Question on cars with Window tint (crime, how much, school)

[daniellefort]

For all of us Floridians heading your way, is window tint on your cars (since most of us down here have it) legal in TN? I couldn't find anything on the DMV web site.

For those who have followed my plans of moving to TN in 4 - 5 years, we still are in the planning stages of building and just got our soil map testing done last week BUT next summer we are moving back to NH first so my daughter can finish school up there with her cousins then we'll head to TN. Window tint on the front driver and passenger side windows are not allowed in NH though but it got me thinking what TN law is.

[alleycat]

Yes, it's legal as long as it's no more than 35% tinted (meaning more than 35% of the light must be able to pass through the window). The cops used to have these little cards that used to test it. That was back when then the law was first passed and some people had almost black windows. I think all the tinting shops now only put on a legal tint, so they don't have to check them very often now.

[yarddawg]

The windshield can only have a visor strip. All of the other windows must transmit at least 35% light (tint & glass combined). There's also supposed to be a sticker on the driver's side window identifying it as legal tint. In reality enforcement is mixed but people can and do get ticketed for illegal tint, including a few of my friends and relatives over the years. Can't remember how much the fine was but there was a lot of complaining about how much real crime the law could have been stopping while they were out looking for windows a couple of shades too dark. Illegal tint stops also seem to have a higher probability of including a large dog sniffing around your car than the average traffic violation so I guess the moral is that heavy window tinting can get you profiled in some parts of Tennessee.

[daniellefort]

Well same thing down here. I have a black grand prix GTP that we kind of spruced the look up but the window tint was already on it when i bought it. I guess it looks like a ganster car. Anyways, i got pulled over one day. I think the officer was looking for trouble inside the car and it was just little old 5', 100 lb me sitting there. He claimed he pulled me over because my tag didn't register then appologized that he put in the wrong number hmmmm......likely reason to pull me over. then he mentioned my windows were to dark and i had to take it off though he didn't measure the darkness which is within our legal limits by the way. Told me it's $80 for each window i have tinted and if i get pulled over again, i'd be fined for it. What a bunch of crap that was.

[RiverView]

Yup, legal, can't live without it