Ok guys, Im gonna tint my windows hopefully this Saturday. Should be around 200 bucks to do everything and Im going 5% tint on the back windows and Im not sure on the front. Im only 17 so I dont want to risk getting a ticket, especially if my insurance goes up. Has anyone got a ticket for illegal tint on the front windows? Does insurance go up ? Or is it a fixing ticket ? I have no clue on what to do with the front windows. Ive seen some dealers come out with some pretty damn dark tint. Any info guys, THANKS

Im in So-Cal so cops might be a bit more bitchy ?

 

I posted in a thread somewhere about what states allow what deepness. I believe california is one of those states where you can't have any tint on the front? I can't remember for sure, as your local installer or I'm sure someone will chime in here. Yes, you can get tickets for it. Yes, its a "fixable" ticket, where if you fix it within a certain time you can get it taken off your record. As for causing insurance to raise, I believe only moving violations will go on insurance. Tint isn't a moving violation. At least here in Utah.

 

yeah i ge them all the time. im not positive how dark it is cuz it came like that when i bought it but its hella dark. no worries though cuz its only a fix it ticket, but just be careful cuz its just another reason to get pulled over. im young too so i know how u feel. cops just love pulling over 18 year old like me for stupid **** like a window tint. i once had a cop yell at me for it saying i wont see lil kids or something. i have one due tomorow but im not sure if i should rip it off or just wait till my buddies dad is back in town to sign it off. but anyways if u do go with the 2 fronts and u get pulled and dont have anybody to sign u off make sure the place u get it from offers lifetime warranty so u can just rip it off when u need to get it signed and bring it back to them and say my **** bubbled so i tore it off. SORRY FOR THE LONG POST!

 

sad to say but i've been pulled over a couple times since having my tint put on. But the good thing is i've never got a ticket, or even heard a cop mention anything about my tint. I have 20 on the sides and 15 on the back which isnt really that dark, but whatever. I even had a cop pull me over a few hours after i got my tint put on, you know you cant roll the windows down, i thought i was gonna get shot for opening the door up every time the cop came over.

 

Naw, its cool Post as long as you want lol

And the shop told me that if I put a small sticker on the back(where I get it done) he will take it of for any reason for free. So it sounds like a good deal. But sounds good that its only a fixing ticket because if insurance wnet up for this, Id be pist off.

Thanks guys, keep the comments coming

lol Spy, my friend was in a similar situation. He has a 73 Camaro and has an ignition problem so he has to kill switch it then turn the key of. He reached down when the cop told him to turn of the car(because it was too loud lol) and he reached down to get the switch. Cop took him out of the car and searched the whole thing just for reaching down. Sucks

 

Only moving violations make your rates go up. Tint is in the same class as parking tickets, failure to inspect, neon, etc. Just costs money if you get ticketed. As for what to do about the sides, just remember: by putting tint on your sides, your breaking the law, so break it right with some 5%. You could argue that the tint keeps your leather cool in the summer, you have a bad sensitivity to sun with your skin, blah, blah...

 

You'd have to get a notice by a doctor stating that you're sensitive to light for that to hold up tho (if it even does). You cant just tell the cop "Hey, Im sensitive to light thats why the tints so dark" and have him just tip his hat and go on his way.

In Cali I believe its 70% on the back, and none on the sides and 4" (or whatever the AS-1 line is) on the windshield. So if you're going to break it, may as well go as dark as you wish, but going 5% gets DARK at night.

 

Never had a problem with the TN cops, they are kick ***. But the VA cops are absolute dicks. And 5% is dark at night, just got to pay extra attention.

 

I'd go with the darkest legal, so you don't have to worry about getting a ticket.

 

this is what you can be held liable for and what youre entitled to doing. Everyone else usually just says what they've "heard" was legal, but I crack open the code book

Everything you wanted to know about tinting laws in CA:
CA CV 26708.5. (a) No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any
transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of
any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the
light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows , except
as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.

VC 26708 (b):
This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Rearview mirrors.
(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner
of the windshield nearest the driver.
(4) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.
(5) Direction, destination, or termini signs upon a passenger
common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not
interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.
(6) Rear window wiper motor.
(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.
(8) The rear window or windows, when the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to
the rear of the vehicle.
(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite
the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and which
occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner
toward the rear of that window and which provides the driver with a
wide-angle view through the lens.
(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section
26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's
front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in
his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed
physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from
the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession
a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist
certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not
be used during darkness.
(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that
is not greater than 5 inches square, if the device provides either
of the following:
(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped
with the device.
(B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on
public or private roads or facilities.

The law re: windshield
VC 26708 (c):
Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be
installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the
windshield if the following conditions apply:
(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above
the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in
front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its
rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.
(2) The material is not red or amber in color.
(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other
lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through
the windshield.
(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into
the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any
greater extent than the windshield without the material.

CA law re side windows VC 26708 (d):
Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat 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 the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the
material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the
material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by
the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the
material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the
requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's
manufacturer by full name and street address.
(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.

And incase you were wondering what subdivision "a" says:
VC 26708(a): (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon
the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view
through the windshield or side windows.
(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.

 

Just be sure to take a picture of your car before you get the tint. That way if you get a fix it ticket, you go to court, show the judge your pictures of your car without tint and it gets dismissed.
James

 

Thanks guys, Im taking the car on monday. Its gonna be 15% on the front and 5% on the back windows.