Need legal advice

**40thGT** · 03-18-2011, 02:56 AM

So I got a written warning tonight for the tint on my stang being too dark. I have five days to take it off or I get fined $106 per window. I've had my car with the tint for about two years and this is this first time a cop has given me shit about it. The last thing I want to do is take it off. My question is, Is it just a one time fine and then I can keep the tint or am I going to get written up every time this cop sees me driving through his town? And what would you guys do in this situation?

**Slow01GT** · 03-18-2011, 03:03 AM

You can get fined multiple times, I know this from experience. I have never heard of a per-window fine though. Mine have always been $110 total in both townships I have been caught. I would look into it and if its a single $110 fine I would just pay it. If it truly is a per-window fine then I am not quite sure what I would do

**40thGT** · 03-18-2011, 03:08 AM

Originally Posted by Slow01GT

You can get fined multiple times, I know this from experience. I have never heard of a per-window fine though. Mine have always been $110 total in both townships I have been caught. I would look into it and if its a single $110 fine I would just pay it. If it truly is a per-window fine then I am not quite sure what I would do

Yeah even if its a one time fine per window I will still pay it just to keep the tint (probably will still be cheaper than paying somebody to take it off and put legal tint on anyway)

**Slow01GT** · 03-18-2011, 03:21 AM

You can double check if you want, but I think unless you have a medical reason, there is no "legal" tint in PA. I would leave it on and hope for the best

**ccoyle0103** · 03-18-2011, 06:37 AM

Ive had the cop make me scrape it off at the time he pulled me over...That sucked!!

**John4cam** · 03-18-2011, 07:24 AM

I had a warning telling me to take it off, and bring the car to the police station withing a week. I never did and never heard anything from anyone..

**venom** · 03-18-2011, 08:23 AM

I went through this years ago in USC. I knew the cop, he knew my car, and I got about 3-4 tickets before removing the tint. He was cool about it. He would just laugh and write the ticket. Oh to be young and dumb again.

**thaley21** · 03-18-2011, 09:18 AM

For PA legal tint is anything that is factory. It doesnt matter if you get your own and its barely dark. Honestly most cops dont say anything unless it is totally blacked out and they cant see you at all. But like Slow01 said ive never heard of a per window fine just normally a set fine or they make you take it off in front of them like Chris said they did to him...

**phillysrt4** · 03-18-2011, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by 40thGT

So I got a written warning tonight for the tint on my stang being too dark. I have five days to take it off or I get fined $106 per window. I've had my car with the tint for about two years and this is this first time a cop has given me shit about it. The last thing I want to do is take it off. My question is, Is it just a one time fine and then I can keep the tint or am I going to get written up every time this cop sees me driving through his town? And what would you guys do in this situation?

a) possibly, because
b) When I was on speaking terms with my one brother who is a PA LEO (long story that I dont want to go into), his view was that for himself and the people he worked with, very dark tint added to the "dirtbag factor" of the traffic stop and made him far less likely to let people off with a break (EDIT - the logic was that since any non-factory tint is illegal in PA, not writing for the tint was the break itself, and besides tint doesn't let him see what's going on in the cabin which is a safety issue).

I would take it off. Tint is like lambo doors these days anyway ;)

**724COBRA** · 03-18-2011, 12:06 PM

Personally I love the blacked out tint on my black Cobra. I usually just budget in a couple tint fines every summer lol

**Slow01GT** · 03-18-2011, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by 724COBRA

Personally I love the blacked out tint on my black Cobra. I usually just budget in a couple tint fines every summer lol

Blacked out windows on a black car looks great. I have been lucky with the GTO so far but I know a tint ticket is always a possibility

**racefan** · 03-18-2011, 12:47 PM

I think some tints are cool, but it is a risk facing every cop out there. The world is full of shitheads that are doing something wrong, are will kill a cop to avoid jail time. The law people know this and don't want to walk up to a car that they can't see into. Low tint seems right to me,,,,,,,,

**724COBRA** · 03-18-2011, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by racefan

I think some tints are cool, but it is a risk facing every cop out there. The world is full of shitheads that are doing something wrong, are will kill a cop to avoid jail time. The law people know this and don't want to walk up to a car that they can't see into. Low tint seems right to me,,,,,,,,

I hear ya and I respect officers, but to pull me over for tint when I am doing nothing wrong is not right in my opinion. I am no threat to the officer as i am driving around, not breaking any laws, as most of us do. It's not right to assume someone is a criminal for no reason. Aside from that if I want to hide a weapon, I can do that with or without tint.

**Slow01GT** · 03-18-2011, 01:03 PM

I fully understand and actually agree with the reasoning behind the tint laws. I just take issue with the cops that go looking for tinted cars just to make a buck off the guy driving to work.

**40thGT** · 03-18-2011, 02:48 PM

The two things that piss me off about this situation is that I was riding with my windows down and he pulled me over because he saw my back windshield was tinted so he made me roll my windows up to check if they were tinted. The other thing is that the fire department I belong to runs mutual aid for the department in his borough so he knows me pretty well but wrote me up anyway.

**gpfarrell** · 03-18-2011, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by 40thGT

...so he knows me pretty well but wrote me up anyway.

You're a marked man. You can either move to a different town, remove the tint or be prepared to pay lots of fines. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's how this will play out.

**blackfive-o** · 03-18-2011, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by gpfarrell

You're a marked man. You can either move to a different town, remove the tint or be prepared to pay lots of fines. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's how this will play out.

I agree to remove the tint, son!

**349Stroker** · 03-18-2011, 06:10 PM

cant say a damn thing about the back window!

only thing he can complain about is the doors and if he didnt have a meter to measure the darkness of the tint tell him to go get fukd

i swear cops have nothnig better to do than bust people for having nice cars

why dont they get off thier a$$es and worry about important things

**Maxpowers** · 03-18-2011, 06:33 PM

1. Anything less than 70% is illegal in PA. For reference, front passenger windows are a about 72% or so from the factory.

2. There is no such thing as medical excuse for tint. If you read the statute, it clearly states "colorless tint" under the medical section. This means only a UV protective layer which must be clear.

3. All windows on passenger cars are applicable for the tint law. Fronts, rear passenger, and rear windshield.

4. For SUV's, trucks, vans, ect: The front two windows and windshield must be 70%. All other windows behind the B post can be spray painted black. It doesn't matter.

5. You cannot be cited per window. One ticket per 24 hrs of $110.50.

6. You people need to realize why there is a tint law in PA. The law was created for law enforcement. Imagine being an officer walking up to a car on a traffic stop and getting shot due to not being able to see into the car. Keeping that in mind, this is what I tell people with tint to do if the get pulled over: put every window possible down and turn on every light inside the car.

**Maxpowers** · 03-18-2011, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by 349Stroker

cant say a damn thing about the back window!

only thing he can complain about is the doors and if he didnt have a meter to measure the darkness of the tint tell him to go get fukd

i swear cops have nothnig better to do than bust people for having nice cars

why dont they get off thier a$$es and worry about important things

You make yourself sound like a complete moron. You need to do some research on the tint law.

A tint meter is not admissible in court. This being said, you do not need to get a reading on a window to write a ticket. Since PA is a no tint state, it's very simple.

I think you also need to realize how many cars that get pulled over turn into an arrest. You may also want to research how many hi-profile criminals were caught doing a "non-important" traffic stop.