Interesting thread this.

I guess the reason why there is no law restricting rear tints is beacuse otherwise there would be no vans on the road?!

It seems to me that some people are perhaps missing the point....front window tints may be fine when it's dry and sunny, but what about when it's dark? Can you see that padestrian walk out into the road as you wait at the lights? Can you see the light of an approaching car as you pull out of a junciton? Comments have been made that tints are no worse than sunglasses, but who would wear their sunglasses at night?

Oh, and it's not just cars which are affected by tint laws - motorcycle visors also have to pass a minimum amount of light for obvious reasons.......

 

John, I see where you are coming from but even if the penalty was £60 and 3 points, as it will hopefully be by the end of the year you will still get people flouting it.

Drivers really just don't give a damn about laws nowadays. Some people think it's a god given right to drive and do what they like in their cars. Its not, it's a privilege and people who continually flout the law should be banned.

Re the tints I'm just going on what the Pentagon Supaglass website says.

 

i've never had problems seeing anyone through my tints in my car and they aren't legal.. I see everything going on around me from emergency service vehicles to motorbikes and pedestrians..

Some people don't see these things with their windows open! So are the tints really hindering my ability to drive?? Don't think so

 

SUPRABEAST is right dead right its 99% down to peoples driving what next ban bonnet scoops cos the sun shines in my eyes off mine or a law that says you must were sunglasses on a sunny day and they must be over a % tint because this must be as bad driving during a day without sunglasses as it is driving on a night with tints

 

Exactly. But you're wrong. Ask ANY Police driver. ANY of them. The first one you meet. Your desire to appear "cool", mysterious or whatever it is that you imagine non-legal tints affords you, is over-riding your common sense.

Sorry - harsh but true.

 

Love these sort of threads. They usually polarise into either of

1. [chav] Why don't the police stop picking on motorists driving around safley and go and solve some real crime. They're right scum they are! [\chav]

or

2. [pedant] If you knowingly drive around in an illegal car, don't be surprised if you get nicked for it! Idiot. [\pedant]


Me? Put me down for a number 2, there.

Suresh

Suresh

 

New to scoob, that sounded a very unfair and total abuse of trusted policing powers...

Some excellent words here, there is no question on it really, your concentration when driving and paying attention to the ever changing road conditions is what matters and that will stop accidents. Blaming it on tints is not the way to think about it.

First off my rear window and back windows are tinted glass. This came as standard on my import model. However i felt it looked kinda rubbish with the front sides not tinted so i made my car look better by having them done. Not for cool purposes btw but to make my car look better and NOT me.
And i think plenty of people on here modify there car to look better and not to make themselves look better or cool as you put it.
Im sure when people here buy a high WRC wing or have a morette headlamp conversion are doing this for the car and not themselves.
The very same with my front tints.

Im glad you mentioned this.
I posted some info regarding this a few months back now and this only supports the idea that there is a two tier style of policing going on, one that works how it wants for the police and one that does what it does to the public.

Here was the thread back then:

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=294155





Im sorry but i doubt anyone here could say that the front side windows on those police cars let in 70% light.
Which then leads me to my belief of the two tier system in place against our motorist.

Thanks for the link Nathan BTW.

 

DJ No probs. Have used Pentagon and they are very good, but bloody expensive.

Knowing that this law is in place I would refuse to drive a police vehicle with tints.

Agree that the Galaxy is probably not legal. Not sure about the Rover, looks more like a crap photo. Haven't seen a Rover police car in years! lol.

 

When I bought my import Scoob a few years back, one of the first things I did to it were to remove the rear tints. I've no idea what level they were, but I couldn't tell if a car following was a Police car during the day and, at night, I could see almost nothing out of the rear windows. Even overtaking on the motorway during the day was difficult because the visibilty was so bad. Personally, I think dark tints are dangerous on the rear windows, let alone the front windows/windscreen. Even with the residue still on the windows I could see more than I could with the tints (obviously I cleaned it off before driving).

As for sunglasses, most of them come with instructions saying whether or not they are suitable for driving. Even my 200 quid Oakleys aren't supposed to be worn when driving.

DJ, can you imagine the amount of lines a traffic cop gets from motorists? I wouldn't be surprised if he's heard the "my kids are ill" kind of line many times before.

Furthermore, there was a report recently of a guy in a people carrier, on holiday with his family, who was forced to call a tow truck (at great expense) because the tints were too dark. It sounds to me like this copper let you off lightly.

 

Isn't DJ Watts the blackpool cruise orginiser????????

 

Got mine done recently and had v.light tint on the front to stay legal, slightly darker rear sides and a bit darker still on the rear quarters and rear screen.

Although I deliberately had mine done to stay legal, I think it looks great with just tha bit of tint and wouldn't really want to go darker anyway.

Also would have thought that as with most vehicle defects that you would have 7 days to rectify the fault ? Surely if the complaint is the car is dangerous then wind the window down and drive home like that. Can you really be made to have the car trailered home or forced to rip the stuff off on the spot ? Or is this just some copper getting a bit carried away ?

 

Yes you can, PG9 (Prohibition of vehicle movement).

 

Now fanny you should say that - I was bored a couple of weeks ago at the Donny South and there was a Jelly Mold (Ford Focus) with some really effing cool tint's and a mobby number - being a total **** I wrote the number down wrong, but the film was sort of a uridium (sorryies if I'z spelt it wong) look from outside and a semi tint from inside, if I manage to get hold of the details I'll post and PM.

 

Yes it is but with a now unorganised scooby...

I just hope the 50% tint looks right against the rest of the glass tint and also does not look too bad if/when i pass a police car to warrant a stop n check.
If so then everyone is happy i guess.

This light reactive glass sounds interesting. I know they have the technology on spectacles to do this but heard reports about trouble porting this over to larger glass like car windows...

 

So are your front tints legal or illegal?

 

Drive into an inner city ghetto and there are loads of pimped out cars which have no tax, no insurance. I see them driving round all time. Yet do the police bother with them???

Personally the officer involved could off used some discretion and told you to remove them at a suitable time rather than being a young Adolf. Is it any wonder attitudes like this alienate the public???

I suppose they have a job to do giving out tickets on double yellows and 35s in 30 zones but For F8cks sake show some lenacy!!! This man gives you charity in the form of a bun and a cup of tea!!!

 

Why didnt you just remove the rear tints to match? ...you'd have been legal & wouldnt have looked like a Chav/Pimp/tart <delete as necessary>

 

TelBoy, what car do you drive and do you ever speed?

 

A fast car and yes.

But speeding is an occupational hazard, unless you want to get *really* high horsey about it. Deliberately impairing your vision for the sake of an image is just bloody stupid, isn't it?? You tell me.

 

What difference would that make to the price of a box of cornflakes

LMAO at people covering old ground.

 

scratch where did you get your tints done in the end ?. Miune are border line legalish, im just waiting to be pulled and then will have a slightly lighter one fitted.

 

I don't know TelBoy, I don't try to differentiate between one illegal act and another, although because speeding carries a 3 point endorsement I would suggest that the law sees that as the more serious offence.

I've often heard government officials citing that "speed kills", but never tints and maybe people in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones.

 

Sorry but does a policeman really need the law explaining to him? I thought it was only serious crime that you lot were confused about.

 

Ooooooooh, says the newbie with 3 posts, or are you trying to hide your real username? I wonder.

No I don't need the law explaining from someone who doesn't think before posting. Tints would also get you points if the officer chose to prosecute you for using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

Do you honestly know what I do in a day?

Before you try and make me look stupid on a public BBS do some research.

Lol.

 

Ooooooh! Handbags at dawn then

My first Subaru was part tinted prior to it being lifted from the dealers, didn't seem to impair the vision of the two wonkers that stole it!

Oh & never bothered on the replacement as I thought it looked gay

 

FFS, lighten up! 3 posts and already into a slagging match!

 

No not trying to hide anything, even new members have to make their first posts somewhere and this seemed as good a thread as any.



Yes tints could get me points, but speeding would get me points. So my point to TelBoy before you decided your butt in was that he may believe tints are a more serious than the speeding he does on a daily basis, but the law doesn't seem to agree with him and so his criticism is a little hypocritical.



I didn't try to make you look stupid, I'm sure you don't need my help to achieve that.

 

The fact that I've been here for less posts than anyone else doesn't make my opinion any less relevant. And for the record it was the copper that started the slagging match (as usual).

 

I think this has well covered all aspects of tints now. Locked