 35% and printed out my states tint law.

Judge said tough shit. What the cop says stands. Said I had two options. Pay the fine and remove the tint or pay the fine and get ticketed again.

Paid the fine, didn’t remove the tint. Didn’t get pulled over for it again as long as I owned the vehicle.

Cop that pulled me over had the nickname of mr traffic enforcement and mr meter reader not only from the kids in school but from fellow LEO’s I met later in life. Would pull kids over for going 31 in a 30 and ticket them.

 

Totally agree with you. I've had 5% on every vehicle I've ever owned and 50% on the windshield. If you have 5% all the way around the vehicle then it makes the 50% on the front look much darker than it actually is. But I do see a lot of people here in Colorado Springs with thier windshield completely blacked out and that to me is pretty stupid.

To your point about LEO's and walking up to a car with deep tinted windows... I couldn't agree more. I would hate to be an officer walking up to something that I couldn't see inside of. So I get why there are window tint laws. When I was in high school and college I'd tint my truck with 5% all around. Back then you couldn't get anyone to tint the windshield. But the LEO's in my area were really cracking down on window tint. Over the course of a year I got 7 fix it tickets. I'd pull the tint off, take it to the police station in the area that I was stopped in, show them that I had taken the tint off, and they would expunge the ticket. Then I would go home and retint the truck until the next time. Let's just say I got really good at tinting windows. But... That isn't right. But I was also 17 - 18 years old so I was stupid.

The van is 20% on the side windows so I don't think I'll have much trouble out of those. The rest of the van is completely blacked out so even the windshield looks much darker than it actually is. Just the nature of how the van is made. But if I ever do get stopped I'll just roll down all of the windows and keep my hands on the steering wheel in plain sight. I'm sure they will want to check the window tint and if I get a ticket? Well... I deserve one because I "know" my tint is illegal and that's okay. That is a risk I was willing to take.

This was my truck that I used to pull everything we owned with and everything was blacked out. 5% all around with 50% on the windshield. Definitely made it hard to back up a trailer at night so I'd just have to roll down my windows since the only way that I can back up a trailer is by using my mirrors.



My wife car was the same way



My Tacoma was the same way.

 

That's crazy. I know there are a few states that don't want you to tint the front drivers and passengers side windows. But that LEO and Judge were completely wrong. 35% is legal almost everywhere.

*EDIT*.... I did get pulled over in Utah once but the cop got out and told me he didn't see my license plate before he pulled me over. He put the meter on the window and of course it was way illegal. But, he didn't give me a ticket since I was passing through. Even he said that 35% was legal. Obviously mine weren't. But he was nice enough to let me go with a warning.

 

Pretty sure ive seen Lexus SUVs with windshield tint from the factory

 

Some Lexus, BMW's, and especially Mercedes have darker window on the windshield. But it isn't window tint. It's built into the glass. Which is why when you see one like that it "usually" has a slight copper tint to the windshield. That comes from the factory so it isn't illegal.

 

Usually looks like this

 

I have 50% on the windshield and 20% on the doors. Here's what it looks like at almost 7pm

 

What is that? I like that.

 

28%?! Yowza. It's 70% (front) in California.

My son had his front done to 35 and, while it seemed dark AF to me, kids gonna kid I suppose so I didn't say too much (he can pay the ticket if/when it happens was my approach).

...then I drove to Mammoth in the winter overnight and spent the whole damn drive in terror.

Frozen roads. No external lights (streetlights or the like). And NO DAMN WAY TO SEE OUT OF THE FRONT WINDSHIELD.

Told him that shit needed to come off (and offered to pay half of it for him) ASAP.

TL;DR - IMO that shit might look cool but I guarantee there's a non-zero number of accidents from folks who, literally, just never saw 'em coming...

 

Factory installed windshield on a Mercedes Benz. Not tint.

 

It’s actually lower now. 24% is the new limit.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37.430

 

How about at 11pm in an area without street lights?

 

Real world experience right here. Great information!

On the Dodge, it may just be that angle or the reflection but it almost looks like there's no tint at all on that windshield.

 

We have no street lights where I live and I can see just fine out if it. It's not as dark as most people on here think. I actually can't tell that much of a difference.

 

Literally no way you can’t tell a difference with the tint. It’s tint. It darkens glass. Do you put sunglasses on and can’t tell they’re on too?

 

Yeah, there was 50% on the windshield on the Dodge. It might have been just the angle that it was taken at. Plus, it was taken in 2005

The thing that I think everyone is forgetting is on "most" vehicles sold today (especially trucks and SUV's) is they come from the factory with 20% on the back windows and the rear window. So if you know how it looks out of your rear window at 20% and you have no trouble backing up at night or seeing out the rear windows at night, well then imagine how easy it would be to see out of 50%.

Now... where I really took it a step forward is since the rear windows come from the factory at 20%, I then put 5% over the top of that. No idea what that actually makes the % of the tint but it was dark. The camper shell I put on that truck came tinted at 20%. Then I had it tinted at 5%. So the entire truck was well under 5% so it was blacked out. But, since I always use my mirrors to back up it was no big deal.

There is no way you are going to see what I have in my vehicle. This is how dark it was looking from the rear. And that is my main rationale for wanting dark windows. It is no ones business looking though the windows of my vehicle.

 

SLOW DOWN!!! YOUR DRIVING LIKE A BAT OUT OF HADES!!!

 

I know this is off-topic.
My nephew was driving my brother's truck and was stopped and ticketed for speeding. The LEO also ticketed him for the clear plastic covering over the license plate. I guess the clear plastic hinders the reflectivity of the license.

 

Depending on what state you live in, sometimes the red light cameras can't see the license plate though the clear plastic covering. "Maybe" that is why he was ticketed?

 

This. ^

Some people intentionally put films on plates to dupe traffic cams hence why it’s consider illegal. Doesn’t have to be tinted to mess with cameras.