New Jersey Tint Ticket

[im2smart4u20]

So today, at 12 am EST I was issued a tint ticket... at night and all of my windows are tinted. Here's how it happened. As I was returning home from my girlfriends house, I decided to stop at a gas station to refill my car. As that was done and over with, I noticed a bunch of cop cars the recently pulled over two other cars in a different parking lot. I thought it was no big deal as to think that there was no way that a cop would tell if someone had tint at night. Unfortunately, it's possible. As i pulled out of the lot, I noticed that the cops finished issuing their tickets to the other cars. I drove by about 3-4 other cop cars. This one cop decided to make a complete u-turn and follow behind me, including his other officers. It was a two lane road and I was stopped at a stop light. A cop pulls up beside me and i rolled down my windows and said "hello officer" and rolled it back up. As soon as that happened, the stop light turned green and sadly the cop behind me flashed his lights. What I don't understand though is how the heck did the officers see that I had tinted windows? There was no streetlights or any sort of light to shine on my car. I know I won't be able to fight this, but has anyone had this issue before?

[S Blieft]

Was the gas station completely unlit?
Why on earth did you acknowledge the officer?

and yes, it's very easy to tell if someone has tint at nite.

[im2smart4u20]

Was the gas station completely unlit?
Why on earth did you acknowledge the officer?

and yes, it's very easy to tell if someone has tint at nite.

I know it was completely stupid of me to acknowledge the officer, but in my mind there was nothing wrong going on and i wanted to show that nothing suspicious was happening within the vehicle. Though, through my police academy training, my instructors always said not to confront an officer on duty. Though i don't think it would of mattered much anyway. And the gas station wasn't completely lit. I was at a spot where there was no lights at all as the cop made a u-turn, thinking he was lucky that I had tint because there was definitely no way he could tell.

[KOMO1211]

are we talking tint from the car company or aftermarket ie 5%...short answer yes, its rather easy to see if you have tinted windows at night. you look at a car and it looks like a black hole rolling down the road its pretty easy to tell lol.

[Kulanae]

So I assume you have your front windows tinted? From tintlaws.com, NJ allows any level of tint on rear and back windows. Should have just rolled down your front window and left it down.

[Bigbazz]

I wasn't aware that tinted windows were illegal in some places, what's the point in having them if they are illegal? Here if something is wrong/off with your car the police are more likely to give you a warning and a period within which you have to fix the problem, rather than just book you right on the spot.

Our system works very different though I imagine.

[Porra]

I wasn't aware that tinted windows were illegal in some places, what's the point in having them if they are illegal?

Ive got 5% tint on my truck and in my opinion it makes the truck look good during the day, but I will say at night its a huge pain in the ass, especially in neighborhoods with minimal lighting. I usually roll my windows down at night just to be able to see out of them, and it becomes border line unbearable in winter at night when Im driving the streets at 10 degrees with my windows down.

[Kulanae]

Police are concerned with tinted front windows. The driver could have a weapon and shoot them through the window. A reasonable concern.

---------- Post added 2013-05-11 at 12:21 AM ----------

Ive got 5% tint on my truck and in my opinion it makes the truck look good during the day, but I will say at night its a huge pain in the ass, especially in neighborhoods with minimal lighting. I usually roll my windows down at night just to be able to see out of them, and it becomes border line unbearable in winter at night when Im driving the streets at 10 degrees with my windows down.

I plan on getting much darker tint than that. WA limits to allowing 35% light pass-through. I plan on doing the legal limit.

[Deleted]

I wasn't aware that tinted windows were illegal in some places, what's the point in having them if they are illegal? Here if something is wrong/off with your car the police are more likely to give you a warning and a period within which you have to fix the problem, rather than just book you right on the spot.

Our system works very different though I imagine.

Probably some safety issue I reckon.

[sheffield]

fyi: even if you get the legal 35%, some windows come slightly tinted from the factory, so it will read higher than the legal amount if they use the measuring tool

I plan on getting much darker tint than that

you have it backwards, 5% is percentage of light, not percentage of darkness

[Jankage]

I live in NE and tint laws here are 35/20/20, I went with 20% all the way around on my 370Z to keep it a uniform look and have never had any issues during 2 years of ownership. It's kind of the same thing with not using a front license plate in states that require it. I also have never had a front license plate on my car until recently (it is required in Nebraska), but my car came from the factory without the mounting bracket installed and I didn't want to drill in the bumper to add the license plate so I always told myself I would just get a "fix-it" ticket if I ever got pulled over for it.

A friend at work had been drinking a bit and was pulled over on his way home for not having a front plate which almost got him a DUI, so in the end I bought a $70 kit that screws into the tow hook on the bumper to mount the license plate rather than drilling. It's just better to not giving any more reason for them to pull you over than need be.

Rolling down your window and talking to an officer is definitely never a good idea.

TLDR; tint limits are usually ignored in the majority of states, but if you're out around bar close time or you run into an officer on a bad day you might get stopped for it.

[chazus]

A cop pulls up beside me and i rolled down my windows and said "hello officer" and rolled it back up.

This right here is SUPER SHADY. Like, that's seriously strange behavior. That's almost reason enough to look for something odd. Beyond that, it's easier to see tinted windows if they're partly rolled down.

The irony is in your forum name.

[drwelfare]

Where I live they have been holding roadblocks and citing for anything including tint. I doubt you would win if you fought it, and what is the ticket amount?
At least they let you drive home, here sometimes they will say the car is unsafe and it has to be towed.

[Spectral]

I have no idea what's in it for you to have tinted windows. Classic dumb punk move - violating a law for no particular reason, trying to appear cool. Throw in the antagonistic "hello officer", and there was essentially no chance you weren't getting a ticket.

[Fahrenheit]

fyi: even if you get the legal 35%, some windows come slightly tinted from the factory, so it will read higher than the legal amount if they use the measuring tool



you have it backwards, 5% is percentage of light, not percentage of darkness

In NJ you can't have ANY tint on the front driver or passenger window or the windshield. You can have pretty much anything on the rear windows or the trunk window though.

[im2smart4u20]

The irony is in your forum name.

Yeah, guess it was a completely stupid move to pull. The officer was WAY suspicious as he asked me to roll down my back window all the way from his SUV. As he looked in the back seat, I had my Cape May County Police Academy booklet facing in his direction and I noticed that he lightened up and saw that I was in training. The suspicion level dropped.

Where I live they have been holding roadblocks and citing for anything including tint. I doubt you would win if you fought it, and what is the ticket amount?
At least they let you drive home, here sometimes they will say the car is unsafe and it has to be towed.

Every tint ticket in NJ is $45.

[Porcell]

Did you really ask how they could tell you have tint because it was at night? If there is any sort of ambient light whatsoever, it's pretty trivial to see if a car has tinted windows or not.

[im2smart4u20]

Did you really ask how they could tell you have tint because it was at night? If there is any sort of ambient light whatsoever, it's pretty trivial to see if a car has tinted windows or not.

None whatsoever. I even went back to where the cop saw me and pulled over at the area. I stepped out of my car and saw if there was any chance of telling if there was tint at all. Come to find out, I couldn't even tell if there was any.

[Gheld]

Where I live the tinting laws suck.

70 front (front windshield and front driver and passenger side windows) 30 for the rear.

EDIT: legal tint here ends up looking silly on 2 door compacts.

[Hooked]

In states where window tint on the side windows is illegal, it just gives the cops a reason to pull you over. Once they pull you over they can check you for other violations, such as dui.