Call for Action - Chicago Window Tint Ticket

^ except the OP most likely didn't follow the code where he lives. 50% film on factory tinted cars (which would be within code) isn't dark at all.

50% isn't bad during the day but at night with dark interior and blacked out rear windows the visual difference can be quite drastic. Back when I used to sell tint I would try to advise customers to consider the color of their car, # of windows in the car and the size of those windows, color of their interior and color of their skin. 50% tint on a white Prius (lots of windows to let in light), with light interior and a pale person driving can be dramatically lighter than 50% tint on a new Cadillac with few and tiny windows, with black interior and a dark-skinned person driving. I've seen this comparison many times. Now imagine the former in a dimly lit parking lot or rural country road.

I'm not saying you are wrong. I'm just trying to pain a picture of reality.

You do have a point. Illinois doesn't allow for blacked out rear windows either (must allow at least 35% aggregate all around), so I seriously doubt the OP would have been targeted had he actually followed the code. The OP and everyone else are just barking up the wrong tree.

Yikes are we still hung up here 35% is the amount of light that passes through and can only be checked with a meter. The tint used that is legal allows 35% period a reputable shop knows which shade allows this when applied to a vehicles windows as they have checked with a meter. Rear windows or ones behind the front door windows are dark on most suvs from the factory but i guess some people think they are illegal and need to be replaced ??? Most people need to get a life or a job in washington the mecca and magnet for screwups.

I don't know about Illinois, but in California tint shops apply illegal tints on the front side windows all the time and don't care as long as they inform the customer of the illegality. Customers shop by film percentage, like I want that Pinnacle 35.

This is yet another SUV exemption to passenger car safety standards.

It is one of those things that originally affected only a small niche, and had a legitimate purpose. Then the Big 3 subsequently drove half their market through these loopholes, and politically blocked all attempts to close the loopholes.

Most voters only want to close other people's loopholes, not the ones they enjoy for themselves.

huh? according to the OP, chicago doesn't allow for any window tint. wouldn't seem to matter how dark the tint was he got.

Vehicle code! Ohio no inspect! Pennsylvania inspect! Are Ohio vehicles not allowed in Pennsylvania? Duh! You are citing cases having to do with Federal law! Interstate commerce! Speeding is not vehicle code! Again I ask, Are Ohio cars not allowed in Pennsylvania? Are they ticketed. The answers are yes they are allowed in and no they have never been ticketed for lack of inpection!

So don't bring your car to Pennsylvania because we require vehicle inpection and a sticker on the windshield to prove it. Stay in California! What a laugh!

While that's true, I suspect the OP was using a 35% film, which on top of ~75% factory tinted glass results in an aggregate of ~26%, which isn't within Illinois code. Had he used 50% film all around (staying above an aggregate of 35%), he may not have been targeted as 50% tint is still very light and hardly looks any different from factory tinted glass especially in the daytime. 26% can look pretty dark and is a much easier target in Chicago.

I've never driven there, and don't plan to, so I don't really care.

But is an inspection sticker required to drive a vehicle on a public road in PA, or merely to renew a vehicle registration in that state? If the later -- which was the case when I lived in an inspection state -- then out of state vehicles are exempted because they don't need PA registrations.

Annual vehicle inspection at an authorized inspection station by a licensed inspection mechanic. Sticker is placed on windshield. If not up to date a ticket can and probably will be issued. Vehicle code!

Re other states' laws, some don't require a front plate. Afaik, drivers with out-of-state plates here aren't being ticketed for not having a front plate. Although I'm not sure our cops ticket many people, anyway, for "enhancement" laws...just speeding. I see a lot of headlight and taillight tint around.

Pennsylvania vehicle code, chapter 175, Vehicle Equipment and Inspection

175.4 inspection requirement applies only to registered vehicles (In state? out of state? not clear).
175.7 gives a 10 day grace period for vehicles that have been out of state 30 days or more.
175.8 coordinates the inspection with the staggered registration system. If a visiting vehicle is not getting re-registered in PA ...
175.9 indicates that vehicles registered in another state may, not shall, be inspected.

As a part time PA resident, I'm sure you can find the actual text of this code.

[SIZE=+1]§ 175.9. [/SIZE]Vehicles registered in another state.

A vehicle registered in another state may be inspected. A certificate of inspection shall be issued only if the vehicle meets inspection requirements.


You might notice it says "may be inspected" not "must be inspected" because they can't require it. It is not legal to impose the PA vehicle code on vehicles from another state!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You just don't get it!