Pulled over for tinted headlights and tailights
06-09-2010, 11:03 PM
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So a couple weeks back I drove out to LA for my moms graduation. On the way home I ended up passing by a CHP. I knew they had to be waiting up for me cause they pulled in between two semis. Sure enough after passing by they pull behind me and pull me over. I'm thinking well guess I finally get a speeding ticket, must be my time. But for 2-3 mph over? Fine, what ever.
First thing out of the officers mouth, I pulled you over today for tinted headlights and taillights. ????????????????? I'm totally caught off guard and in shock over what I just heard. I'm thinking, wait what? Thinking back over all the modifications done to my car, taillights never enter the picture. They are bone stock. No tinting, no covers, oem, equipped as from the factory. Must be the honeycomb design. But surely if it was illegal, the DOT wouldn't have approved the design and allowed Firebirds from 1998 to 2002 to be sold as they were.
So I'm asked to turn on my headlights and I do. Of course they flip up and shine bright as any. Came back and said my headlights were fine. I'm thinking, no ****. Guess only a CHP officer can mistake body panels for headlight covers/tinting.
The officer also said my window tint was illegal. 35% on my front windows. After looking up Cali law upon my return home, sure enough can't have **** on the front windows. But seriously is 35% really that dark? I am within legal limits in AZ, which is 33% on the front windows.
So I ended up being "given a break" by getting a fix-it ticket for my tint. Still waiting for the paperwork to get mailed out to me. They are expecting me to remove my tint, drive out to Cali to get signed off that my tint was removed, drive back to Phoenix, get my tint put back on. This all sounds rather annoying.
My question to Tech is this, anyone else with a 98-02 Firebird get pulled over because you happened to buy said vehicle and drive it as it is?
First thing out of the officers mouth, I pulled you over today for tinted headlights and taillights. ????????????????? I'm totally caught off guard and in shock over what I just heard. I'm thinking, wait what? Thinking back over all the modifications done to my car, taillights never enter the picture. They are bone stock. No tinting, no covers, oem, equipped as from the factory. Must be the honeycomb design. But surely if it was illegal, the DOT wouldn't have approved the design and allowed Firebirds from 1998 to 2002 to be sold as they were.
So I'm asked to turn on my headlights and I do. Of course they flip up and shine bright as any. Came back and said my headlights were fine. I'm thinking, no ****. Guess only a CHP officer can mistake body panels for headlight covers/tinting.
The officer also said my window tint was illegal. 35% on my front windows. After looking up Cali law upon my return home, sure enough can't have **** on the front windows. But seriously is 35% really that dark? I am within legal limits in AZ, which is 33% on the front windows.
So I ended up being "given a break" by getting a fix-it ticket for my tint. Still waiting for the paperwork to get mailed out to me. They are expecting me to remove my tint, drive out to Cali to get signed off that my tint was removed, drive back to Phoenix, get my tint put back on. This all sounds rather annoying.
My question to Tech is this, anyone else with a 98-02 Firebird get pulled over because you happened to buy said vehicle and drive it as it is?
bro the bottom line is if you come to cali with **** thats legal in other states but not california and you get pulled over by the CHP just expect a ticket. especially when our state is bankrupt. of coarse they will act as iff they are giving you a break by only writing you a fix it ticket but in reality your gonna pay at least 200 for a fine if not more. you dont have to get the tint removed however if you dont want, you can pay the fine, but even after paying the fine you can get written up over and over for tint. all in all chp will always write u a ticket
06-10-2010, 12:18 AM
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Wow, didn't expect my thread to blow up like it has. I'm still waiting for the citation or what ever it is they are mailing me to come in but it looks like I may have to call. Don't have a clue either on any costs.
06-10-2010, 12:22 AM
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go to la superior court.org click traffic.. click search tickets, enter your dl number, and birthday and your ticket will come up. you can pay the fine online, or request an extension. either way your gonna be lookin at a few hundred dollars if you pay the fine, or your gonna have to get the tint removed, get the ticket signed off, pay a 20 dollar court fee and i believe appear in a california court room to actually show proof of correction.. i have literally recieved over 20 tint tickets... i usually pay the fine and leave the tint on.
06-11-2010, 01:31 AM
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I got a ticket 3 times for tint, camaro ss came with it, was that way brand new off the lot, all 3 times went in and told the judge, all 3 times I didn't need to pay a fine, funny part is they never asked for proof, I had it though, but thought that part was funny. I live in cali.
06-11-2010, 10:34 AM
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Actually things are going to work out nicely here. Couple months back I had a window guide break on my drivers side that scratched the hell out of the tint. So, I'm going to have the tint removed, pay $25, and get it put back on. I'll have tint that doesn't have tears in it. Plus, my credit card has a cash back reward that can be redeemed in $25 increments which I am about to claim anyways. So, in a way, I'm not paying anything for the ticket.
06-11-2010, 12:25 PM
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I think a lot of you guys are missing a good point. Cops can be douches all they want to fill their quota, and we supposedly have to bend over for them (at least according to the other cops on this forum). They specifically target out of state vehicles especially near the border because they know that people don't want to contest an out of state ticket mainly because that requires them to return the hundreds of miles back to the ticket issuing state for a court appearance or just bend over to pay the fix-it ticket. I was once pulled over in New Mexico for "Um... being in the passing lane too long..." BITCH, I WAS PASSING A SEMI TRUCK AND NOBODY WAS BEHIND ME! He was just looking for a conspicuous or out of state car and was looking for something illegal on my car. At the time everything on my car was street legal for CA/NM and he couldn't get me for any non-moving violation. I could tell for a while he was trying to think of a reason he pulled me over. I'm sure he would have given me a ticket for "staying in the passing lane too long" if I didn't take "too long" finding my paper registration (which I did find, BTW) at which point he let me go. 
Last edited by ZexGX; 06-11-2010 at 12:32 PM.
06-12-2010, 11:40 PM
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I think a lot of you guys are missing a good point. Cops can be douches all they want to fill their quota, and we supposedly have to bend over for them (at least according to the other cops on this forum). They specifically target out of state vehicles especially near the border because they know that people don't want to contest an out of state ticket mainly because that requires them to return the hundreds of miles back to the ticket issuing state for a court appearance or just bend over to pay the fix-it ticket. I was once pulled over in New Mexico for "Um... being in the passing lane too long..." BITCH, I WAS PASSING A SEMI TRUCK AND NOBODY WAS BEHIND ME! He was just looking for a conspicuous or out of state car and was looking for something illegal on my car. At the time everything on my car was street legal for CA/NM and he couldn't get me for any non-moving violation. I could tell for a while he was trying to think of a reason he pulled me over. I'm sure he would have given me a ticket for "staying in the passing lane too long" if I didn't take "too long" finding my paper registration (which I did find, BTW) at which point he let me go.
I agree, accept for the quota part, they got rid of that a long time ago, but the more tickets they give out the better they look for promotion time.
06-13-2010, 12:24 AM
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Actually things are going to work out nicely here. Couple months back I had a window guide break on my drivers side that scratched the hell out of the tint. So, I'm going to have the tint removed, pay $25, and get it put back on. I'll have tint that doesn't have tears in it. Plus, my credit card has a cash back reward that can be redeemed in $25 increments which I am about to claim anyways. So, in a way, I'm not paying anything for the ticket.
Seems to me, any police officer can sign off that you're legal... That would mean, no changes at all so long as you had a cop in your home state check it.. I mean, if it's legal there. Then you can mail in the ticket, signed off and move along.
Go ahead and get it replaced, but see if a local cop will sign off anyway. I got one in FL for 5% in my front windows. I had COP TINT on my truck! The trooper pulled my over just for tint and told me any officer from any jurisdiction can sign off, even in another state. Maybe that's just FL law or he was wrong, but I recommend checking on it.
I was pulled over in Ohio for no front tag. He saw my FL tag before pulling me over, but that was his excuse. Just wasted some of my time.
CA is a whole new stupid animal though. Most of those cops seem okay, like anywhere. Problem in cases like this is the laws, not the cops.
06-13-2010, 12:58 AM
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profile much?Okay they issue one plate. It still does not change the fact that you must conform to the laws of the state that you are driving in. It has been mentioned already that if you explain that you are just visiting for a few days they will most likely let you go. However, if they do issue you a citation just go get it signed off when you get back into your state and pay the $25. It's really not a big deal and I don't see why people are getting so worked up over it.
as for me getting pulled over, if that cop had given me a ticket in FL for no front plate i would have gotten an affadavit from indiana saying they didn't issue front plates and made that cop look like a dumbass in court.
06-13-2010, 09:11 AM
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I once got pulled over in FL for driving without a front plate. I was in a 5mph traffic jam and this cop is sitting on the side of the road and pulls out and pulls me over. i wasl ike "what did i do?" when he said i didn't have a front plate i told him Florida doesn't require front plates and he goes "yeah but indiana does" I had to basically prove to him that indiana didn't issue 2 plates and of course it was the day i got my FL license so i couldn't just lie and say i was visiting, lol. After the guy gave me a verbal warning and told me to get my plates changed to florida he said the dumbest thing i've ever heard a cop say "i pull over all out of state cars just to check"
06-13-2010, 09:35 AM
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I think he would have found something either way... Crappy luck tho..It's always a surprise when they stop me as well.. I just don't answer that question.
.."do you know why i stopped you?''.......
..Because you owe me money, or do you want a better look at my car?...
.."do you know why i stopped you?''.......
..Because you owe me money, or do you want a better look at my car?...
06-15-2010, 12:42 PM
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I just went to san diego not too long ago. I was paranoid about all the anti car bs i hear about that state. I couldnt believe how aggressive i had to drive to keep up with traffic with what i have done. In the end, I didnt get two glances from any cop.
06-17-2010, 08:03 AM
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So you're going back to CA to have it signed off?
Seems to me, any police officer can sign off that you're legal... That would mean, no changes at all so long as you had a cop in your home state check it.. I mean, if it's legal there. Then you can mail in the ticket, signed off and move along.
Go ahead and get it replaced, but see if a local cop will sign off anyway. I got one in FL for 5% in my front windows. I had COP TINT on my truck! The trooper pulled my over just for tint and told me any officer from any jurisdiction can sign off, even in another state. Maybe that's just FL law or he was wrong, but I recommend checking on it.
I was pulled over in Ohio for no front tag. He saw my FL tag before pulling me over, but that was his excuse. Just wasted some of my time.
CA is a whole new stupid animal though. Most of those cops seem okay, like anywhere. Problem in cases like this is the laws, not the cops.
Seems to me, any police officer can sign off that you're legal... That would mean, no changes at all so long as you had a cop in your home state check it.. I mean, if it's legal there. Then you can mail in the ticket, signed off and move along.
Go ahead and get it replaced, but see if a local cop will sign off anyway. I got one in FL for 5% in my front windows. I had COP TINT on my truck! The trooper pulled my over just for tint and told me any officer from any jurisdiction can sign off, even in another state. Maybe that's just FL law or he was wrong, but I recommend checking on it.
I was pulled over in Ohio for no front tag. He saw my FL tag before pulling me over, but that was his excuse. Just wasted some of my time.
CA is a whole new stupid animal though. Most of those cops seem okay, like anywhere. Problem in cases like this is the laws, not the cops.
Ya, I'm driving back. Looking at it like a sort of vacation. I'm not worried about the gas money because frankly I'd be driving that much anyway if just around town. I can stop by a CHP office on the way to court.
