Whining Thread: Annoyed By Tinted Window Debacle In New Jersey

I know I'll take heat and insults for this admittedly whining rant but so be it. My dealer, Toyota Of Morristown, offered a window tint option through them in August 2011 which I paid $299. for and which included tint on ALL side windows which I wanted to reduce interior heat, then unaware of the NJ window tint laws. I picked up my Prius in Sept. 2011, assuming all was legitimate with it. This past February, I was ticketed by an officer of the Hanover Township, NJ police force when I drove through their DMV checkpoint for having front driver and passenger side tinted windows, which I then learned are ILLEGAL in NJ. I was fined $54. and had to spend an unnecessary over 2 1/2 hours in court because that officer, #0761, Paul Gundersdorf, screwed up the ticket with a mandatory court appearance. Not only did he not apologize for his snafu, but local Judge Bryan O'Toole was unsympathetic and condescending when I tried to explain the facts. Moreover, I'm seething that an awful lot of drivers seem to be getting away with dark front tinted windows by having either PBA or "Go" cards apparently often issued to family members of cops to present if they get pulled over. I'm trying to get my dealer to get to the bottom of the 3rd party tinter's error but I already had them pull off the front side window tint since I felt I'd be ticketed again. I HATE the car without the tint in front; it's a lot hotter inside when parked in the sun now. Did I need to do that or should I have tried to get a PBA card with a donation to the local cops, also? I hate the idea of the PBA card; it's basically favoritism and denotes unfair enforcement of the law. However, full tinted windows are everywhere in NJ, despite the law. It amazes me that as long as I've been around, I didn't know about PBA cards or police shields on car windshields. I plan to make a complaint to the PD and the judge about my court appearance but I also plan to dig into the PBA card issue and whether it's being applied in my area. What do any of you think of this? Do you think I'm being ridiculous? Thought I'd take some heat for this but I'm soliciting opinions. It seems aftermarket window tinters will do all windows, regardless of the illegality of the fronts.

 

My expectation was that if the dealer offered it, it was legal. It didn't even occur to me at that time that front sides weren't legal. I think it's reasonable to expect dealers to offer only legally approved options in their region. Maybe that's genuinely naive of me but that's how it was. It was inconceivable to me they'd be allowed to sell an illegal option.

 

I'm waiting for a reply from the dealer on how the 3rd party contracted went about it. At this point, I'm just asking for an explanation before I take other steps. It seems from what I've just heard from others if you go directly to a 3rd party or aftermarket tinter, they will advise you. However, with me, it went through the dealer because the car was already in the build state when it was selected. The dealer didn't advise me and seemed shocked when I told them I was ticketed. One of the sales staff even lied to me; saying the laws were a grey area and were in the process of being changed, something the police vehemently denied.

 

I drive most responsibly, always with a belt on and just below the limit. I was pulled over solely for the window tint at a DMW checkpoint conducted by the local police. Maybe the officer cited was in a bad mood or under the gun to make a quota. But he got an earful of my own mood later on in court when I bitched about how he handled the ticket. He didn't get me for my driving; both hands always on the wheel and never using a cellphone.

 

And that's the problem I have with the entire process. All responsibility is on the driver, even if he or she is ignorant of the laws. The vendors can sell things that can't legally be used in that state; what is fair and reasonable about that? I know it may seem incredible to most of you that at nearly age 58, I don't know about this stuff but it's true. I had no idea about any of this prior to my ticketing. That's what I find most frustrating; that everyone else I talk to DOES seem to know. How did I miss this in over 40 years of driving? I'm not some teenager who wants to look cool; I just wanted my car to be cooler inside when sitting in the hot sun. This was in lieu of getting the Solar Roof option which wasn't readily available in cars within my preferred price range.

 

I think your assessment here is likely spot on accurate and had I gone directly to the 3rd party. I'm sure this whole flap would've been avoided. I'm sure being ticketed for this is rather rare since it took over 17 months for it to happen to me. The checkpoint was surely a revenue trap where they were looking for anything. My biggest beef is that ticketing for this seems rather arbitrary and is likely exempt for cops' family members, friends and likely, PBA big donors; a blatantly unfair practice. And I didn't like the attitude of the cited officer or the municipal judge on the ticket screwup. That's no way to treat an otherwise law-abiding taxpaying resident who was simply uninformed.

 

Agreed. Problem was it went to the tinter through the dealer without my getting any skinny about the regulations first.

 

And that's how it should be. There should be NO PBA card. Nobody should be exempt from the laws, INCLUDING family members and friends of cops and judges. There should be no favoritism or nephotism; NO exceptions. One guy I talked to at my gym drives a BMW with full tint, NO front plate and the back plate covered with dark film but he's related to a cop so he gets out of tickets with his "Go" card. His car is blatantly illegal but he gets out of it as a cop's family member. I find this to be outrageous and morally unacceptable. I guess most of you just shrug if off.