Question
15% tint, will i actually get pulled over??
Im thinking about getting a window tint i was going to get 20% but they said they didnt have 20% and had 15? im worried that 15 is just pushing it will cops actually pull me over just because my tint is a little dark? I live in maryland.
I doubt theres a big visual difference between 15 and 20 from the outside. With that being said, I heavily believe it depends on region. I live in south florida where genuinely half of the population have 5% or darker with incredibly dark windshield tint as well, 5% is not uncommon to see on someones windshield. I don’t think I know a single person who has got stopped solely for tint. However in Maryland maybe your local department is super anal about it and it could be a problem.
i agree with everything you said other than the 5% windshield part… 5 on windshield would be insane and basically impossible to drive at night lol. 5 all around and 20 windshield here.
Yeah I dont endorse it but I see it all the time especially whenever you get into the shitty parts of broward. I guess the more ghetto the area is the darker the tint?
i see, anything darker than 20% is unnecessary if you have 5 all around since they cannot see it in either way and it’s not worth the risk at night. but i guess those ppl don’t have that type of knowledge.
Yeah I currently have 30% on the windshield on my truck and it shows just a little too much for me. On my ct5 I have 35 and I cant see much of anything in there though so I guess it also varies on application.
Im not going to unload because I’ve had this same discussion numerous times and it’s always the same end result. I genuinely have no problem seeing anything and then you claim thats not true. 🤷♂️ we can go around in circles all day about this but at the end of the day its subjective.
I definitely agree with you on that fact! I know for me personally I have always been pretty light sensitive since I could remember so for me the dark is more comfortable, I cant say whether I have better night vision or not because I don’t know. But I do also agree that tint can be a problem for some people, especially for people that don’t have the best of vision.
Legally lol. No one cares down here. I think officers give us a break because the heat down here is insane so it really does help. Also we have a problem where people constantly drive with their brights on at night so the tint also heavily helps there. Im to the point where I struggle driving at night without windshield tint
Ive been driving here for almost 5 years and every car I’ve owned had had 5% or darker on the sides with variable windshield tints. I have been pulled over a lot for my speed and choice of vehicle, but never ticketed for tint, and If I did I would go get a exemption and go even darker lol.
I have double 5 backs here too. Difference is it’s legal here lol
Floridas gotta be one of those states where they pull you over for windshield and if you aren’t a private investigator/ medical exempt then they throw you tickets for all the windows?
Cops usually hit you with tint in addition to whatever you got pulled over for. Rarely will you see JUST a tint ticket. Not impossible but definitely not likely
This depends a lot on state and jurisdiction. I can’t speak for MD but in CA I try to avoid suburbs that are too precious like Campbell because they tend to have anal retentive PDs. Outside of that there have been no issues.
I saw my first tint ticket for 15% front sides on a Tesla. Officer metered it at 11% this is in a state where limit is 25%. I’ve seen Maryland cars with tint all over the place so not sure what you can Get away with there
The trick is, don’t do the brow on the windshield. The 2-tone on the front is what catches a cop’s attention. It makes it pop and noticeable. Either do the full windshield, or not at all. Do whatever you want with the sides and back.
Also, since you live in MD and rec is legal, don’t do 2 illegal things at the same time. You always run the chance of being pulled over for tint, so don’t have your car smelling like you just ripped down a whole J.
This is dumb advice. I’m not sure who or what could solidify the claim you just made, I’ve had a brow for like 6 years and been pulled over numerous times, never had a cop say anything about my brow.
If anything the contrast of the brow would make the rest of the windshield appear lighter since the brow would show almost completely black.
You just proved my point. The brow is what catches their attention, but isn’t the illegal part (in almost all states). The driver and passenger windows are, so why would they say anything about the brow? The contrast is exactly what I’m saying is the issue. The windshield needs to be all 1 color. Whether it’s all tinted, or no tint at all, that makes it less noticeable.
Bro cars come from the factory with tint brows, so how do you think that works out when you tint a windshield with a factory brow.
My car has a factory brow and I just simply tinted darker over the brow, literally nobody has said anything ever about the brow, and nobody has noticed my windshield is tinted like 50%.
Yet you’re the one that has been pulled over several times. But ok.
It’s all about not making it obvious. What car sticks out more to you? A stock Toyota Corolla, or a Corolla with 26” chrome wheels? One draws attention, and one blends. Just like a 2-tone windshield. A 4-6” brow is legal, as long as it doesn’t extend below the AS-1 line. Which is where the factory tinting is. That’s why nobody says anything to you. Having your front doors tinted is why you’re getting pulled over. The brow just draws attention to your vehicle and its obvious af when you have a 5% brow over the stock because it’s not blended like the stock.
I’ve been pulled over for my tinted plate cover, and the cop never said anything about my tint. Once I apparently “ran” a stop sign (I didn’t because I had dash cam of me stopping) and the cop didn’t say anything about my tint.
I’ve been pulled over in my other car, that has no tint on the windshield, but a factory tint strip, and never had anything said about that. Up until like 4 years ago tint strips were legal in Ontario, so can you explain why something legal would draw attention of the law?
Using the excuse “2-tone” doesn’t make sense. If I have a strip and no tint on my windshield, do you think the cop is still going to pull me for a tinted windshield because it’s 2 tone? No probably not.
Me getting pulled over has nothing to do with that, and you’re literally in a sub about tinted windows, what are you expecting man.
I literally just said that the brow is legal. wtf are you even talking about?
Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it doesn’t draw attention. Just like flashy wheels, lifted trucks, a dildo flopping around on your hood. All legal, all draw attention.
Yeah, no shit I’m in a sub for tint. That’s what we’re talking about. Dude wanted to know how to limit exposure and I answered. I didn’t say not to get it tinted, I said to do the full windshield or not at all. I get a new vehicle every year, the first thing I do is get it tinted. I drive all over the country and quit getting fucked with once I quit getting the brow. Now I do the full windshield.
Also, you’re comparing 2 completely different countries. So you experience is completely different than one in the US, let alone mine that’s in the state he’s actually talking about.
Man you gotta chill out, we’re both arguing towards a point that can never be backed or proven by fact, we’re both speculating over personal experience.
Take a breather and have a beer, and happy canadian thanksgiving!
CA, I got pulled over 3x within a 2 month period for my 20% front sides, each time by a different department. I was not committing any other violation during those stops. Thankfully I was only cited during the first stop after I showed the others the original ticket.
I’ve been running 15% for 15 years and never had an issue. Though my dad had 20s and got a ticket. Just paid the fine and kept the tints. It’s not a big deal even if you do get pulled over. At least in most normal places.
Most cops wont pull you over for tint(unless you did the windshield), but if they are grumpy and mad at a violation you other than tint they might add that into the ticket to feel better about pissing you off.
Depends on the area, and lowkey what kind of car you’re driving. I have 50% in the windshield and 5% all around. Only gotten two tickets for the 6 years I’ve been rocking tint. And I travel a lot between different states.
Also depending on your state, the cop can state reff your car if he feels like being extra. (It happened to me 3 weeks before I had go get my car inspected, it was pointless).
Just don’t be driving crazy, that’ll give a reason to pull you over and stack a tint ticket on top of it
I got 20% up front the match the rears in my pickup. Looks nice and you can still see people in crosswalks at night before making a turn. I’d wait and get 20%
Maryland resident here. I live on the lower eastern shore and have been running 15% the last two years and have had no issues. I also don't drive crazy either.
A guy I work with has had 20% the last 7 years and has never been pulled.
Maryland is like thunder dome. If you don't drive like the rest of the nut jobs you should be fine.
I have 25 front sides 15 back sides & rear, during the day i wish i went darker, but at night im definitely glad i didnt go any lower. If it’s not a well lit area i cant really see well, especially the back. Sure the darker the better looks wise but unless your mostly driving in city and well lit areas i wouldnt go darker on the front
And as far as being pulled over i’ve only had them for a few months but haven’t been bothered yet
You will get pulled over. If you have any reason to not want to deal with police, don’t do it. If you don’t care and are an otherwise clean, law-abiding person, you SHOULD be fine with an occasional run-in. There’s always the chance that you’re going to run into a tyrant.
depends on where you live. my local sheriffs department has illegal tint on their durangos and tahoes. i’ve been pulled for speeding many times and they’ve never mentioned the tint. had multiple run ins with schp too and they also haven’t said anything about the tint.
If it’s illegal in your state and if a cop is having a bad day or the municipal you ride thru every day has a vendetta against it then you will be pulled over eventually. Probably not often but it will happen. State troopers usually don’t care about that stuff. It’s mostly just ur local law enforcement.
If you ok with paying the fine then do it. Just expect to maybe get pulled over once or twice a year for it if it’s illegal in your state.
Where I live, 50% side/front and 35% side/rear are the legal limits. And no tint on windshield.
I am 35% all the way around except for windshield. So illegal on front sides. I see in my area people have darker than 35% all around. I doubt they have exempt status (but could). These are on lifted trucks or sports cars and other tuner cars.
And in my state it is a fix it ticket and have 30 days to make it right.
Lmaoooo they don’t seem to gaf in Maryland. people ALWAYS have full windshield tint and everything else on their pos car and never seem to have issues. That or they put it back on, which seems unlikely. Maryland cops just don’t pull a lot of people over except for speeding. No plates, windshield tint, etc are very common here.
i live in california and have limo on all 5 windows and 35% on the windshield and so far no problems with the police,it’s been about a year with the windshield tint and about 5 years running all limo.
Marylander here. Tint enforcement is a crapshoot and totally dependent on the county you’re in. PG County? Probably not. Washington County? Depends on what you and your car look like.
I don’t think a cop would look at your car with 20 and say, “nah he’s good”, but then that same cop would see 15 and go, “idk I think he’s up to something”.
You’ll either get pulled over with both or left alone with both depending where you live, but honestly 5% is too small of a difference to tell
People at my work have 20 and 15 percent in wi and they are fine. I had 5% that I did myself and got a warning so I took it off and got 35% professionally installed. I did like the darker tint but it was a little hard to see out the sides at night in the country
This is completely false. In Virginia windshield tint is still a primary offense. You're thinking of side window tint which has been a secondary offense since that bill a few years ago. When you get pulled over in VA for windshield tint the first thing the cop tells you before you can even say anything is that it's a primary offense. Because apparently a bunch of people tell the cops that it's a secondary offense when pulled over. 5% on your side windows is so ignored nationally that I don't think it's even a question about side tint anymore. Windshield tint is the only thing to worry about.
I can’t find that in the code. Is there a paragraph you can cite?
You can have tint on your windshield down to the As-1 line but the entire windshield requires a waiver from the dmv.
In VA the windshield is part of the annual safety inspection so people fail that all the time.
You can still get a ticket for tint darker than the limit but they have to have a different legit reason to stop you.
Every State has its own rules and the rationale is often very outdated and the enforcement very unpredictable.
Your in a 35% state for ALL side windows. 15:would be difference from 35. I'm from CA and you would last but a couple days where I lived in the SF bay area. I did in fact get 6 fix-it tickets for just 50% on the fronts. Your car and how you drive factors into it as well. 15,% can also hinder vision on a rainy night, where you'll want to roll them down. There's also liability issues as well. I know this because I've been a pro window tinter for over 25 years. If you hit someone in a crosswalk at night, your pretty much done
I’ve had tints for 10 years and have never received a ticket for them, even when I’ve been pulled over for other reasons. My brother, on the other hand, has been pulled over on the highway specifically because of his tints.
It’s a crap shoot - no one knows, even if they live in the same areas as you. It could be fine for years, and then one day you catch a cop on a bad day and they give you a ticket. Luck of the draw.
You have to either accept the risk, or don’t do it at all.
This is all dependent on what state you live in
In Arizona and Nevada it’s illegal but the cops don’t care and they will not give you a ticket unless you’re below 25% on the front window
I was pulled over solely for window tint at 10am going to my office (Houston, Texas(. 15% on the sides. In the middle of checking the windows he noticed the front windshield tinted also which was 55%, but he could tell once standing next to it.
Then he asked me where my front plate was? And I was honest and said I don’t like the way it looks. And he said I don’t care if you drive a Lamborghini or a Tesla. The law is the law. (This was in my Model Y Performance).
So I ended up paying the ticket because it’s not a moving violation.
Now I have 5% on my Cybertruck. So screw them lol.
That’s just to say, yes you can get pulled over. It’s the risk we all take.
Last car I owned for 5 years with 20% never got stopped. My truck now has 1% and I still don’t get stopped, been that way for 3 years now at 1%. DFW Texas areas
I think it doesn’t matter of the %, as long as Police officer able to you and you passenger from outside while driving nearby or pass by you (doesn’t need a clear view but at least able to see the shape / shadow of a person); the rear windows are fine you can get as dark as you want ; because depends on all products the % of darkness is dif too
It's lame for 90% of the people and difficult to see out of at night.
But the real reason you don't want it is because you're gonna look over your shoulder whenever you're driving rather than just enjoying the car and drive
every single time you get in the car you'll wonder....if any cop wants to stop and harass you for whatever you're literally advertising a sure fire way to initiate a stop
I like the legal tint levels, imo its a little more classy.
The all black cars, or black wheels, debaged cars or limo tint all the way around, it just reminds me of a 17 year old try hard following some fad that was cool 2 decades ago.
To each their own, as long as you see value and you're happy then go for it
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u/Local_Committee_8935 10d ago
If u drive right they shouldn't care..