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Nice $846 ticket for tinted windows and no insurance.

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raidersforever0

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

One day after dropping off all my siblings at school and the little one at my grandmas i left to pick up my dad and take him to work. I only get about 3 blocks from my house when i pass by a police vehicle when i notice he turns right around and starts to follow me. I don't what it is about me but that seems to happen a lot. When i get to a stop sign i am sitting there waiting my turn then when i am about to go he finally decides to pull me over so i pull over. At the time i was wondering what i may have done so when he comes up to the car i ask what the problem is and he doesn't say anything and is ignoring me for a while, in fact he looks into the backseat and all over the inside of my car then he finally answers my break light was out then he pauses then says, "and your tinted windows but i won't get you for the break light". Then he gives me a lecture on how dangerous it is. So he asks for license and registration so i give him my license and look for the registration the glove compartment is just filled with papers so i am having a quite a time finding it so then he asks for insurance, then again i can't find it either. So i call my dad well hes not to happy, and he says everything should be there so i look through all the papers 1 by 1 and nothing so now i am in a bad situation and it looks like officer is getting a little impatient so he goes to his car to look up the info on the car while i call my mom to bring me a copy of the insurance. So i tell the officer she is coming with the insurance he ignore's me again Then i can see him writing the ticket so i tell him again he ignores me, then i tell him a third time and he mumbles something i can't hear and walks to the car and tells me to sign. So i was like wth i am screwed they get all anal at you if you don't sign, so i signed thinking i can will deal with it in court (and thinking hes an a hole) and he takes off pretty quick. Then being the new driver who knows nothing i found out i could be screwed for not holdinng him there until mom came with insurance. Also after i left to pick up my dad i find out my break lights are working and by the way he was acting i think he only pulled me over because i was a young mexican in a 91-93 accord and only got me for everything else after the fact. I also later found out the tint is legal it is the same tint as my fathers lincoln ls and my mothers suburban. It is a 70% transperancy tint and after doing some research i found out that is legal so i am confident i can be saved from the tint but i am unsure how i can prove my tint is legal since it has no marking of any kind showing the type it is. Also o i have any chance with the insurance and if not any way to get it reduced i am a college student and barely make enough to pay for classes and books there is no way i am going to put the cost on my parents they have enough to worry about even though my dad was the one who lost the insurance paper because he is selling the car and kept messing with the paperwork in the car. I was going to fight the tint and insurance but after seeing that i have to pay 846 by the 30th and my court date is the month after on the 9th i am afraid to fight it and lose my chance of getting it reduced. Although i find i shouldn't have to pay because he was an a hole not willing to literally wait 1 min with my house only 3 blocks away for someone to take me the insurance. Sorry for the long post but that officer kinda makes me mad. He probably doesn't have to wait but jeez he can't be in that bad in a mood so early in the morning.
 


moburkes

Senior Member
While we appreciate your LONG post, you didn't ask a legal question. By the way, there is no such thing as a "91-93" vehicle. You are REQUIRED by LAW to show proof of insurance to an officer upon request. He is not REQUIRED to wait for your mother. If you are able to show that the vehicle waas properly insured at the time of the traffic stop, that ticket will likely be thrown out. I don't know what to tell you about the tint. Just because its the same tint as on your dad's Lincoln, doesn't mean that it is legal.
 

raidersforever0

Junior Member
I was looking up tint laws and every were i go it says that tint on the fron side windows must have a minimum transparency of 70%, which it does have but i am unsure about how i can prove that because the tint was put on the car 2 years ago and there is no identifying marks on it. And what i meant by 91-93 accord was that that car (1991-1993 Honda Accords) is one of the most stolen cars and were i live its usually young mexicans that steal it, he also either lied about my break light or just thought it wasn't working, Sorry i am only 19 so i am not to savvy about this stuff every one is telling me to fight it but i am afraid it would hurt my chances of getting the fine reduced if i even can get it reduced.
 

raidersforever0

Junior Member
Thats so mean, and no i have nothing to do with the football team, i am actually a colts fan. Raiders is the name of a gaming clan i was in they raided for gold but enough about my gaming life. Sorry about the way i word things actually i dont know what legal advice i am looking for but i do know i am am looking for some legal advice. Maybe its just that i am young but i don't know what to ask. Do i stand a decent chance of getting the ticket thrown out and if not can i get it reduced but even then i dont think me or my parents can pay it. My parents live paycheck to paycheck and literally every cent of my money goes to college i make $40 an hour fixing computers but its a small town and i don't have enough clients.
 

tbud333

Member
legal tint?

I might be mistaken, but I believe the law in California states that it is illegal to have any kind of tint on the front driver and front passenger side windows. you can tint all others as dark as you want, but the front sides can not be tinted.
 

raidersforever0

Junior Member
If that were true many modern cars would be illegal many come factory tinted with 70% transparency tint. I also have been doing some research and many places say it must have a minimum transparency of 70% which is a lot more then many other states, that tint is a very light tint its almost unnoticable unless you look at actual untinted glass and the tinted one. I also believe i saw it while looking thorugh the dmv for tint laws because of the wording i was unsure of what it was but one says 82% minimum and another 70% minimum because everywere else i have looked have told me 70% i believe it may be that one. I am unsure of what exactly it said i am currently having a hard time finding the dmv one again because having some random site say it doesn't mean its legal, also this law was inacted in 1999 so we have had this tint law for a while. Even the place that installed the tint said it was legal and according to my father he had an officer look at it before and he said the tint was ok. Would getting some sort of statment from another officer saying it is ok help?
 
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DRTDEVL

Member
Your tint argument will fail, and I will tell you why:

When a window has no tint on it, it is only at 93% light transparency. When a 70% transparency film is applied, the total transparency drops to 63%.

New vehicles do not use film... They have the transparency reduced within the glass itself. This is a true 70%.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
When a particular % is stated, there must be a way to determine that it is either legal or illegal. Here is a website that sells several types of testers.

http://www.laser-labs.com/products.php

To fight the ticket, you are going to have to use one that the courts will accept (i.e. already approved as accurate by the courts and your particular tester would need to be certified as well)

All in all, it will be less expensive to pay the ticket unless you can find an angry tint organization that tests with legally acceptable means and is certified to test.

re the insurance: you will have to look it up but in many states there are allownaces for such things as what happened with you which allow you to prove insurance was in force at the time and the ticket is dismissed.
 

raidersforever0

Junior Member
ok thanks for the informative replies now time for me to do some research about the insurance if anyone knows let me know it would be greatly appreciated.
 

moburkes

Senior Member
The insurance will be based on the judge's discretion. You are required by law to show proof. Since you didn't have it available, the ticket is valid. The judge will decide whether or not to throw out that ticket, but, generally, they will.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
If you can bring proof of insurance to the clerk of the court on or before the court date, the fine is generally reduced the minimum amount. The violation is not for being uninsured, it says that "every person who drives a motor vehicle upon a highway shall provide evidence of financial responsibility for the vehicle that is in effect at the time the demand is made." So, since the insurance was not produced at the time of the stop (not later, and not when mommy runs it down), the violation was complete.

As for the tinting, if it is on the front windshield or the front side windows, just peel it off. That's the easiest way to fix it. Lacking that, you will have to get some garage or expert (not a pal with a gadget) to test the tint and appear in court to swear that it is legal.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Shay-Pari'e said:
I really just think it is because you are a Faider fan.

(Sorry Carl, I love you!)
Hey! Two wins already! We're on a roll! Number three is just a few days ... or weeks ... away! :cool:

- Carl
 

raidersforever0

Junior Member
Oh well i guess i shall hope for the best but dam that seems steep which one is the one bringing up the fine to nearly 900, well i did win the bet with my uncle he said i would get a speeding ticket even though i never speed, i i told him if i even do get a ticket it would be good ol daddies fault because who looks for there insurance and registration every single time they get in the car. I was going for a squeeky clean record to 2 years with out a ticket thats already better then anyone in my family there all a bunch of speeders. Anyone happen to live near Bakersfield and know were i can get my tint tested i am pretty sure its legal
 

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