From the California Vehicle Code.

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

These are the exceptions, but you have to meet all of them.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88
percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49
C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance
of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as
specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the
ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful
ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the
vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the
material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the
material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by
the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the
material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the
requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's
manufacturer by full name and street address.

Trust me on this. I've written the ticket many times.

 

^^^i stand corrected chippie...i have 40% so i lose either way.

 

Hi Chippie,

You've written this ticket for rear and rear-side window tint? I always thought (apparently incorrectly) that rear window tint was legal.

 

My appologies. This section regarding affixing things to the widows is very, very long and boring. I didn't want to post the whole section because I don't think the server has enough storage for it. I doubt anyone will want to read it, but for those of us in law enforcement, we must. I only posted the subsections discrediting the "70%" rule. If you read further into the subsections, it will explain all of the exceptions to what tint and objects (such as sunshades) can be affixed and where. The long and short of it, no tint on windshield, except a certain number of inches on the top (I can't remember the number), and on the front side windows. Green light on tinting the rear side windows and rear window.

26708 VC is the section. There are many other sections in that range regarding windows and mirrors.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/di...le=26700-26712

I've noticed a lot of the local police departments citing this one:

26708.5. (a) No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any
transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of
any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the
light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows, except
as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.

Too open for argument for me to cite.

 

what old over paid people write this crap. why cant they jsut write tints illegal. so much easyer hahhah

 

Thanks for the detailed clarification, Chippie. I can see how that would be open to argument/interpretation.

That section of the vehicle code is pretty crazy. Once I got to the parts about x square inches of the window opposite the driver (for decals) and transponder placement I glazed over.

I may very well have my rear and rear sides tinted.

And kris79, what's this about old overpaid people?!

 

They are AME Tracer Spec-M. I got them from a guy who had them on his 350Z. Absolutely love them. They are light and are a dark tinted chrome.

Yes, my windows are tinted by them. I think I have 50% in the fronts and rears, and 35% in the back. It's called Cool Chrome. It's not your regular black tint. When its overcast, it looks really good since it takes the cloud cover and reflects it, but when it gets sunny you can see through. But, it does keep the car cool, as well as keep the Po Po's from getting upset and pulling me over.