Posted: 12/31/2006 9:58:45 AM EDT
| Anyone know where to get a decent tint meter that doesnt cost a fortune? Googled it and all i see is stuff over $100 bucks. |
Any change of putting in a budget request for it and have the dept buy it for anyone to use? I'd imagine if you bought your own, you'd have to keep pretty decent records that it was tested often and is accurate, otherwise it could be useless in court, if you're going to use it for enforcement purposes. |
I had a laser lab one until it disappeared from my cruiser one day. It came with a certificate of calibration and 2 pieces of tint with known percentage of total light transmittance. I never had a problem when I went to court and I used it for a few years. |
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At roadblocks I've seen the SCHP use a credit card with text of various gray levels on it to check the windows. One officer I talked to said it was more accurate and reliable than the electronic ones they've tested, and it cut down on the BS in court when people would start asking questions about the calibration of the devices. One of the times I was riding with my sister-in-law who has 60% tin for medical purposes, and the officer correctly identified it as 60%. They work, and they obviously don't look expensive.z |
Kinda hard to drive with no windshield or driver/passenger windows. Those are the ones whose tint is illegal (in some states, and at varying percentages of light transmission). Did you have anything else worthwhile to add? |
Because for the most part, it is the front seat windows that have the biggest restrictions on tint. In Texas the front seats have to be fairly light tint for vision. I would think that your panel van has front windows. The back seat windows in a car can be very dark and you can spray paint the back window black if you wish as long as you have two outside mirrors. The fact that a panel van has no windows is not an issue since the back seats can have almost black tint anyway. I don't know but I will guess that other states have similar laws. |
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Up here you can't have any tint past the drivers shoulders..which pretty much eliminates tint on the front windows. Mechanics aren't suppose to safety check any vehicles with tint on those windows either. My truck (05 Colorado) came with limousine tint on the rear window and back door glass but nothing on the front windows. |
+1 I have never seen a motor vehicle OF ANY KIND let alone a PANEL VAN with NO WINDOWS AT ALL....  .
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Anybody know where to pick one of these cards up? |
I was given one of these in training. Hasn't been out since. 
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The only type I have used had 2 "sample" cards that were inserted and the results read and documented at the time the meter was used on a tinted window. I don't rememebr the name brand, but is was small, easy to use, and was @ $150.00. ETA: This job is like being a mechanic, there are just some things you have to buy yourself. A tint meter is not that much, maybe the guys on your shift will "pitch in" and then the shift will have one... a Portable Breath Tester (PBT) would be nice to. |
| In SC the limit is 35%. There are only a few tint meters around the SCHP. The catch is, all windows that are tinted must have a certificate of compliance. The certificate is a small sticker between the tint and the glass that has information such as % transmission, date installed.... It is usually about 1/2 inch square. So here is what an officers testimony will sound like. "Based on my experience, reasonable suspicion existed that the windows were too dark. Upon further inspection, there were no certificates of compliance. Therefore a violation occoured." In other words, if it looks wrong (reasonable suspicion) then it probably wont have the stickers. It is much easier to prove that there we no stickers than to argue about %. If its too close to "look wrong" it is probably not a good case to start with. Your law may have a similar provision. |
Locking your car can help prevent this. I will bet your Lieutenant re-allocated it. I've seen it happen.  If your cruiser window is too dark and you still hang paper, it will probably catch up with you..........same with other department vehicles. I drove with limo tint for 10 years. All of a sudden it became illegal. The fine was $10. I think speeding and running red lights are a much bigger priority than seeing if the sheep are 5% over the limit. Then there is the ever important license plate lights..... From a general public point of view from someone who has spent a bit of time in a patrol car, I hate to think someone really unsafe or drunk drove right by you while you are busy hanging paper for window tint. If it is relevant in a collision investigation, the certified investigator will probably have the correct tool. |
Are you attributing the above quote to ME? 
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I'm sorry but at night esspecially, its scary to walk up to a car you cant see into. I perfer to be able to see atleast some type of movement rather than nothing. My truck windows are so dark you cant see into them. The back ones that is. I can see out of them but people can not generally see into the vehicle. Thats why when I get pulled over I put all 4 side windows down and turn the interior light on. |
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| I am not LEO, but for officer safety if I am pulled over I would roll down my windows, and turn on interior lights. I have dark windows(15%) on my truck I use for business. At most times my truck has several thousand dollars worth of equipment in it. So, I wanna try to keep from being a target, Also tint helps hold glass together in a collision/ smash and grab. |