Maryland police turn efforts to car tinting

[TintDude]

Police turn efforts to car tinting

Darkened windows pose danger to drivers, officers

11/02/07

by bob allen and mike fila

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County police are taking aim at the degree of tinting on car and truck windows.

Within the past nine months, officers in the northwest part of the county have been equipped with five hand-held meters to help enforce state law that addresses what is allowed -- and what is not. The Franklin Precinct has four meters, and Pikesville has one.

Tinted windows are a danger to both drivers and police, said Officer Daniel Krueger, of the Franklin Precinct.

Driving at night becomes more dangerous with excessive window tinting and does not allow drivers to see other cars clearly, he said. He compared window tinting to turning a car's rearview mirror to a night vision setting, a feature on modern cars that cuts down on headlight glare.

Officer safety also was of chief concern.

"When we pull someone over and we can't see what they're doing, that puts us in jeopardy," Krueger said.

State law restricts the degree of window tinting on cars and noncommercial trucks of up to 10,000 pounds. Other jurisdictions have similar laws, but they can vary from state to state.

In Maryland, tinting on the front windshield is allowed only along the top and cannot extend down more than 5 inches. Windows to the immediate left and right of the driver must have at least 35 percent of the light transmission that they would have without tinting.

The 35-percent requirement also applies to rear windows in passenger cars, convertibles and station wagons, but it does not apply to rear windows in limousines and other multipassenger vehicles.

Commercial vehicles can only have add-on tinting on rear windows.

Window tinting was not an issue until fairly recently because few cars or trucks had tinting other than the light film often installed at the factory, said Cpl. Pat Zito, head of the Cockeysville Precinct's traffic enforcement division. The factory-installed tint film is in compliance with both federal and Maryland laws, he added.

Krueger said excessive window tinting is growing more widespread.

Through Oct. 5, 1,073 safety equipment repair orders were issued this year countywide for cars with illegal tinting, according to police.

And, 1,066 citations and 4,430 warnings were handed out countywide for tinting violations between Jan. 1 and Oct. 5.

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[Ryker]

Police turn efforts to car tinting

Darkened windows pose danger to drivers, officers

"When we pull someone over and we can't see what they're doing, that puts us in jeopardy," Krueger said.

Window tinting was not an issue until fairly recently because few cars or trucks had tinting other than the light film often installed at the factory, said Cpl. Pat Zito, head of the Cockeysville Precinct's traffic enforcement division. The factory-installed tint film is in compliance with both federal and Maryland laws, he added.

Krueger said excessive window tinting is growing more widespread.

same old bull excuses for not allowing tinting darker. If the officer can't see in the car then make them get out, open windows, open doors, etc.....

and "until recently" sounds to me that they were not paying attention....

[Guest willie]

Cpl Pat Zito,head of the Cockeysville Precinct

[tint123]

And yet Cops have such keen eyesight that THEY can see other cars at night with their dark arse tint on the front windows ? Yeah, right ! (NOT)

[running free]

And yet Cops have such keen eyesight that THEY can see other cars at night with their dark arse tint on the front windows ? Yeah, right ! (NOT)

Seen dark tinted ghost cars here too. When I worked for a company a few years ago I tinted all kinds of vehicles for the RCMP(Royal Canadian Monted Police) Narcotics Division. They wanted illegal tint 20% to catch the dr*g dealers It's like the blind leading the blind.

[Guest Key West]

Seen dark tinted ghost cars here too. When I worked for a company a few years ago I tinted all kinds of vehicles for the RCMP(Royal Canadian Monted Police) Narcotics Division. They wanted illegal tint 20% to catch the dr*g dealers It's like the blind leading the blind.

Lets see.....A white Crown Vic, A couple of antennae on the trunk, REALLY dark windows, Yep, thats real incognito. NOBODY would guess it's a cop.

[running free]

Never tinted a crown vic, the cars were all different kind, Exlorer, Astro, Monty carlo anything but the typical police car.

[Guest Crackz]

cant we all just get long tint laws suck

[Guest CleanCutter]

Never tinted a crown vic, the cars were all different kind, Exlorer, Astro, Monty carlo anything but the typical police car.

that's how it is where I live. Cover cars are NEVER Vic's, G.Marquis', etc. They use cars like a 1979 Pontiac Parisian painted money green with gold flake and 26" wheels. Old Yugo, light bronze 2005 4dr Accords.... anything that would be last place you'd be looking for a plain clothes cop to be sitting in. I get all the cars since they want no more than more outside person to know what all the undercover cars are (and once one is blown, they junk it and just take another dr*g dealers car).