Car window tint

**RUDY850** · February 23rd, 2007, 10:05 AM

just got a new car and was thinking about having the windows tinted.Did some research on window tinting in PA. And found this interesting information. Does any of this sound familiar.

Check out the link.

http://www.berksweb.com/users/dmv/tint/auto.html

**Willtallica** · February 23rd, 2007, 11:18 AM

I can't stand sitting in the car, and being watched, so I am dieing for my windows to be tinted to some degree, but I just knew there's BS like that out there.

There's this one car at my work, and its the same car as mine, but it has tinted glass. You can't see a thing in this guy's car.

**Emptymag** · February 23rd, 2007, 12:05 PM

The choice to tint is up to you.

The law seems to be VERY open to interpretation on many levels.
Should it be that way? No.

Way back I used to have a GMC Sonoma PU truck that was fairly plain w/the exception of chrome Keystone Klassics (wheels) and the window tint I had applied. I drove that truck for seven years in Pittsburgh/Oakland and was never questioned/stopped.

During the same period, a friend of mine was being pulled over weekly (OK not that much, but it was pretty often) in his Z-28 with DARK tinted windows.
He used to just pay the fine and leave it on. It was cheaper than what he paid to have it installed (at the time).

Back then, I was a white guy (lemmee check... yup, still white), driving a truck in a 70% black/30% white neighborhood. He was a black teen driving a fast car in a 90% black/10% white neighborhood.
You figure out the odds...

You can complain about "profiling" if you wish, but if the facts support the reasoning, it's just that. FACT.
If my dog craps on the rug, I don't interrogate the cats too, just to be "fair". I can pretty much "profile" the poop well (sniff. sniff.) enough to know that the dog was the likely suspect. (I'm not sure where I was going with this, but it makes sense

)

I know there are officers who, for whatever reason, like to give people grief, but I can also understand the reasoning for keeping the tint limited to a certain level for the safety of the officer.

You need to determine if you are going to be placing yourself in a situation where you need to "pay up" or fight the "oppression" of "the man" because, as I read it in the link, even if it's legal, you may have trouble.
(but I still plan on doing my Silverado this summer!)

**JayBell** · February 23rd, 2007, 10:11 PM

my Ford CV is tinted limo in the rear, I didn't tint the front, its too hard to see, and I dont need hassle from asshat LEOs:-)

**doug** · February 24th, 2007, 12:37 AM

PA vehicle code prohibits any tinting film on the drivers and passengers windows EXCEPT if it's recommended by a physician. You can make an appointment at any dermatologist and explain you are sensitive to sunlight, you spend a lot of time driving, and you don't want to develop skin cancer later in life.

Almost all of them will write you a recommendation which will allow you to apply film on your front windows.

**Willtallica** · February 24th, 2007, 01:03 AM

Let me get this straighter. Pay dermatologist about 20 bucks for their time, and be allowed to have a tinted windows?

**Steve in PA** · February 24th, 2007, 01:09 AM

In regards to "just paying the fine and leaving the tint on" wouldn't fly around here. The judge will ask you if the tint is removed and/or he may want to actually see the vehicle himself.

**RUDY850** · February 24th, 2007, 01:22 AM

Years ago I use to do state inspections. back then the rear side windows and the rear window was fine to tint. i would assume this is OK to do. but not the front side windows or windshield

**Steve in PA** · February 24th, 2007, 01:49 AM

(e) Sun screening and other materials prohibited.—
(1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sun screening device or other material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside of the vehicle through the windshield, side wing or side window of the vehicle.
(2) This subsection does not apply to:
(i) A vehicle which is equipped with tinted windows of the type and specification that were installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle or to any hearse, ambulance, government vehicle or any other vehicle for which a currently valid certificate of exemption has been issued in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.
(ii) A vehicle which is equipped with tinted windows, sun screening devices or other materials which comply with all applicable Federal regulations and for which a currently valid certificate of exemption for medical reasons has been issued in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.
(3) A certificate of exemption shall be issued by the department for a vehicle which is:
(i) Registered in this Commonwealth on the effective date of this subsection and is equipped with a sun screening device or other material prohibited under paragraph (1) on the effective date.
(ii) Equipped with tinted windows, sun screening devices or other materials for a physical condition that makes it necessary to equip the motor vehicle with sun screening material which would be of a light transmittance or luminous reflectance in violation of this section.
(A) A certificate of exemption for medical reasons shall be issued only if the owner or registrant of the vehicle, or a person residing in the household of the owner or registrant who regularly drives or is driven in the vehicle, suffers from a physical condition determined by the department, in consultation with the Medical Advisory Board, to justify the exemption.
(B) Any person requesting an exemption for medical reasons shall have his physical condition certified to the department by a licensed physician or optometrist.
(4) A certificate of exemption issued under this subsection shall be carried in the vehicle and displayed on request of a police officer.
(5) Upon the sale or transfer of the vehicle to any person who does not qualify under paragraph (2)(ii), the exemption shall be null and void. Prior to the sale or transfer of an exempt vehicle, it shall be the sole responsibility of the owner or seller of a formerly exempt vehicle to remove all sun screening or other materials from the vehicle. At the time of the sale or transfer of a formerly exempt vehicle, the owner shall remove and destroy the certificate of exemption for physical reasons and provide the purchaser with a notarized statement setting forth the name and address of the owner or seller, the vehicle identification number, year and model, and the business entity and process used to remove the sun screening or other material.

**Nate** · February 25th, 2007, 07:02 PM

I have never been pulled over in PA for the tint on my mustang, but when I visited my GF (now my wife) in New York LEO's would do a high speed U-turn in traffic to pull me over. Now they only gave me warnings because I was out of state, but it's something to keep in mind if you travel alot. That being said I've never been pulled over in my mustang here in PA.

Willtallica - Where can I find a dermatologist that charges only about 20 bucks???