Fighting a tint ticket? (Alexandria, Washington: inspectors, living in, costs)

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by stax

Please... I once followed a drunk driver for 10 MILES! And do you know what the dispatch lady asked me as we passed through the toll plaza (miles later)? "So, are you still able to follow him?" I know for a fact that there's always at least one somewhere nearby on 267, as this was the stretch from Wolf Trap to 28. And seriously, it's not like this is the only place I've ever lived, I've lived all over the country and have never seen this level of enforcement, and I've been in this area for 10 years (off and on).
Yes, I have a pretty good estimate of how many are out on the street at any given time...we have one of the highest ratios of police to citizens in the US. I also would understand if they weren't able to apprehend someone because of other issues, but they are not just on the highways, they are in the neighborhoods. For what? When I drive to work (I work at night, go to school during the day), I see at least 4 cop cars every night just on the toll road, not to mention other areas. This area is just not that dangerous to warrant that level of enforcement.

And for the record, I asked for suggestions, not opinions, so move along.

Well since you know it all I guess there's no reason to tell you that you are full of it. I'll keep it to myself.

[GoHokiesGo]

I've gotten several tickets for tint being too dark. They're non-moving, no-points violations so it wont hike your insurance rates.

You'll have to have the tint removed or replaced with legal levels to get the case dismissed. If you bring appropriate documentation to court, such as a receipt of removal and a picture of the car, they will generally dismiss the case since you brought the car into allowable tint levels.

The court doesn't care that you bought your car that way or where it's from, the end result is that it's your job to bring it into compliance with state laws. My car was from Texas before I purchased it, the police don't care that it didn't come with a front plate bracket or legal tint levels; I've had to fix the non-compliant issues on my car to keep from getting tickets. And believe me, they will start to get you more than once for the tint if you dont get rid of it and the tickets add up over time. My local shop was like $15-30 to remove the tint per window (can't remember exactly), much less than the ticket, call around to a few shops and ask. Or you can google how to remove it yourself, you use ammonia to dilute the adhesive; it's a messy job, but can be done on your own.

[stax]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Well since you know it all I guess there's no reason to tell you that you are full of it. I'll keep it to myself.

Please do. If you see me posting, pretend I don't exist, and I will extend the same courtesy.

To everyone else, thanks for the info. I've decided to go ahead and just remove the tint. I'll be out of this state for good in couple of years, so hopefully once I get this done, this will be the last time that I have to deal with this.

[chilllilal]

I got my tint Maryland legal, which means that the fronts were too dark. I used windex to soften the adhesive and pulled it off easy. I brought the tint to court, had a camera with pictures ready. As soon as I was called in the court room, judge saw the tint in my hands, asked me if that was the tint and then dismissed the ticket. Easy as that, didn't have to pay anything.

In fact, I'm glad that happened because I moved to California and here, they still make you pay for the ticket after you take your tint off.

[Synergy1]

I have 2 brother living in VA and another living on Capitol Hill District. VA officers probably look for things to ticket due to decreasing revenue.

Another defense you could add to the list of "want to tell the judge" is that you need it tinted dark because the cops will not be able to see you making faces at them and their Frivolous laws.

[SFean]

I didn't know I had to be concerned about this. I am moving to N. Arlington from Santa Fe, NM and both of our cars have tinted windows. We are only going to take one car with us to Va. The Lexus SUV has darker tinted windows in the back than the front. Is that going to be ok? Our BMW also has tinted windows but I don't know how dark is dark. What is the law? How can I tell if the windows are too dark? We are only going to be in NOVA for 1-2 years and we really need to have the windows on the cars tinted here in NM where we are at 7000 feet and the sun is really intense.

[bornindc]

Originally Posted by SFean

I didn't know I had to be concerned about this. I am moving to N. Arlington from Santa Fe, NM and both of our cars have tinted windows. We are only going to take one car with us to Va. The Lexus SUV has darker tinted windows in the back than the front. Is that going to be ok? Our BMW also has tinted windows but I don't know how dark is dark. What is the law? How can I tell if the windows are too dark? We are only going to be in NOVA for 1-2 years and we really need to have the windows on the cars tinted here in NM where we are at 7000 feet and the sun is really intense.

Here is a Virginia State Police link with all the details (scroll down to the section on tinting):

Virginia State Police - Safety Division

From what I read, it's max 50% tint on front windows; 65% tint on rear passenger/rear windows. This being said, I had about 70% tint on the rear window and rear side windows of an Acura that I used in VA for five years (no tint on the front) and never had a problem, even on the 1-2 occasions I was stopped for something else. I think the police mostly get concerned when you have heavy tint on the front windows (or you have no passenger side mirror and the rear is dark tint), so your Lexus will probably be OK, IMO.

[SFean]

Originally Posted by bornindc

Here is a Virginia State Police link with all the details (scroll down to the section on tinting):

Virginia State Police - Safety Division

From what I read, it's max 50% tint on front windows; 65% tint on rear passenger/rear windows. This being said, I had about 70% tint on the rear window and rear side windows of an Acura that I used in VA for five years (no tint on the front) and never had a problem, even on the 1-2 occasions I was stopped for something else. I think the police mostly get concerned when you have heavy tint on the front windows (or you have no passenger side mirror and the rear is dark tint), so your Lexus will probably be OK, IMO.

Thanks so much. I'm going to take it to the dealer and ask them what % tint the windows are. Also, I was just looked and our cars do not have holes drilled in the front bumper for a front plate. I don't want those holes drilled in it. Maybe our answer is to lease a vehicle while we live there. That would solve the car registrations issues and window tint concern.
Again, thanks for your response.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Synergy1

I have 2 brother living in VA and another living on Capitol Hill District. VA officers probably look for things to ticket due to decreasing revenue.

Another defense you could add to the list of "want to tell the judge" is that you need it tinted dark because the cops will not be able to see you making faces at them and their Frivolous laws.

First of all, it isn't the cops' fault that they've been turned into meter maids. They would love to be doing something more productive. The tinting issue really is an officer safety matter. There is nothing more scary then to approach a car with windows tinted enough to reduce visibility into the vehicle, so the law isn't trivial. But that being said, I can think of about 10,000 more pressing issues.

[CAVA1990]

Tell the judge that you a. belong to a religion that prohibits you from wearing sunglasses or b. belong to a vampire cult. I'm sure he'll let you off.