Not too long ago, I opined that the significant drop in serious crime was going to create a cottage industry in cops going after ordinary people for the most trivial, if not absurd, of malum prohibitum offenses.
Crimes that nobody thought twice about have become the greatest threat to civilization since the Wii. This is what happens when they don’t have enough to do.
And so it happens. This New York Times piece chronicles that latest focus of law enforcement in New York, the dreaded threat to mankind, window tint.
“Because we’ve seen an increase not only in the volume of tint but in the intensity,” said Asharoken’s avuncular, and tint-averse, top police officer, Ray Mahdesian. “We don’t have quotas, and we don’t use tint to go fishing for other violations, but yes, there are a lot of summonses being written around here for window tinting.” For the record, his department issued 70 tint-related summonses in 2007, up from 35 in 2006.
Idle hands are the devil’s . . . well, now those idle hands are holding tintmeters, waiting for some unsuspecting miscreant in his tinted BMW to try to smash through civilization’s barriers toward anarchy.
In New York, the law prohibits front driver and passenger windows from preventing more than 70% of natural light from passing through.
Why target tint? “It’s a safety violation.” Whose safety? “Yours and the officer’s.” Mr. Mahdesian says eye contact, whether between motorists or between a police officer and occupants of a suspicious vehicle, is paramount.
“If we can’t see you, we don’t know if you have a gun in there or if, God forbid, something worse is going on, like a kidnapping,” he added.
Certainly, we don’t want to enable kidnappings, right? And the safety of police officers approaching a car and being able to see the perp’s hands is important too. Or so they say.
But there is a logical disconnect between this law and the purported rational basis for its enactment. Who says 30% tint is the threshold for safety? “[T]his is a case of driving a car on Long Island with driver and front passenger windows tinted an infinitesimally smoky shade of charcoal gray.”
Jeff Tabachnick, owner of Top Edge Inc., a St. James firm that claims to do the largest volume of tinting, especially legal tinting, on Long Island, . . . says the 70 percent tint is virtually indistinguishable from a clear piece of glass. No more shade for car interiors in the summer (“Tint can shield 45 percent of the sun’s heat!”), no more blocking of ultraviolet rays, and definitely no cosmetic cachet.
While there are cars with windows tinted so dark that they look black, there are similarly cars which have such a minute coloration to protect against UV rays but are barely noticeable as far as tint is concerned. Still, these cars (some coming this way from the manufacturer or dealer) violate New York law and subject the owner to punishment.
But a law is a law, right? True, but, it’s not the law “in Sun Belt states like Florida, where 35 percent is considered just fine.” So 65% tint in Florida is considered sufficient to serve the rational purpose of the law, but in New York the limit is 30%. Do Floridians not care as deeply as New Yorkers about cops or kidnapping? I don’t think so.
This window tinting law has been on the books in New York since 1992, when somebody noticed that black out windows were a problem and a bunch of guys in Albany had to come up with a number to plug into the law. How they arrived at 30% I can’t say. I bet they can’t either. At the time, I would expect that nobody really cared what the number was, since they had no expectation that any cop would use the law except to nail those drug dealers with blacked out windows. After all, there was plenty of serious crime to go around in 1992, and no one could imagine cops with so little to do that they would drive around with tintmeters looking for taxpayers to bother.
And now, the problem becomes increasingly broader as one considers how cops are supposed to deal with the silly pointless numbers when addressing the plague of window tinting. What happens to drivers from Florida, whose windows are perfectly lawful in their home state, but turn magically into a primary threat to the life of cops in New York? While the law legalizes vehicles from other states that don’t comply with our local quirks, how is a cop to know what the permissible percentage of light passing through a window from state to state, not to mention any local jurisdictions that may stick their nose into this very serious problem.
This is what happens when there are too many cops with too little to do. They find obscure laws, put on the books to provide a weapon that was only meant to be used under certain circumstances, and decide to turn it into their new money maker. This is the sort of nonsensical approach that can turn even the most liberal person into a libertarian.
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The Prison-Industrial Complex
Jamie Spencer
The Prison-Industrial Complex
Jamie Spencer
This is exactly what I thought when I got my first ticket after having my car for seven years. This is indeed a moneymaker for strapped cities but a major hassle for citizens. I wonder if I have any recourse to recoup the money I am having to pay in fines and the cost to remove the tint. The dealer sold me the car and they shouldn’t be able to do so if it is illegal.
That’s a very good question. I would think it’s worth a try.
I just got pulled over in Brooklyn. I was doing nothing wrong and the cop told me to roll the windows down half way. He took out a “Tintometer” and stuck it on all my windows. I got 4 $90 tickets! The cop treated me nicely, which was nice. He told me the that he had been instructed to give out tickets for tint and that there is big crackdown on it now.
I now gotta pay $360 in fines and pay to remove the tint. Does anybody know if the cop needs to clean the windows before measuring the tint? He did not and my windows are pretty dirty. Can I get the tickets off with that claim?
BTW; Mini-Vans come from the dealer with the rear windows tinted (the window itself is actually glazed). I asked him why that is allowed. And he said maybe Suburban class vehicles are different. But it may still be illegal. He was not sure. Beautiful! If the cops don’t know the law, how can we?
So let me guess, now that you got nailed for tinted windows, you’re cruising the web trying to find some way out of paying the fines? Unfortunately, this isn’t the “get me out of my ticket free” place, so there won’t be any answers for you. But remember what happened next time you vote.
Here’s How I beat my tickets, I follow the letter of the law. I PLEAD NOT GUILTY OF COURSE. THE MOMENT HE READS OFF THE BOOK, I YELL OUT (RESPECTFULLY) OBJECTION; RECOLLECTION; IF THE OFFICER CAN NOT TESTIFY ON HIS OWN MEMORY, THEN THE CITY HAS NO CREDIBLE WITNESS, THEREFORE I REQUEST A MOTION TO DISMISS. I deny everything. I shift the burden of proof on the officer with this document. Sanford F. Young v. City of New York Department of Finance Parking Violation Adjudications Index # 111675/06 dated June 13, 2007, the decision of Emily Jane Goodman Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, County of New York Part 17
page three, paragraph two which states “The petition is granted and the summons is dismissed. Pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law (“VTL”) § 240(b) and 19 Rules of the City of New York (“RCNY”) § 39-08(e) “[n]o charge may be established except upon proof by substantial evidence
NO SUBTANTIAL EVIDENCE = NO CASE
This paragraph further states “If the petitioner submits testimony refuting the charges that is “not patently incredible,” then the summons must be dismissed absent the submission of additional evidence by the respondent to meet its ultimate burden (see Gruen, suprs, Heisler, supra)”
AFTER YOU DISPUTE HIS CLAIM = HE HAS TO SUBMIT “EVIDENCE” NOT TESTIMONY!!!
HAHAHAAAAA I ALWAYS USE THIS APROACH TO BEAT MY PARKING TICKETS, AND MOVING VIOLATIONS. BUT I NEVER LAUGH IN THERE PRESENCE….
my brother just got a ticket for every window that was tinted. i guess the major wants to fill the budget any which way he can. we need 7 on our side for this one. very unfair to ticket someone for every window like that. i personally hate the tint on cars becasue i can’t see the driver and agree with the law, but to go on a binge like that without warning is sneaky by the police department.
Don’t sign the ticket, fill in the Name Address like this
Bronx county, New York state
ZIP Code exempt (DMM 122.32)
then write in the signature line
“without prejudice” UCC 1-308/1-207
then submit it and ask for date
DON’T SIGN IT!!!!!
YOU MUST DO THIS WITH THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF RECEIPT!!!!
WHEN THE JUDGE ASKS YOU WHY YOU WROTE IT
SAY THIS “I don’t accept the compelled benefit of this agreement”
the compelled benefit is to use Federal Resrve Notes to discharge your debts…
AND REMEMBER: IF THE JUDGE ASKS YOU IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT, THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS “NO” YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF THE REPUBLIC “OF WHATEVER STATE YOU’RE IN”
and don’t let him scare you to say other wise, this way you are saying you are not under his Legislative Jurisdiction “watchout for the Yellow Frindged Flag!!!!”
An interesting approach, Big Al, but not one that I would recommend to others.
This past Friday, the NYPD had set up a roadblock on 7th avenue between 46th and 47th Street and they were stopping every car that passed by looking to issue tinting tickets. I was stop and pulled over to the side, when I ask the officer “what is the offense sir?” and he said “none” a few seconds later he said “we’ll find out if there is an offense”. He then asked me to pull down the window and use one of those devices to measure the tint level which came down to be in violation, 30% or somewhere around that and also measure the passenger side. He went back to his vehicle and came back 10 minutes later with two tickets for the front windows. I know this is not the site to ask on how to fight the tickets but I would really like some help. I honestly believe that the NYPD is ripping off the citizens of this great city, he issued to tickets when he can only issued only one and try to play a nice guy by saying that he could have giving me 4 tickets for the back windows which it isn’t true; but more importantly they setup this roadblock to stop every car the drove by it without probable cause/reasonable suspicion that the cars in fact had tinting since they could only see my windshield from where they were standing (which isn’t tinted).
There can be a lawful roadblock even without probable cause, I’m sorry to say. While they can’t arbitrarily stop a vehicle, they can stop vehicles in a planned roadblock, whether it’s every car, every third car, in a pre-planned, organized fashion to check for violations.
I so now understand what is going on. I got pulled over on one of these check on friday as well but i was checked on 2ave btwn 41st/42st at 830am. I was surprised since i’ve had the tint setting on all my cars and never had a problem. Plus i knew my windows allowed the 30% so i knew i wouldn’t have any trouble. When the officer checked my driver window it read 30-31 for a second then stayed on 31%. I couldnt believe i got a ticket for going just one over. I was extremely upset… i argued that that one percent could be caused by a margin of error… its not like it was like exteremly dark or went over by like 20+ or whatever. I feel its unfair. Is fighting the ticket worth it or is like a speed radar… that if they got u by going one u went over by one. But come on by one percent people are not going to see me.
AFH:
FIGHT IT!
These devices 1. require calibration. 2. a clean window, and 3. are completely dependent on the manufacturer’s math to determine a non-existent percentage number calculated from the film’s opacity, which is measured logarithmically and generally has an exponential curve. You think the idiots in Albany understood this when they wrote it? No, because the PBAs and town courts wrote it for them.
I’m guessing that meter has never been calibrated to both complete dark or complete light. 1%? What a dink of a cop.
The other preposterous thing about this law is that every suv, wagon, minivan, etc. with their factory glass tint is exempt because the law references the EPA’s “truck” class which these all fall into, as being exempt.
So those of us in cars, with more horizontal greenhouse shapes, are screwed by not getting the benefit of window tinting.
We need a tv campaign to counteract I Love NY with I Hate NY.
You raise some great point. Fight those tickets! Study Angelo’s points and raise them.
I just got 2 tickets at a road block on Broadway, downtown business district (imaginary war on terror, blocks away from ground zero). I thought the cop was gonna punch me in the face when I asked him when was the last time the tint meter was recalibrated. he gave me a ticket for 2 windows even though he checked only one window. The reading came up as 38%. I plan on getting a lawyer and fighting it on the grounds that the device was not calibrated and if so when and show proof.
Rudy:
I pleaded not guilty to my 2 tickets and have a court hearing scheduled by the end of April. I feel pretty confident even more so after Angelo’s great factual support for an argument to attack the device’s accuracy. They have the burden to prove the violation and if the evidence is unreliable they have no case.
Angelo:
Can you provide a link or any other sort of documentary support for the facts expressed on your comment to this post?
Thanks
Rodrigo, to the extent that you expect someone to know that you’ve posted a reply to their comment, you need to use the “reply to this” link at the bottom of each comment. Otherwise, chances aren’t good that anyone will know. Also, the inclusion of extraneous links in comments isn’t allowed, so you won’t be getting any link from Angelo to help you along. If you want to find support for Angelo’s arguments, I suggest you do the research on your own about the calibration requirements of window tint devices and the elements necessary to show the adequacy of readings. You might also inquire of places that perform the service, as they should have some understanding of how the level of tint is determined.
Guess it’s a case of making up some debts. I just got 2 window tint tickets in brooklyn 4th avenue and 76th st. The officer made a U-turn, followed me 2 blocks to pull me over with his trust meter in hand. He didn’t clean the window, he had no other reasons to pull me over, nor did he state any other reasons. I plan to plead not guilty and see him in court. I feel this law is the same as a Jay walking law. Everyone does it, you could ticket anyone, but what makes you ticker just anyone and not everyone?
I Too was caught in the road block on Broadway lower Manhattan 3/11/09 the cop was nasty, looked every where for other violations but could find none. So I got 1 window tint ticket its a company jeep liberty but I have to pay (company may reimburse) NYC Fund raiser Pay or u shall not pass! its a RIPOFF if any cops are reading this I REALLY hope u R proud of ur job!! Giving fines to regular law abiding, paying ur freakin salary, tax payers. Just another bite out of Middle class America. The cops and the politicians are the thieves! They keep taking from us when we have no more to give…So now they just take it. They are just Gestapo. The cops of today are NOT to serve and protect they are there to Harass and steal a hard working mans last dollar to feed the bulging political machine. Sorry for ranting but I really try to live an honest life but am sick of being molested by my own government. I love America but dont like being fleeced.
I became a libertarian once bloomberg got elected. As i tell my friends, Bloomberg cured my apathy
Hey Guys, I just got out of nysdmv traffic court and after 2 reschedules of my appointment. I had to pay $5 fine for a 22% front window tint violation on my 03 Honda Pilot. But get this guys, the surcharge was $50!! WTF! The grand total wasnt that bad ($55) as compared to others on this website, but thank these politicians for fleecing us the average hardworking New Yorkers. This law is outdated and stupid but lawmakers should revise this law and make it similar if not just like Florida’s Tint law. Because as someone said earlier on here if the law states that the vehicle must allow %70 of light to pass thru, at that number its so similar to a regular glass pane, then why bother to tint at all? The P.O. at my case was bumbling thru his read testimony of the car stop and sounded like an idiot that I wondered how he made it past the 5th grade. I then questioned the officer on how the pretty girl before me (who got a ticket for using her cell phone while driving)got off because he had no “testimony” of the violation and she was allegedly committing a “safety” violation but he tagged me for a BS tinted window ticket. He said ” we’re not talking about her now”. I said to him we’re not but you did say officer that you conducting safety patrol on that day, right? Something like talking on your cell while driving is considered a safety concern but you didn’t take the time to write on your log book the details of the case, sounds fishy to me sir” at which point he got a little tight. Doesn’t matter though, NYC still got $55 from me anyways. And the exemptions for the tinted window (see form MV-80W) are ridiculous. I had lasik surgery and now I can barely take pics with flash let alone let the sun hit me and light sensitivity is not enough to get an exemption for this case. Thanks Gov. Paterson
keep sending the applications for exemptions to the state…you must persist. Your MD. must make as firm case for you exemption.It can be for a person who is a passenger that occasionally is driven..does not have to be owner/driver..Remember this law was sign by Mario C…. The current Gov. could be a spokesperson for eye disordors and a more trendy tint law like FL.
I just got a ticket for tinting. The cop’s meter read 28 and he said that the law requires 75% of light to be let through. Now does the meter indicate amount of light passed or the amount of light reflected? Because if it’s the amount of light reflected, I have 72% that is still passed, right? And then the cop is either not very bright or just a sneaky bastard. What is the current allowance of tint anyway, 30%? Now I’d probably have to pay the ticket rather than skip the day at work to appeal this nonsense. Any thoughts on this?
the law in this state is a VLT and has nothing to do with reflectivity.The current VLT is net 70%[film+OEM glass] not 75%.If you have been beatin up by this law and have decided your wallet can not handle it anymore.The only 75% film on the market made by LLumar is UV Shield and it will net out at 68%-70% depending on the make of your auto.It does not contain color dyes that give a tinted look…instead it uses a heavy concentration of UV inhibitors aka [nanotechnology] to filter out 99.9% of UV light and yields a 19% TSER [total solar energy rejection]that is equal to most solar tint films TSER’s sold by the local neihborhood tinter with the $99.00 sign. To find a high end tinter that sells this reasonably priced film do a N.Y. window tinting or UV film New York search and you will thank me later.You can have sun protection without the colored or mirrory look of traditional films.
Hey i believe we as people need to fight this law anyone know of any lobbyist i can asist in fighting this im will to start a cause to stop these unnessary laws that burden people. THese laws are vilating our rights
3 days before Christmas in Troy, NY, a cop pushed my face through a window scaring me for life. Three days ago, being an employee of SPAC, I was removed from the park on my own recognisants and told I could not return to do my job, because one little piggi wanted to harras me for not carrying my bosses licence, my lawyer says sue for the lost wages
I got a ticket on Wed on the highway on my way to Saratoga, NY. I can’t believe that NYS is that strapped for cash that cops are now pulling people over for tints. My tints are not even that dark. I think the shops should have signs posted with the law so if the customers still decide to get the tints they can’t say they didn’t know because I honestly didn’t know. The cop told me anything darker than your windshield is illegal. So basically tinted windows are illegal. I’ll sign a petition, contact my congressman or whatever else I need to to get this law changed because I think its stupid and a waste of taxpayer dollars.
I had a hearing last week for 2 tint summons and I must say that I regret to inform you that the DMV courts are an insult to justice. First, under the law the offense is only one for side windows and when I requested as a matter of law to have one of the summons dismissed the judge refused although he was required under the law to dismiss it.
The police officer read a script prepared from the city attorneys and the judge let him do it. When the judge asked him if he could testify from his recollection, the police officer replied “I don’t remember anything”.
The Summons had different readings for two side windows with a difference among each other of 17%. The officer had no record of calibration, testified that he did not clean the window and even said that he is not required to clean the window.
Despite the law and the lack of clear and convicing evidence, the judge adjudicated both summons and found that the police officer established my guilt in one of them. This outcome is a travesty to the justice system and I will appeal and file a formal complaint to the judge’s supervising body.
Also, please note that the NYC police uses the device called Tint Meter 100 (TM100) which is made by Laser Labs, Inc. You can find the Manual for Law Enforcement Officers at: http://www.laser-labs.com/M1and2Training.htm
In the manual it is clearly stated that the devices must be tested for accuracy each time they are used and that the first thing an officer ought to do is to clean the windows.
While visiting my family on November 11, 2008, in Staten Island, I received a ticket for Tint Violation. I tried to explain to the officer, I was from GA, even though he could see this from my DL and the plates on my car. The officer refused to listen and proceeded to write the ticket. After leaving the location, Staten Island Ferry, I went to the local police station on Richmond Terrace and explained the situation telling the desk officer that took my complaint. I explained I was not from NY and I needed to get this resolved before I left the area. He told me I needed to go online and fill out a form outlining the issue and they would notify me of the next process. The next day I completed the form and was sent an email letting me know that the form had been received. Before I left NY, I return to the Police Station to see what the progress was. I was told the ticket was not entered.
On January 19, 2009 at 11:01 I received my 60 notice from the DMV telling me the ticket was not entered. I assumed that the ticket was thrown out because of me being from GA and the ticket applied to NY Residents. I contact the Police again and was told the ticket was not found.
Until last week, I had no idea neither the ticket was in the system, nor that I had a court date with my License being suspended. Because I am a GA Resident and not a NY Resident, the ticket should not have been written.
I quickly found out after being stopped by a GA Officer that I had 2 missed court dates in NY and my DL was suspended. It became real when I was handcuffed and taking to jail where I stayed from 8:30 am until 10 am the next day after my wife secured my bond. I have since been unable to go anywhere while I sit endlessly on the phone with the NYDMV.
My concern is points:
1. The ticket should have never been written.
2. Someone in the system should have reviewed this matter.
3. I followed NY rules and in my defense the issue was not reviewed.
4. A person such as I is forced through this process and spend additional monies and time.
5. The officer is allow to do this without reprimand or proper training to address matters of this caliber.
Many of you live in NY and have other modes of transportation so this may not be a big deal. In GA our cars are our only travel mode. Yet, it cost me $3200 to bond out of jail, today I paid $35 to NY just to lift the suspion and tomorrow I have to pay GA $85 just ot have my DL reinstated. Let’s not forget I still have to appear in the NY courts this October and the GA Courts in mid September so the paying isn’t over.
Am I upset, yes I am! To listen at this person telling everyone no advice is to be given is sicking. This is a blog where others should be able to provide help. The last two days I have spent countless hours on the phone waiting on NYDMV and faxed NY document after document. I can’t get to work and I am a prisoner in my own home. I have followed everything the Courts have asked. Yes I am upset!
Mandell that really sucks that u had to go thru all of that nonsense for a stupid ticket like that. You are right in that somebody in the nypd should get reprimanded for screwing that ticket up like that. I hope that u get everything straightened out.
I regret to inform you that you probably will lose that case, I got once a ticket for the parking at hydrant which was under the snow, so there was no way I could know about it. The judge told me that I have to dig the sidewalk and find out whether the hydrant or yellow line is there. Stupid, huh? Not your state, huh? This things just unbelievable and you right, we only have a blog here and can’t really do anything about it. I wish you dismiss this freaking thing and then file a suit against NYC and get a big buck, so the lesson by this suckers will be learnt. Please keep us posted. All the best.
I just want to remind everybody that most of the comments here are by non-lawyers and offer, in almost every instance, bad advice. While I am happy to allow this as a place to vent about tint tickets, I want to make sure that everyone understands that these comments are nothing more than that, and do not reflect sound advice.
And Okani, please don’t forget that this is my blawg, not yours. “We” don’t have a blog. I do. You have nothing. It’s really not polite to ask people to keep “us” posted. You’re a guest in my house. Please don’t forget it.
Welcome to New York City.You tried to fight a no win ticket and it cost you a lifetime experience.Your GA law VTL 35%front doors BTW.I will point out for others reading this interesting thread that GA is a state that can and does legally write violations for visitors passing through that state.Take a guess at how many FL.folks get nailed with their legal 28% front doors,now take a guess how many people who live in GA tag their cars in FL to save on insurance.New York has the most residents who do the same thing to avoid paying NY rates.The ticket you got was a post card for $90.00 and should have just paid it, as a travel related expence.
It sounds like you were not convincing enough to the judge.I think a copy of the weather report for that time period would have done the trick.This thread is about folks who like protection from the sun and are paying for it every day because our urban cities label car tinting as bad for law enforcment officers.It may be the largest income generator of frivolous tickets to date.I have read about people who have got tint tickets and there was no film on the windows. The car just looked dark due to the interor.
I came across your blog doing a search for a friend in Florida, who got a ticket for VLT of 7%(limo blackout, which his car isn’t). He bought the vehicle at a dealership, and didn’t tint it himself. Anyhow, the reason I’m commenting is to bring to everyone’s attention(particularly New Yorkers) something from a mfr.’s website:
“Clear auto glass measures around 70.0%-85.0% transmission.” So a vehicle with clear factory glass and a bit of dirt can actually read below 70%. Add to that an out-of-calibration instrument, and it is possible to read considerably below that. The website is http://www.promotorcarproducts.com/deluxe-window-tint-meter.htm
There’s a section in there on calibration, too.
My 17 year old son got a ticket for rear tints, and the PO didn’t even use a meter to test it. My question is, since we bought the car in NJ but live in NY, what is the allowable tint in NJ? It was purchased used, but from a dealer. I realize we have to follow NY law, but if the 2 states have different %, I need to know before court on Wed 9/9.
What is the VLT in NJ? We bought the car “used” in Paramus from a dealer but live in NY. The officer did not even use a meter. Would a tint look darker to the “naked eye” on a bright sunny day or an overcast day?
Rear tints? If this means the rear window of the car, then it isn’t subject to the tint law provided the car has rear view mirrors. Most NYC cops (and motorists) aren’t sufficiently familiar with the law to know this. See New York VTL § 375 (12-a)(b)(4).
Passenger cars in N.Y. are all side windows net 70%.This means the doors and vents behind the driver.SUV’s are a different story..N.J.no film period on front doors and any thing goes on the rear.
I was driving in a car from Florida (FL plates) and got pulled over in Staten Island for my windows being tinted. The officer did NOT use anything to measure the tint on my windows and he gave me 2 tickets. How should i deal with this considering that the car was from FL (as was my license) and he did not measure the tint at all? Plus he broke my license (probably put it on his clipboard and it snapped it) but he hid it under all the paperwork when he gave it back to me so that i didn’t see it until he had driven away.
This is more a story of how police unions can get ridiculous laws passed because they have so much political clout. It’s like if I was annoyed by overgrown trees blocking my view of the ocean and I was able to get a law passed – a penal law no less – to make it a misdemeanor not to trim trees. Thank God I don’t have the power to do that, but the cops do.
They own the legislature in this state, and the governor’s mansion. It’s disgusting, really.
But I don’t want to lose my sense of humor.
So, looking up at my previous message, can anybody tell me how to go about dealing with this? I plan to plead Not Guilty, but what should I do after that? Does the fact that the cop didn’t use anything to measure the tint make a difference? If so, how do I go about doing everything. I am ignorant when it comes to traffic tickets like this and I am hoping that someone can give me step-by-step suggestions on what to do. TIA.
Jenifer
Sorry Jenifer, but this isn’t a free legal advice site.
I understand that – I was just hoping that someone else had been through something like this and could give me some advice – I didn’t mean to offend anybody
No offense, just sorry that we can’t help you. Because this is a legal blog, the idea of giving you “some advice” is what free legal advice. As for the non-lawyers who have posted here, they have little to offer but a griping and some sillyness. The only real advice is to contact a lawyer if you want to fight the ticket who will then be in a position to provide you with proper advice for your situation.
My mother had been pulled over for illegal window tint and was ran with a “tintometer”. They claimed her’s was infact illegal, however they’re instructed to clean the windows before hand. My mother took her ticket to court and requested that others tag along that had been pulled over for the same case. My father being a carsalesman also attended to stress the fact that she had stock window tint (tint that was provided by the car factory). My dad requested that the cop re-scan her car and do so following the requirements of cleaning the window that they didn’t do the first time. the case was dropped and the cops were accused for not following the specific instructions when using the “tintometer”.
– OREGON
i just got pulled over today while driving to work. just dropped my daughter off at daycare and then got pulled over by a cop for my windows being tinted. The car i drive has factory installed tint (honda civic), 2005. i told the cop that and he said it wasn’t his problem and that i got away with it for all those years.
The kicker to this was that the car next to me was a black race car with racing stickers on it. The guy inside was talking on his cell phone and was eating breakfast WHILE DRIVING. yet, i am the one who gets pulled over…
am i missing something here? are nassau county, NY police that desperate? after he gave me the ticket, he left and then blew a red light (made a right turn on a no turn on red).
i guess since he was a cop, its okay, b/c not one is going to pull him over or give him a ticket.
I moved to NY from Arizona 2 years ago, and was shocked to get a ticket this morning for having excessive tint. My car has gone through 2 annual inspections required by NYS, and nobody told it was too tinted. This is ridiculous. How are people relocating from another state supposed to know to change their tint. Highly disappointing. I don’t love NY.
well i live in Mississippi our laws are 28%. A year ago I bought a Honda Accord (used) that was already tinted. The dealership put an inspection sticker on it . I go to get an inspection sticker today and the place sticks the digital meter up and my windows are 20%. So i can’t get a freaking inspection sticker. I call the dealership and tell them this and they tell me that they’ll take the tint off the front two windows which THEY say will make it legal (but it isn’t). all windows that aren’t factory tinted must be no less than 28% (30)… So what can i do about a dealership selling me an illegal car? Or illegally putting an inspection sticker on the car?
Just like you said, nothing else to do. I was driving down rte 81, going exactly 65mph, on my way to baltimore to get surgery done and this halfwit trooper flies out of the bushes and chases me down for no other reason than to give me a window tint ticket. No other violations alleged or happening.Have had the car since 2007 w/no problems. They have nothing else to do now.
I love your technique. Can I use this in Westchester County where I reside? I note that your have a NY state Supreme court ruling which I may be able to point out? But it seems to focus on rules of NYC? I have a tint ticket I need to fight….any pointers would be appreciated. This a^%% cop didn’t measure my tint. The ticket was given at night.
Hi,
I was able to persuade a White Plains cop to dismiss the ticket because he didn’t clean the windows prior to using the Tint Meter to get a reading. He replied back “I don’t have to clean the windows” and that is when I pulled the secret weapon — the Tint Metter 100 manual for law enforcement which clearly says an accurate reading can’t be obtained unless the windows are cleaned then he agreed to dismiss it.
on the morning of 9/13/12 i was on the 33 expressway headed outbound to cheektowaga, the time is 445am. i am going to the gym , like i do 4 days per week.. cheektowaga police are very racist. so being a black male , i actively do my best to avoid them..anyway… the officer is posted on hill side with lights off. i see him as i pass by. i have a 95 t-bird, my two front windows are not tinted, it was 68 degrees, so they werte down.. the officer turns his headlights on and gets behind me, running a rolling plate check, only to find out all is legal, but he still lights me up ..i asked why did you stop me , he rsponds.. tinted windows.. it is pitch black a 2 door car the portal windows and rear window are tinted.. i receive aticket for the two portal windows.. i was steroe typed for DWB.. i had a rag tied on my head. the officer saw this, and assumed i was up to no good.. what is wrong with this picture…445am this officer is conducting v&t for tinted windows, in a non lit part of the expressway.