Illegal Tint Ticket

[Boston5761]

on my way to a friend's house last night, not speeding or doing anything illegal a local cop pulls me over for "suspision of illegal tint", exact words. Can he pull me over for that? and with it being 9:30 how could he tell? I def plan on disputing this, since the car was done in 04'. The one year they pulled the limit.

 

[ms3guy22]

your barking up the wrong tree buddy, GA has some of the toughest tint laws in the nation.(not strict on the level) but prosecuting. my uncles a sheriff and tells me all time about this crap. I remember reading that in Ga you'll get a ticket for tint even if your just driving through GA

 

[dkswim]

speaking of which what is the leagal limit in GA ive lived here a year and no im looking at getting it done on my car. that sucks i dont think youll be able to grandfather it in is it within leagal requirements nowdays and the only windows they should care about are the front ones right

 

[Rogue]

32% +/- 3%

did he test the tint? what reading did he get? Do you have a receipt showing when you had your windows tinted? The new law may have wording in it where you can't get grandfathered in.

 

[Shadow102]

You CANNOT be grandfathered in under this law. Also the way its worded anybody whether out of state or not can get nailed for it. Thats the reason they pulled the law in the first place and then reinstated it. Which is really great because FL has no tint law for obvious reasons and most of their border is shared with GA. I love though how all government vehicle are excempt from this law though. Also it was my understanding they couldnt pull you for the tint alone but could nab you on it while pulling you for something else.

the law is 32% but you can go down to 29% and still get away with it...all windows are effected by this law BUT most cops do not carry the equipment to measure your fixed in place windows.

 

[protegeV]

I dont see how you can receive a ticket for tint If you are out of state. They expect people to remove it on their way to and from FL?

 

[Shadow102]

I dont see how you can receive a ticket for tint If you are out of state. They expect people to remove it on their way to and from FL?

guess so...like most ticketable offenses it is more for revenue than anything

 

[J-protege]

So, since all my windows (except windshield, and 2 front door glass) can be as dark as I want, would I just pick up a pile of tickets on a road trip through the US?

My car is legal here.

 

[protegeV]

guess so...like most ticketable offenses it is more for revenue than anything

there should be federal laws to prevent this brand of frivolous ticketing(scratch)

 

[Shadow102]

there should be federal laws to prevent this brand of frivolous ticketing(scratch)

there should but aparently when the law was originally active it was unconstitutional because it only targeted GA residents, they re wrote the law to included anybody driving through the state to make it more constitutional

 

[protegeV]

there should but aparently when the law was originally active it was unconstitutional because it only targeted GA residents, they re wrote the law to included anybody driving through the state to make it more constitutional

seems to me like the way it is now is more unfair...how the law pertains to the constitution I have no idea. But all the states near me do not ticket ppl from out of state that have illegal tint on their cars. I mean we're not talking about an illegal action(indecent exposure, assault, etc). Its part of your car thats permanently attached.

 

[Boston5761]

32% +/- 3%

did he test the tint? what reading did he get? Do you have a receipt showing when you had your windows tinted? The new law may have wording in it where you can't get grandfathered in.

HAHA, the officer that gave me the ticket has been given a leave without pay for violation of squad car use. Maybe he won't show for court. But yeah 17%, I've got my original receipt from 04' and plan on taking it to court with me. I was more pissed that the ass said the reason behind pulling me over was for tint and tint alone.

 

[aMaff]

HAHA, the officer that gave me the ticket has been given a leave without pay for violation of squad car use.

oh s***, how'd you find that out?

 

[Foolish]

So, since all my windows (except windshield, and 2 front door glass) can be as dark as I want, would I just pick up a pile of tickets on a road trip through the US?

My car is legal here.

Actually, in most states, GA included I think, the law applies to the front side windows only. You're not allowed to tint the windshield (other than the strip at the top) at all, and you have to follow the limit for the front door glass, but I think you can tint however you want for the rears.

But yeah 17%, I've got my original receipt from 04' and plan on taking it to court with me.

The receipt won't help you at all. As Shadow said, THERE IS NO GRANDFATHER CLAUSE in the GA tint law. None.

Oh, and for the record: Punishing out of state motorists with laws like this is crap. If it's legal in the state where the car is registered, and can't be easily removed or turned off, like radar detectors or underbody neons can, it should not be legal to punish someone for that. We have some national vehicle safety regulations, and obviously those should be universally enforceable, but tint laws, vehicle ride height, exhaust sound levels, etc. should not be held up to the standards of the state you're just passing through. It's ridiculous.

 

[Boston5761]

oh s***, how'd you find that out?

Neighbor works in the city council, does the cop have to show up for court??

 

[Shadow102]

Actually, in most states, GA included I think, the law applies to the front side windows only. You're not allowed to tint the windshield (other than the strip at the top) at all, and you have to follow the limit for the front door glass, but I think you can tint however you want for the rears.

In GA its the entire car and in fact MOST if not all states have laws that pertain to the entire car. You are right somewhat though since some states in their law say that certain windows do not have a limit

 

[RacerXGirl]

I found that exception to the tint law form the other day when we were cleaning out the office...

 

[Prodigy]

I found that exception to the tint law form the other day when we were cleaning out the office...

Is it signed by [SIZE=-1]an Optometrist[/SIZE]?

 

[mazda_pro5_2nr]

From what I heard from a couple of cops here in Columbus and also from Macon, as long as the front two windows are at 32%, you should not have a problem, even if the rest of the rear is at 5%(or limo tint). They have to be able to see the driver and passenger through the front windows or else it is considered suspicious......

.....at least this is what the cops told me.

 

[Shadow102]

Official GA Tint Law

thats the long hand version of the tint law for any of those wishing to read it. The short of it states that tint may be no darker than 32% (3% variance) on any piece of glass on the car...Furthermore you are not aloud any tint what so ever on the front glass top strip or not unless it is in bedded in the glass. Also the tint law covers mirror tint which says the tint may be no more than 20% light reflective.

I found what is was looking for as far as the court repealing the old law:

On Jun 8, 2004, the Georgia Surpreme Court threw out GA's tint law since it discriminated against GA residents by not applying to non-residents. Look for the non-resident exemption to be repealed next year which would reinstate the tint law.

This can have ramifications for other states who exempt non-residents from their tint laws. Legislation was sponsored in the 2004 session to remove the non-resident exemption but failed to pass.