Must_Have_Z

So I decided to take my vette back home to visit family over the holiday this past weekend, and I ended up getting pulled over by a state trooper who was initially travelling in the opposite direction as me on a 4-lane divided highway. I got a warning for not having my front plate on, and a big fat $175 fine for the window tint being too dark. He must have really had it out for me to get off the highway, turn around, get back on and track me down. I got the car last spring from Illinois, and their law on tinting is 35% sides and back. The previous owner had the car tinted at 35% years ago. The trooper measures the tint and it is 31% on the sides and 28% on the back. I told him I got the car like this and it was legal in Illinois and asked if I could get a break/warning. No dice. He was a complete ***** about it. I'm not sure if I should fight this or not (legal tint in Wisconsin is 50% sides, 35% back). I respect cops and I had a perfect record until now; I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He really didn't have to be such a jerk though...he didn't want to hear a word from me about it. Whatever. Anyone else have any opinions or experiences in dealing with window tint tickets?

Must_Have_Z

I should mention that I didn't just get a fine; I have to get the tint removed/replaced by next week and have another officer sign off on it. So I'll be out even more $$$. Sucks big time.

BMcD-Z06

Sorry to hear about your ticket trouble. If it's any comfort, you should be able to peel the tint off yourself and use some sort of cleaner to remove any leftover residue. When I was having my RS4 tinted they had a Mini in the shop getting the tints removed for some reason. They simply put a razor under one corner and pulled the whole sheet off. Then get your 50% on the sides done and darker on the back and I bet you will still like the look. Good luck!

tommyn

Where was this? Are you registered in wisconsin? My honey was pulled over for no front plate on her truck recently in Kenosha but issued a verbal warning. I keep my Indiana plate just for this reason.

Chalky

Funny he lets you off with no front plate and burns you with illegal tint. Maybe it is his hot button.

Can you call Asst. DA where you have to pay/appear? See if a deal can be done? I did it with my daughters when they received tickets.

Must_Have_Z

I've read online alot about tint tickets and 99% of the time there's no point in fighting them. Apparently in some states if you "fix" it (remove the tint), the judge will dismiss the fine. But in Wisconsin, there is no such procedure. It is totally up to the cop to give 1) a fine, 2) fix-it order or 3) both. Guess what I got...both. So I'm screwed two ways to Sunday. I have to pay the fine, then pay again. I'm getting the tint removed next week, and I think I'll leave it off until at least next summer. I guess you can't own a nice yellow Corvette around here without at least some of the guys in blue getting all pissy and jealous about it. What upsets me is that I drove by troopers on my way home this entire summer because there was some major road construction near my home and troopers would always be in the median watching. They never so much as gave me a 2nd look. I told this to the cop that pulled me over and asked why he had to pull me over but everyone else was cool with it. He said "it's not my fault their not doing their job." W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R.

DevilDog II

I'm a retired police officer and I seldom drive to Wisconsin for the reasons you mentioned. They're hoping you won't return just to show them you've had the tint removed, so they'll make more money. What a crock!!!!! The only police officer I ever wrote during my career was a cop from Wisconsin.

Canis lupus

It's very clear lately that all law enforcement people have been directed to fine, fine, fine.... bankrupt states trying to make ends meet. My son was in an accident in WI in May. The person in the other car mentioned that they didn't feel well after the accident so the cop writes it on the report. My 21 year old son goes to court... no prior record, no tickets... and loses his license for one month on the spot. He had to pay over $400 for a fine, had to go to defensive driving school... more money out of pocket, had to pay another $60. some bucks to get his licensed reissued.... they didn't send it to him so he had to go to the DMV and pay a few more bucks.

There was no question about any injury before they yanked his license and there is no "burden of proof" about the so-called injury. We tried to get the cops to find out something about the so-called injury as directed by our insurance - they blew us off. The person in court who took his license didn't have anything to say either about the alleged injury.

Bend over and spread em!

DevilDog II

I would think that your insurance company would have looked into the injury and not put the responsibility on the officer. I would have also thought that the officer could have testified in court that the other driver was experiencing back pain, dizziness, etc. Most crash reports are pretty generic when it comes to injuries. Do you know if the other driver filed an injury claim with his/her insurance company?

dmoore

Where is your car registered? WI or IL. I worked for WI State Patrol for a while and moved onto different law enforcement job. WI State Patrol just does trafffic enforcement and thats it, thats their speciality.

If the car is registered in WI I would go to court and show the judge documentation of the window tint and the judges will most likely throw it out. I don't see window tint enforced a lot unless its really dark. Most judges will throw the ticket out.

If its registered in IL send a letter to the District Attorney asking them to dismiss the citation because they can't enforce window tint on a car from out of state.

If you have anymore questions send me a message. That way we can avoid all kinds of people blowing this thread into a cop bashing session and getting it locked.

dmoore

First of all by state statute quotas are illegal in WI and no officer has ever been issued an order by administration to write more tickets! If that happened that would be all over the news!

Second what citation did your son recieve that he lost his license? Did he not have insurance? Tell the whole story on why he lost his license don't blame it on the officer. When we complete the state issued traffic crash report we are required by law to document any type of injury and ambulance request! If the person wants an ambulance we document it!

Must_Have_Z

The car is registered in Wisconsin. The previous owner tinted the windows years ago and does not have the documentation. I don't see how I can beat this ticket unless the officer's light sensor is not calibrated (I believe they have to be calibrated every year). I just think this particular cop went OUT of his way to track me down. I'm not bashing him, persay, I'm just stating my opinion. As I originally posted, he was coming from the opposite direction on a divided 4-lane highway. He actually put others in danger speeding up, getting off the highway, and racing to catch me. I just don't understand why window tint would set him off that much. He obviously had some kind of issue with a really nice car driving down "his" highway with a bit of tint on the windows. It is what it is. I'm not going to dwell on it. He just happened to ruin my Labor Day vacation with family and now I have to not only pay the fine but pay someone else to remove the tint and hopefully not damage the car doing it (it is MINT inside).

Mark_Milner

I stumbled on this thread looking for something else, but I found it interesting.

I hate to sound like the bad guy here, but I don't understand the fuss.

1. You bought a car with too much tint.

2. You register it in Wisconsin, where the amount of tint allowed is much less than what is on your car.

3. You tempt fate a bit more by calling attention to yourself with no front license plate.

4. You got caught and want to complain about it.

OK, it sounds to me that you messed up, got caught, and now you want a get out of jail card. However, if you had fixed the tint when you first got the car, or at least drove with the front license plate on, you might have not been stopped.

So where is your beef?

How is this the cop's fault?

YOU knew the tint was wrong and kept it.

YOU drove without a front plate even though you know you can get caught.

Pay your fine, don't do it again. Otherwise you sound just like those we complain about in CFOT who try to make the world responsible for their mistakes.

I bet you voted for Obama.

Must_Have_Z

1) I don't want a get-out-of-jail card. I *know* the tint wasn't exactly legal in Wisconsin. But why would I spend money and risk damage to have it torn off? I had been looking for a Z06 for 8 years before I bought it last year. I'm not going to risk damage if I don't have to.

2) You can call it complaining if you want. This is a *forum.* It's meant for chatting, collaborating, opinionating, complaining, etc. etc. No? Sheesh.

3) I wasn't exactly tempting fate. I had driven by STATE TROOPERS for 6 months straight during construction on an interstate near my home in Green Bay, and NOT ONE ever so much as gave me a 2nd look. Some even gave me a thumbs up as I drove by. I felt fairly comfortable with the tint and no plate up to that point. I find it VERY inappropriate that the trooper who pulled me over said that the troopers in Green Bay "weren't doing their job." If it was that important, they would have pulled me over long ago.

4) I'm not blaming the cop. I was merely asking the forum for any help or thoughts on the matter.

5) I have NEVER voted for a democrat in my entire life. And NEVER will. I work hard for my money, pay my taxes, and hate big government. Do you?

ruenvs

ttt

purvistechie

You can remove the tint yourself with a little work.
SIDE WINDOWS
1. With a SHARP NEW FLAT RAZOR BLADE start the edge of the tint coming off. After you get it started, the tint will come off in one sheet. You can remove the door panel, but it's not necessary. Just lay a towel on it.
2. Put a little Dawn dish washing soap and water in a spray bottle and mix it up (just a little squirt of dish washing soap).
3. Spray this soap and water mixture on the adhesive left on the window. After a minute you will notice that the adhesive starts to turn a milky white color, this means that it's ready to remove.
4. With a NEW flat razor blade (I cannot stress enough on the NEW), start to scrape the adhesive off. Angle the blade so that it's almost flat to the glass and scrape away. When this blade starts to dull, replace it with a new one. Two per window is not too much.
5. Keep the window wet with the soap and water solution and after you have the window clean, soak the whole thing and blade it again.
6. When done, clean with windex and a clean towel.

BACK WINDOW
1. DO NOT USE A RAZOR BLADE ON THIS WINDOW except to start the edge of the tint for removal. Purchase "3M Adhesive Remover". You can get this at most paint stores.
2. COVER all plastic and interior with towels, the adhesive remover is not kind to plastic! This remover will make your hands a little raw too, but it will not hurt you too much. Maybe try a rubber glove, I never used them though. My 6th finger on my right hand only grew in after many years of doing this. You should be fine.
3. Remove the tint again by starting the tint off with a sharp razor blade. It will remove well by keeping the angle of the tint as you remove it close to the glass. Pulling back on itself. STAY AWAY FROM THE DEFROSTER with the razor!!
4. After you have the tint removed, use a bug sponge or similar to apply the adhesive removal and scrub the window. As you get it started, use MANY paper towels to remove the goop.
5. This is a long process, be patient and take your time. Once you get the adhesive off, clean the window with windex. You may find that you'll need to clean again with adhesive remover in a few areas.

I do know what I'm talking about, I've done this many, many, many times. You can do this yourself, or you can pay a shop to do it. It will cost just short of what the installation cost in the first place. Tint shops get you coming and going!

Be careful, take your time and USE NEW RAZOR BLADES!!! New baldes = no scratches on your glass. Old dull blades WILL SCRATCH YOUR GLASS!

-Good luck!

PM with any questions, I'd be happy to help.

Mike Mercury

window tint... I do have a soft spot for police officers and dark tint. When approaching a car - especially at night - the officer is practically a sitting duck for who ever is inside the vehicle - that he can't see what they are doing (or holding).

The front plate problem... I wish all states would end that requirement.

But one of the cities we provide communications for - their patrol cars are now outfitted with "front plate recognition" cameras. The cameras point backwards; will read the front plate on the car behind them - run the plate - and alert the officer if any W&W's are pending. This is all done automatically.

Must_Have_Z

I don't have a problem with officers enforcing the law. But when I drive by state troopers in one part of the state EVERY SINGLE DAY and they don't stop me, but then get stopped by another trooper in another part of the state and he says that "it's not my fault the troopers near you aren't doing their job", then I have a problem. Either enforce the law or don't. I bought the car with the tint on it. I like tint because it protects my investment (both from the natural elements and prying eyes who might be looking for radar detectors, stereos, etc.).

Responding to the post about taking it off, I know a great tint guy near my home and he took the tint off, cleaned it immaculately and left no trace of anything for only $75. No "straight shooting" tint guy should EVER charge as much to take tint off as to install it.

Anyway, it's not an issue for me anymore. I'll leave the tint off because I don't want to go through that ordeal again.

As for the front plate, I ordered one of those power retractable front plate holders, so I should never have to worry about getting pulled over for that again.

Cocked and Locked

That was quite an ordeal to go through to make the car legal. It's total bullshiite that the popo is enforcing the law. What will be next?

DevilDog II

The tint on your sunglasses.