Ok guys, I didn't even get a chance to post on my original thread before it got closed. Try not to get this one closed. I want to clarify a few things:

1) I know my front window tint is illegal and I AM willing to pay a fine for the ticket I got. The thing is, the ticket says nothing about a fine, it just says I have to get it fixed.

2) I don't want to remove my tint, I love how it looks, I'd rather pay the stupid fine.

3) I was very courteous with the cop, I had both windows down by the time he approached the car and did the yes sir, no sir with him.

4) Thanks to the person who actually tried to help me by saying find another cop to sign off on it. The guy who gave me the ticket said I would have to take the car to the courthouse to get it signed off, which sucks cuz it's a long way from where I live. However, looking on the back I see that ANY officer can sign off on it. So, since between my friends and I we know a lot of cops, I'll simply have one of them sign it.

I guess the law must not be that important since one cop will give you a ticket for it and another will waive it. BTW, I have a lot of respect for cops who do their jobs impartially, however most of the cops I know are worse criminals than the people they arrest. Just my experience though.

 

Joshua,
The tinting law is there for a reason...put yourself in the police officer's shoes approaching a vehicle where he can't even see an outline of who's in the car, not to mention if they're going for a weapon, etc.,...not very comforting. Yes, you put your windows down, etc.,...but not everyone does that. I'd be careful about stereo typing cops...you may have made yourself more enemies than you expected.

 

Mark got it 100% right, tint laws are in place for the officer's safety more than other reason. I see alot of officers now who wait for backup before going to issue a ticket and such... just the state of things.

 

If it was so important then every state would have it that law.

 

Its a dangerous job. They sign up for it. Wouldn't outlawing blinds and curtains at home also improve police safety? Very soon this stupid law will be unenforceable once LCD tinting becomes more affordable. At the flick of a button the windows will turn clear and the bacon will be none the wiser.

 

Well this is what we call the "USA". And in the USA we have 50 of what we call "states". And in these "states" they make up their own laws for each and every "state" as things are diffeent from one to another and sometimes people have different needs and issues.

 

 

Thanks for the civics lesson, but there are Federal Laws which apply across the board. If you are drunk driving on federally owned lands (ie. national park or military base), you can be charged with a DUI under federal law. Why is there no federal tint law if it’s so important? Also why would some states choose not to have tinting laws? Do you think they want their cops in more danger? Obviously not, it just means that it’s not of paramount safety concern.

 

I can sympathize with the cop that has to try to figure out what is going on in a vehicle since more cops get blown up during traffic stops than any other situation (except maybe domestic disputes?).

HOWEVER, if you went to the trouble of rolling down your windows for the express reason of allowing the cop to see you as he walks up and he STILL tickets you for window tint then he is an ***.

Just my $0.02.

 

I just got a ticket in VA on Sunday for the same thing. I live in TN and was driving home thru VA after visiting some relatives.

Cop pulls me over & tells me that he pulled me over because of my tint. Nothing else, just the tint. Of course I rolled down my windows as soon as I pulled over so he could see me. He tells me that I have to obide by Va's rules as long as I am riding on them.

At what point was feeling "threatened" by my car?? I was not speeding or driving erratic. He was driving on the other side of the highway & made a u-turn on 81 and had to come up on me from at least a 1/2 mile to pull me over.

I can see being in the wrong if I lived in Va or had the car registered in VA, but I LIVE IN TN!!

btw, this all happened at 1pm in the afternoon

 

Why are all your friends bad cops?.....is it cuz you make them bad?

 

As for no federal tint law, well their is no basic federal murder law, but states have their own. You can be charged federally but there has to something special about the case. Tint is also a safety issue for the driver so when driving at night, he can see well enough to pull into traffic or make other decisions. Yes it is also a safety issue with cops. You do not know if the person you stopped for a "Tint" violation could have just robbed a bank or store and the word has not been reported yet, but the bad guy thinks it has. The constitution was written to empower the states not an all powerful Federal Goverment. The founding fathers felt that if you keep the power divided, you would not have the chance for a king or dictator to come to power. That is why states have national guards (old militia's), they were not solely intended to help out with hurricanes or earthquakes. All that being said, most of your basic laws of murder, robbery, rape, theft, speeding, seatbelt are left up to states to regulate and enforce.

As for why some issue tickets and some don't? called officer discretion, some will ticket some won't. Some issue speeding tickets some do not.

Well that is my .02

 

I'm all about the safety of the police because there are so many POS out there with no respect for human life, however why is it that the few POS out there have to ruin it for everyone. I love having dark tint not only when I'm in the car but also when its parked it's much harder to see in. You would have to look in with a flash light to see whats inside. I have the utmost respect for cops and I always roll my windows down and put my hands in plain sight if I get pulled over and as soon as the officer comes up I politely and calmly inform him/her that I have a concealed weapons permit and I then tell them exactly what weapons I have on my person and in form them that I can slowly give them my weapons or if they prefer for there comfort they can disarm me themselves, whatever makes them more comfortable. I could save myself the hassle and say nothing at all and they would likely never even know that I was armed but I like to be straight forward and give them as much info as possible so they can handle it in whatever fashion makes them most comfortable. My question on the tint laws is why cant they do away with the tint laws and let everyone get what they want, Then if an officer pulls you over and is uncomfortable with the shade of the windows simply get on the PA before getting out of the patrol car and ask the driver to roll down there windows, it seems like a simple solution that would allow everyone to be happy.

 

as a fellow police officer and mustang enthusiast, i cant even begin to defend the law enforcement side of this thread cause this thread is such a joke and really brings out how the community or person feel about cops. just reading some posts you people have made on here says it all. saying us cops are d*cks or @$$'s because YOU did something that was illegal or against the law. I'm sorry, last time we checked it was our job to enforce the law. But no its ok, we're d*cks cause we give you speeding tickets cause you speed, cause its the LAW and you broke it or you put illegal tints on your car, which you knew about ahead of time (*cause how else would you know if they were ILLEGAL*), got caught and got a ticket for it, cause once again, its against the LAW and you broke it. its ok, we're d*cks for doing that, But then if we get called to your house for a break in or a family member gets kidnapped or someone is assaulted by another person and we catch the person or person(s) involved, we automatically become your hero..........hmmm we're not d*cks now cause we enforced the law, huh?

seriously people, use your heads

 

You take too long to come to our houses in the case of assault/burglary/whatever because you are too busy writing jaywalking/window tint/3 mile over speed limit tickets.

I am *not* trying to start a flame war nor am I trying to insult cops.

I just get irritated when a police officer follows me for several miles waiting for me to do something, anything, in order to pull me over and give me a ticket because the city needs the revenue. Just three weeks ago a cop followed me for over 6 miles, riding my rear bumper, while I set the cruise control at 45mph (the speed limit) and just tooled along not bothering anybody. Finally the red lights come on and I get stopped. Of course, it's the tint! Since there was no other reason to stop me he finally decided to nail me for the tint.

That cop had time enough to tail me and pull me over for tint, but yet back in January when some nut crashed into my car and wiped out three other cars it took FORTY MINUTES for the cops to show up after calling 911.

It's the "victimless crime" busts that annoy me. Yes, I know I have tint and in CA it's illegal to have on my front side windows. However, in my crime-plagued area, don't you have anything better to do?

Again, I'm not trying to insult cops, God knows I'm glad to see you guys do the job you do and you do a tough job. It just seems like the priorities are sometimes out of sync.

 

After quickly scanning this thread, there is no one calling cops those names so calm down there Mav, don't get the thread closed because you got your panties outta whack. Especially when you have a supercharged GT, you can't tell me that you've never done anything illegal in your car on your own time- something along the same lines that you would pull someone over and issue them a ticket.

I don't have a problem with cops- I do have a problem with hypocritical cops though, that crap gets old. This poster posted his opinion, did not call anyone names, and has a right to his opinion. 'Nuff said.

 

If it is such a safety hazard for cops, than why would he stop a car with darkened windows, by himself, to give a ticket? Wouldn't it be "safer" to get back-up. make the driver get out etc?

I would think that tint laws are in effect for driver vision, not cop safety. Here is MO we can only go to 35% on front sides and none on the front (other than factory top edge). Rear sides and back window can be painted black if you want...Sounde more like some liberal states use the cop safety as an excuse for revenue gereration.

 

A few months back in my area an officer was shot and killed when he pulled over someone for speeding, the car had all of it windows almost completely blacked out and when the officer walked up to the window the person shot him through the window.

It's the law for a reason, and you should be forced to remove it.

 

Doesnt bother me when cops enforce the law.... it bothers me when they dont. Lets face it, a cop could have his windows painted black on his personal car and another cop wont give him a ticket. Good chance family and friends wont either.

 

No offense, but someone could easily hide a weapon just holding it closely along side of the door panel, and then quickly raise their arm and shoot. Unless the officer already has their gun pulled, they would be completely defenseless to this tactic as well. The logic of window tint concealing the weapon is kinda like someone saying that the door panels should be transparent so the officer could easily see directly into the car from all angles- pointless.

I do agree though, that if its against the law and you get ticketed, then you're SOL. I don't completely agree though that having no window tint ensures a safer work environment for officers.