No problem, Rudy . . . This thread is hopefully serving a purpose for everyone. Hehehe . . . I hope you come up with a tint % scenario that you will be pleased with.

 

Thanks guys. It's helping me more than you guys know.

 

^^^ Keep us updated and post pics.

If it was me, I would do 35% all around. My brother has had it for 4 years and never once has he been pulled over for tint. He also drives that WRX which is a total cop magnet. He drives all over the place especially Daly City, 80, and 280. I drive my G mostly in Daly City and SF and thus far, I have never been pulled over for tint.

I myself am not a big fan of fades and 50% is much lighter than 35%. I would say just do 35% all around for the clean look. If not 50% front, 35% rears.

 

Profiled? Hmmm...What profile do you suppose you fit if you have tinted windows? I could care less what kind of car you are driving. I've cited '89 Toyota Camrys driven by elderly women for having tinted windows. Tint is tint.

 

G35 chippie,

On any given day, what no other consideration(s), what is the likelihood of you or any other law enforcement officer stopping a vehicle with 50% front side window tinting? I know that any sort of aftermarket tinting is not acceptable. However, I thought that I would ask and get your thoughts/opinion.

Edit: Prior to me having tint applied to my car . . . I have observed many a car with exceptionally dark window tinting drive by/pass local LE without incident. So, what is the mechanism/thought processes, which LE officers use to decide on which cars to stop (with no other consideration) and which cars to ignore?

And once again . . . Yes, I am fully aware and understand the consequences of having windows, which have a darker than manufacture's original shade/coloring. And as such, I accept those consequences.

I trust that I am not putting you on the spot, so to speak.

 

Old folks shouldn't be drivin anyway. They just get in the way, drive to slow/weird,etc. And tint? Negative ghostriderz.. then you can't see when there noddin off at the wheel.. def no tint for the old folks. Pullem all over cause that got the Alzheimers and it's danger zone all around them.

 

Tint is subjective. Some officers could care less about tint, and some will cite if there is a little sticker placed anywhere on the window. I'm not big on hammering tint. I usually concentrate on citing primary collision factors (ie speed, unsafe lane change, following too close), registration (which is where my paycheck comes from), seatbelt (life saving, can speak from personal experience), carpool (big money maker for the cities), and commercial (lot's of dummy big rig drivers). My rule of thumb is if I can't see who is driving the car, I will stop it. It's also a big officer safety issue especially at night. Which brings me to another point. The guys that work graveyards are on a mission. DUI arrests. All they need is a reason to stop a car. Many people have been arrested for DUI because they have been stopped for tinted windows. Some of my coworkers will poach downtown near the bars and stop cars for the smallest violation just to see if the driver has been drinking.

Keep in mind, if you have been cited for it before, and you get stopped again, the officer can now make the violation 'not correctible'. It's a pretty big fine.

40610. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), if, after an
arrest, accident investigation, or other law enforcement action, it
appears that a violation has occurred involving a registration,
license, all-terrain vehicle safety certificate, or mechanical
requirement of this code, and none of the disqualifying conditions
set forth in subdivision (b) exist and the investigating officer
decides to take enforcement action, the officer shall prepare, in
triplicate, and the violator shall sign, a written notice containing
the violator's promise to correct the alleged violation and to
deliver proof of correction of the violation to the issuing agency.

(b) Pursuant to subdivision (a), a notice to correct violation
shall be issued as provided in this section or a notice to appear
shall be issued as provided in Section 40522, unless the officer
finds any of the following:
(1) Evidence of fraud or persistent neglect.
(2) The violation presents an immediate safety hazard.
(3) The violator does not agree to, or cannot, promptly correct
the violation.
(c) If any of the conditions set forth in subdivision (b) exist,
the procedures specified in this section or Section 40522 are
inapplicable, and the officer may take other appropriate enforcement
action.

...PERSITENT NEGLECT.

 

G35 chippie,

Thank you for that response. My LE officer buds and family have expressed the same, as you have. I can especially understand and appreciated the fact that when performing a stop . . . It must be quite unnerving, to say the least, to approach a vehicle, which is blacked out, especially at night.

I have concerns for a younger sibling of mine when I hear of these types of situations and related incidents. Oh well . . . Be safe out there.

 

From my own experience, the more you modify your car the bigger the chance you'll get of being pulled over. Some cars stick out more to cops. I'm not going to debate that when I've seen it happen to me.

Example 1: I was driving in Hillsborough on the way to my friend's sister's house. I was with my said friend and my brother in a lowered, tinted vehicle. The cop pulls us over and the first thing he says to me, "Where's the party at?" My friend gave him his sister's address and the cop let us go without doing or saying anything more. No tickets of any kind, just pulled over for what we looked like and for being in an area where he thought we looked out of place in. Btw, there was no party.

Example 2: Remember back when Fast and the Furious came out? Union City cops were waiting in the theater parking lot for anyone that had anything modified on there car. Can they do that? I wont argue that they can't but to pick one group of people and wait for them, that's profiling. It was also like shooting fish in a barrel.

Bottom line is, I know certain modifications do not meet law requirements, I wont argue there, but don't tell me that cops don't look harder at some cars than they do others. Fremont still has one cop just for modified cars. Tinted windows and no front plates is just the excuse they need to make you open your hood or look inside your car for other infractions and/or to run your name through the system. I've had a cop tell me, "I could find something to give you a fix-it ticket for on a brand new, stock car so don't even try me."

Just for the record, for every cop with an attitude I've dealt with, I've met one that was totally cool and friendly. One bad cop can ruin it all for the rest. They really have a hard job, one I wouldn't want to do.

 

Amen to that, Rudy.

 

Very well put. But....

Example #1: You got stopped for tinted windows. Bottom line. We stop cars, not people. How would the officer pull you over because of what you looked like when he probably couldn't see inside the car? It's a little hard to profile there. I'm sure there are residents of Hillsborough that tint their windows....on their Mercedes, BMWs, Bentleys, Rolls....I won't say the officer wasn't fishing for something else, though.

Example #2: Well we can't write mechanical violations on private property. There are very few sections in the vehicle code that apply to off-street parking facilities open to the public. We have to wait for the car to be driven on a highway. Is it chicken sh*t to wait? Maybe. Maybe the nearby residents had been complaining about the traffic. Who knows?

Do you think the legislature wrote all these mechanical sections just to give law enforcment reasons to stop cars? I doubt it. It's most likely for safety reasons. I did stop a car recently for a defective windshield. The driver was suspended six ways to Sunday and had been cited many times for driving on a suspended license. Not to mention he had a warrant for his arrest for driving on a suspended license. All that from stopping a car with small mechanical violation. And to boot, I got a dirt bag off of the road and into jail. Do you want a driver like that on the road with your family, wife, kids, friends or coworkers? That's a hit and run just waiting to happen.

If we ever meet, I hope I'm worthy enough to make it on your 'good cop' list. Trust me, I've been on both sides of the ticket. So don't think I don't know what it's like to be picked on by the cops. I was very, very close to having my license suspended as youth. Just trying to shed a little light on what it's like on this side. Yes, there are some bad apples out there. They were picked on in high school and are now seeking vegence on the rest of the world, one burned out license plate bulb at a time.

BTW we are hiring like gang busters, buddy. Come on over! I'll put in a good word for you.