Window tint law (sale, insurance, crime)

[becky30016]

Is there a general rule of thumb to check my window tint? I've been driving the same truck for 3 years, and just got a ticket for my tint being to dark! Any ideas on how to negotiate that one?

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by becky30016

Is there a general rule of thumb to check my window tint? I've been driving the same truck for 3 years, and just got a ticket for my tint being to dark! Any ideas on how to negotiate that one?

32% total LTV. You can use a light meter or special swatches made to check for light transmittance. Inspection stations in my previous state all had them and would check tint as part of the inspection. My guess is that State Troopers in GA probably have them.

georgia.gov - House Bill Restores Georgia's Window Tint Law

"The law allows for the same light transmission standards as the previous law. It is now illegal for window tinting material to be applied to the rear, side and door windows of motor vehicles that does not allow for more than 32 percent of light transmission (plus or minus three percent). It is also illegal for materials to be applied to the windows that increase the level of light reflected to more than 20 percent. Additionally, except for the top six inches of the windshield, no material or glazing can be applied that would reduce the light transmission through the windshield. "

[Shagbark Hickory]

What I recommend if you need dark tint is to have an installer apply it to static cling material then apply the static cling material to your windows when you need to use it. If you get pulled over or go to an inspection, just pull it off and put it back later.

There are also some films that are designed for use on buildings that are very shiny and offer some privacy that way. I don't know if they block as much light as the dark auto films.

I used to get pulled over for this constantly then I said screw it already. It just screams out "pull me over" so now I go crystal clear.

[neil0311]

If you can't live within the law....just remember that if you get into a bad accident at night, whether or not your tint was actually a factor, your insurance company may refuse to pay and you may be criminally and/or civilly liable. NEVER tint your windshield.

You also open yourself up to possibly more harsh treatment by cops at a traffic stop, since they may be more apprehensive if they can't see you and your movements behind illegal tint.

[Chele2]

The law changed about 2yrs ago, could be more. When I got my tint it was legal. After the law changed I got a ticket and had to have the front windows changed to a lighter (legal) tint before coming to court. I showed it was done and they threw out the ticket. I was told by someone who had dark tint he just pays the fee (don't know the amount) cause he does not want to change his tint. He also knows what counties are prone to stoping cars for that.

[becky30016]

Thank you all for your comments. I was told at one time, that if you could place your lisence against the inside of the window and read it from the outside it was legal. I was hoping to find someone with info on that.
My fine is $150. It just really threw me for a loop, I've had to call on police officers a few times in the last two years to unlock my door b/c myself or my kids locked the keys in it. Been through several road blocks. Not once has an officer ever said one word to me about the tint. I have the utmost respect for those who serve in law enforcement. But once in a while you have to wonder if they have to meet a higher quota just to keep driving the cool car! At any rate, I took the tint off, and will go to court in late july.

[TheJagMan]

Originally Posted by becky30016

But once in a while you have to wonder if they have to meet a higher quota just to keep driving the cool car! At any rate, I took the tint off, and will go to court in late july.

Respond when there's a call...When there's not a call, be ready to respond but make $$$ for the town...

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by becky30016

Not once has an officer ever said one word to me about the tint.

You got lucky. That doesn't provide you with a pass.

Originally Posted by becky30016

I have the utmost respect for those who serve in law enforcement. But once in a while you have to wonder if they have to meet a higher quota just to keep driving the cool car! At any rate, I took the tint off, and will go to court in late july.

If you have the "utmost respect for those who serve in law enforcement" then you wouldn't make disparaging comments about them enforcing a very clear and simple law. It amazes me how people assume they should be exempt from following the law and when they get caught, they try every rationalization in the book as to why it's not their fault. When you go to court, what are you going to say? You were guilty....right?

I have a car. I have tint that measures above 32%. I never get hassled by anyone. It's just so simple.

[bozoman]

The Georgia Window Tint law was declared unconstitutional due to defective wording in 2004. HB20 restored the law after the defect was corrected and signed into law by Purdue, effective Monday, May 2nd, 2005.

My vehicle had 18% tinting legally applied in April 2004 by the contractor the dealer used shortly after I purchased the truck. I have the bill of sale and the check stub showing the dates I paid for the service in the dealer’s parking lot.

The Constitution Article 1, Section 9, clause 3 provides that no State shall pass any “ex post facto” laws (statutes that make an act punishable as a crime when such an act was not an offense when committed) so I expect to have the ticket dismissed on these grounds. 40-8-73-1 is being applied Ex post facto.[

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by bozoman

The Georgia Window Tint law was declared unconstitutional due to defective wording in 2004. HB20 restored the law after the defect was corrected and signed into law by Purdue, effective Monday, May 2nd, 2005.

My vehicle had 18% tinting legally applied in April 2004 by the contractor the dealer used shortly after I purchased the truck. I have the bill of sale and the check stub showing the dates I paid for the service in the dealer’s parking lot.

The Constitution Article 1, Section 9, clause 3 provides that no State shall pass any “ex post facto” laws (statutes that make an act punishable as a crime when such an act was not an offense when committed) so I expect to have the ticket dismissed on these grounds. 40-8-73-1 is being applied Ex post facto.[

Your legal reasoning is flawed. There is no such thing as "ex post facto" laws when you're dealing with something like window tint. Just as a county can change a zoning law or a building code and require people to come into compliance, or a drinking age can be raised by a state, unless the law grandfathered tint on current vehicles (which it doesn't as far as I can tell), then you have to comply. Ex post facto laws deal with actions that when committed were legal. You cannot take back an action, and an ex post facto law makes that action criminal after the fact.

It is not unreasonable or a hardship to remove or replace tint, and my bet is that's what the court would tell you. Same thing would be true if you moved to GA from FL or TX. In FL or TX, you can have limo tint on your rear window, but that's not legal here in GA. I would bet my paycheck that when the cop gives you a ticket and you go to court and say "but I had the tint installed when I lived in FL and it was legal there" or "it has been on my car since before the law was passed in 2005" that the judge would laugh at you. Hell, based on the new law, they can write someone from FL just for passing through on I-75 with too dark tint, although I bet it never happens unless someone is a real jerk.