Any Leo in the House?

[.40Cal]

Hi guys,

It's not really a gun related question - but need need help of a Law Enforcement Officer...

My wife was driving a family member's car. She got a ticket for tinted windows & insurance. Both are sign-off tickets. Owner did have insurance, so it can be presented with a $25 dismisal fee. However, the owner says it's a BMW and comes with light tint in the front windows, and he won't take it off - it's a 50% tint - lightest. (The rear windows are little darker 35%). Now, my wife is stuck with the ticket and can't get it fixed. Is there a way her ticket can be dismissed, since she does not own that car and has no responsibility to fix/change it? Or have a LEO look at the 50% tint and sign off. She got involved into this, and doesn't even own that car. It would be great if a local officer could help us.

Thanks in advance!

[Unit74]

The officer should have marked the cite box "owners responsibility" if the reg and insurance was not in her name.

Contact the issuing department and request to have the cite amended to reflect this. She should get the notice in the mail reflecting as such. This will relieve her of the cite responsibility and he will get a notice in the mail he is on the hook.


And BTW... He is full of sheet when he says it's OEM BMW. There are count them...zero cars imported with "factory tint" on the front windows. It will not conform to the Federal standard and cannot be imported as such.

He bough the car from the dealer like this and thinks because they put the tint on it's "factory." It's his ignorant excuse for wanting to drive in violation. But he knows it's illegal. I can tell you how many times I have heard this excuse. And how many times I cited for it as well.

[Ron-Solo]

If the tinting is applied to the glass, and not IN the glass, it is in violation of the vehicle code. The dealer may have applied the tint, but it didn't come from the factory that way.

She may be able to go to court and pay a fine, but getting it dismissed is unlikely. The friend is not a friend. She may be able to have the court assign responsibility to the registered owner.

A word of advice for anyone who gets stopped for an equipment violation while driving a car that you don't own. Don't argue with the officer but before he/she starts writing the ticket ask them if they will issue the mechanical violations on a separate ticket under the "Owner's Responsibility" sections. (I can't remember the authority section since it has been years since I worked traffic) This is the same section that is used for commercial vehicles owned by large companies.

The driver would get the ticket for any moving violations, but the ticket for the mechanical violations (tail lights, tinting, bad tires, etc) would go to the registered owner.

[ckim34]

If the tinting is applied to the glass, and not IN the glass, it is in violation of the vehicle code. The dealer may have applied the tint, but it didn't come from the factory that way.

She may be able to go to court and pay a fine, but getting it dismissed is unlikely. The friend is not a friend. She may be able to have the court assign responsibility to the registered owner.

A word of advice for anyone who gets stopped for an equipment violation while driving a car that you don't own. Don't argue with the officer but before he/she starts writing the ticket ask them if they will issue the mechanical violations on a separate ticket under the "Owner's Responsibility" sections. (I can't remember the authority section since it has been years since I worked traffic) This is the same section that is used for commercial vehicles owned by large companies.

The driver would get the ticket for any moving violations, but the ticket for the mechanical violations (tail lights, tinting, bad tires, etc) would go to the registered owner.

CVC 40001

[FLIGHT762]

Hi guys,

It's not really a gun related question - but need need help of a Law Enforcement Officer...

My wife was driving a family member's car. She got a ticket for tinted windows & insurance. Both are sign-off tickets. Owner did have insurance, so it can be presented with a $25 dismisal fee. However, the owner says it's a BMW and comes with light tint in the front windows, and he won't take it off - it's a 50% tint - lightest. (The rear windows are little darker 35%). Now, my wife is stuck with the ticket and can't get it fixed. Is there a way her ticket can be dismissed, since she does not own that car and has no responsibility to fix/change it? Or have a LEO look at the 50% tint and sign off. She got involved into this, and doesn't even own that car. It would be great if a local officer could help us.

Thanks in advance!

.40cal, take the advice given and see if the cite can be amended to "Owners Responsibility". If it can't, your wife will likely have to pay the fine for it (since it won't be removed by the owner, he should pay the fine for her).

As mentioned, the tinting in the driver compartment windows did not come from the factory with 50% tint. It was added by someone. The widows come tinted down to about 72%(i've seen it more). The Driver's side windows in my Patrol Car measured 75% (Ford Crown Vic.)from the factory.


If you add any tinting to the already tinted window, you get a window that is usually in the 30%-40% range. I cited for tinted windows for many years. I used an electronic tint meter that would measure the tint. http://www.laser-labs.com/


It worked well and was accurate. In California, the law says no less than 70% visible light transmittance in the drivers compartment windows(including the windshield). Even if it measured 50%, it's still illegal. When you see tinted side windows in the driver's compartment and you can barely see the driver, the tint is in the 30% range. I've cited for tinting in the driver's compartment down to 3% (black).

The lowest tinting allowed in the nation is New Mexico,which allows 25%. I cited many California vehicles below 25% tint in the driver's compartment

I had more non compliance with tinted windows than with any other violation.
there is so much mis information out there regarding this.

I hope this works out for your Wife.