So I've been having conversations with some friends about this and would like some more opinions from others.

I live in California, and here it's legal to have whatever amount of tint in the rear windows but illegal to have any tint in the front windows. So let's say I'm driving with my front windows down (doesn't matter if they're tinted or not). Can a police officer pull me over for "suspicion" of illegal front window tint SOLELY BASED on the fact that you have legal rear tint?

Now let's say a police officer pulls me over for a moving violation while I have my front windows down (once again, doesn't matter if they're tinted). I keep them down the entire time and the police officer says "I see you have tint in the rear windows, do you have tint in the front windows?"

So my question is, do you have to answer that? Can you claim a violation of the 5th amendment if you answer that?

Or better yet, is it legal for him/her to assume that you have illegal front window tint based on having legal rear window tint?

And if he/she asks you to roll up your windows, do you have to roll them up given the previous (He/she has no basis for assuming you have illegal front tint)?

Are you in your legal right to do this?

 

just "f" the police man, you'll never win.. lol

trust me, i'm 12 tickets deep in this one year..

 

It's at your discretion to cooperate with him, but he can take you in for not cooperating... lol. Catch 22 situation. From my personal experience, if you are professional with them, they will mention that you should get it removed, but won't cite you... but it will definitely depend on the actual officer you're dealing with.

 

I agree ^^ with above recommendation for best results.

I have 35% tint on front windows (and rears) of my Lexus sedan and 50% tint on front windows of my Ford SUV and no problem with cops in CA. Although I'm fortunate to have a cop in the family that will sign-off if I do happen to get such a fix-it ticket, but it's been a non-issue in last decade with tint setup described.

IMO, using a dark 20% tint on any windows of a sedan is just asking to be noticed by law enforcement, not recommended.

 

Is this common practice among socal cops? Never heard of this happening. To me it's more outta sight, outta mind.

 

it's best to just be cordial and do as they say. they may or may not sniff out your ride even more based on attitude, and, especially given the economy today, you can bet that if you are unpleasant or rude to them, they'll find other little things to get you on. i always thought it was enough to just simply have my fronts rolled down whenever a cop is nearby, but i'm not sure if having the rears tinted alone will draw them to potentially ticketing you for front window tint.

 

I can answer the questions for you:

1. No, he can not pull you over based on suspicion of having tinted front windows.

2. No, you don't have to answer, but you don't have "5th Amendment" protection. He can put your windows up to check. He does not need a reason to check. He can walk around your car to look for other violations.

3. He does not have to assume, he can put your windows up if you refuse, and he can walk around your car to look for other violations.

4. Read 2 and 3.

5. I guess you can refuse, but he can put your windows up to check anyway. Understand that he can make you get out of your car for ANY reason and make you stand on the side of the road, sit on the curb, or sit in the back of his car. If you refuse to get out of your car, you will go to jail--I'd take you to jail.


You can have tinted front windows. I think the light penetration is 70% or higher---that's a light tint!!--this is for CA.

....I'm a deputy for LA County

 

 

Very Nice! and Thank You for the clarification 'stick'.

For #5, the officer asking you to get out of the car, is that because you refused to roll the windows up, or could he ask you to step out because you wanted to remain silent on the tint question? Or does it not even matter what the reason is?

I guess my concern was whether or not it is right/justifiable for him/her to ask if you had something illegal based on having something legal. That's what I was trying to get across.

I see now that it makes sense for the police officer to inspect your car with no basis, just like there are inspection points for heavy duty trucks. Your car has to be compliant all the time while on the road.

I have the deepest respect for police officers and would never refuse to get out of the car if he/she asked me to.

I had a situation similar to this last year when an officer asked me if I had window tint in my front windows because I had tint in my rear windows. So, not looking to cause problems, I just wanted to understand what my legal rights were in a situation like this.

 

5. An officer does not need any justification to ask/make you get out of your car--and you will have to. As for asking questions, well, he can ask anything. It may seem unusual, but maybe that officer was fishing to see if he can write you another ticket on top of the reason why he pulled you over.

Here's an example of a me pulling someone over for speeding or whatever:

"Hi, I pulled you over because you were going about 50 in this 30mph zone. Are you on parole or probation? Do you have a valid driver license? Do you have weapons or dope in the car?" Then 99% percent of the time I'll get ALL occupants out of the car and put them in my patrol car.

Now I could walk around the car and see there is a broken headlight, no front plate, a missing passenger side mirror, and the rear passenger tire is bald. I pulled him over for speeding and now I can write these additional tickets. I can't pull him over simply to inspect his car and then write him the tickets without having a reason to pull him over (such as speeding).

 

Okay, once again thank you 'stick' for your responses. But I just have one more question to ask.

So why do I see inspection check points for commercial trucks all the time? There's a CHP officer in my area that stations himself under a bridge and pulls over random trucks that come off the freeway off ramp and gives them a full inspection. I know this because it has happened numerous times to my father and his coworkers.

Thank You.

 

Nice to see this perspective on the site.

Great to see your participation, even in spite of the typical internet tough guy talk towards law enforcement.

 

I hope you're not inferring that I am a "typical internet tough guy" talking down towards law enforcement. I'm glad an actual deputy could answer my questions and get a definite answer to my questions.

I think I brought up a legitimate question whether or not it is right/justifiable for a police officer to ask if you had something illegal based on having something legal.

 

I think what Stick is trying to tell you is once an officer has you pulled over for doing something illegal (like speeding, etc), then it's game on for him/her to start looking for anything else wrong with you or your vehicle.

 

The inspection process, as well as what they look for, for trucks in totally different than what is looked for on cars. As truckers we are CONSTANTLY under scrutiny for violations of ANY sort (bulb out,,all the way up to shoddy equipment). Reason being is that it is a money maker and tickets for trucks generate higher fines. Trucker here.