<p>S and I seem to be butting heads on everything lately. We just bought him a car and he wants to get the windows tinted. He has a job and will pay for it, but I don’t like the idea. Are tinted windows really cool among teens? I don’t like them and I would think police don’t like them, either. Besides a safety issue, my impression is that people that drive these cars don’t want to be seen. Am I being irrational?</p>
<p>I would first check with state regulations. I have heard of people here in South who move North, and have to get tint removed. </p>
<p>I do see young people with dark windows, but no one my age.</p>
<p>I believe the law in NJ is that no tinting is allowed on the windshield, or front driver or passenger windows. D was checking into that when she had her other windows done. But looking at the tinting law in other states, we are one of the few who do not allow it on front windows.</p>
<p>Yes, they think they are cool and I would think the police do not like to see them either as they approach a car and cannot clearly see what the occupants are doing. Hence the law in NJ.</p>
<p>Our state allows 50% tinting on front windows, but I really don’t know how a 50% tinted window looks. Maybe he’ll just end up paying a lot of money for a minimal change.</p>
<p>Oh great…I just noticed that this thread is right under the “hoodies in the summer” thread. How appropriate!</p>
<p>MA passed a law about window tinting about eleven years ago, and a friend of mine who had moved from CA had the dubious joy of being stopped by a police officer who wanted to measure the tinting of the windows of her SUV, despite the fact that she had a toddler and an infant in the back seat. Unless you’re in a very sunny locale, I would think tinting would invite more police scrutiny than the coolness factor would warrant. But then I’m (obviously) not a teen.</p>
<p>I HATE my tinted windows. Maybe my teenaged eyes wouldn’t have hated them, but it is definitely more difficult to see at night. When I bought the car, I negotiated heavily among several dealers and the car that was the best price happened to have tinted windows. I’d never had them, no big deal. At first it didn’t bother me, but now I really hate it. If the car didn’t have 175,000 mi.+ on it, I’d try to change them.</p>
<p>missy I am with you and both my kids agree. We have one car with tinted windows and we live in a very rural area. At night it is almost impossible to see out the back window which makes backing up tough. S2 flat out refuses to drive that car at night.</p>
<p>Absolutely check your state regulations as it varies state by state if you can have tint, where the tint can be applied and what percent.</p>
<p>I don’t know about them legally, but in our area where there are many bicycles and pedestrians they may be a hazard. I have taught kids both as cycle/peds and future drivers to make eye contact at crossings and turns so everyone is on the same page about who is present and what their navigational plans are. If your son drives in any busy areas where such eye contact communication is essential he may be at greater risk of an accident.</p>
<p>I think up to a 30% tint is allowed on passenger windows in the back seat in PA, but it’s not a popular thing in my area.</p>
<p>For some people who are bothered by sun, tinted windows are a godsend.</p>
<p>Agree that it’s CRUCIAL to check legal requirements of state where the vehicle will be housed AS WELL AS the states that said vehicle may be DRIVING THROUGH. Each state/county can enforce the rules/laws/regulations which apply when the vehicle is in the state/county. If that vehicle may travel, be sure it remains legal EVERYWHERE. We have never added tint to any of our vehicles & in fact had to work to get the tint OFF vehicles that passed into our possession. Even tho we live in a very bright state, it gets pretty dark driving with tint at night. We DO end up driving at night.</p>
<p>Just tell him that if he is ever rollin’ dirty he is much more likely to get stopped for a “random” check.</p>
<p>My son had to have them. It was his car and his $. Some people have gotten tickets for them and in some towns you have to remove the tint and show that you have done so. Other towns just collect the $. He said if you are at a light and see a cop is coming, just roll down the windows! (it is only illegal in NJ for the front to be tinted–some kids just do the back and back doors, but he did them all.) He did not tint the FRONT windshield (or if he did it’s just a tiny bit). THAT I would argue about. </p>
<p>Truth be told, the tint has saved him from a real ticket. I think he got stopped for an illegal left turn (on one of those roads with cutouts where some you can turn and some you can’t–not at a light). Anyway the cop gave him the tint ticket instead of the left turn ticket. It’s one of those things that lets them give you a ticket, but not one that will hurt you with points or anything, just $. I have seen them do it with seatbelt tickets too. </p>
<p>So, as long as he is willing to pay the price…Also, there might be some cops out there who choose to pull over the tinted car rather than the non-tinted car, which could make him more likely to get other tickets. His friend got several tint tickets and he has only had the one in 3 years. </p>
<p>I don’t know if he doesn’t want to be seen…my son probably DOES want to be seen in his cool looking, window tinted car. Anyway, as long as it is his car and his $, I don’t think it is a big problem…Remember, sometimes we have to choose our battles. I don’t pay my son’s car expenses so I didn’t forbid it, not a battle worth fighting. I did choose to fight the tattoo battle and so far I won because he is 22 and hasn’t gotten it yet, though he still may. I just wouldn’t sign for it before he was 18 and by 18 he was either smarter or too cheap. He has two friends who are sorry they got theirs…Well, one was last night when he was fighting with the girl whose name he got…not sure if he is still sorry today!</p>
<p>almost everyone has tinted windows here in Texas, and there is a good reason for it. It reduces the amount of heat gain in the car. If you follow the state guidelines, nighttime visibility is not negatively impacted. I much prefer having tinted windows for privacy reasons, also.</p>
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<p>I’m in Texas - can’t see!</p>
<p>Our state only allows a certain percentage of tint. If it’s too dark the car won’t pass inspection. My S2 had tinted windows on his truck for awhile. I didn’t like it but it was the thing to do among the h.s. boys back then. He paid for it himself.</p>
<p>DS recently acquired a 1985 car…with tinted windows. He has been pulled over by police in our suburban town for this. They used a handheld machine to evaluate the “depth of tint.” Luckily, they were within legal limits… just barely.</p>
<p>D has a retired police cruiser, and it had the police tinting when she took delivery – much darker than anything that’s allowed for civilians. I did have to drive it that first night and it was disorienting. We spent the next morning scraping it off, but only after D had a photo shoot with her new Bluesmobile; she thought the tinting added to the coolness of it.</p>
<p>Bought a car in Oregon for S that was from Montana. Dark windows. I called around and before we picked it up the dealer had listened to me and found out that the tint laws were different in different states so had the tint removed.</p>