window tints

[shane21]

hi-i recently sold my old 316i to my old man,i had the glass proffesionally tinted,the 2 front sides are lighter than both the rear sides,and the rear screen,its just that i dont know whats legal and whats not?-a friend on my old man recently got pulled over the day she bought her new volvo and got an on the spot £30 fine for havin too dark a tint!!!????-and this was a brand new volvo fresh off the forecourt!!!-so where does my old man stand?-i mean its passed 3 mot's with the windows tinted-and what about the unmarked plod cars that go around with tinted glass?-limo's etc,or is it just my local plod being a pain?-does anyone know how drak/light they should be?-my old mans doin my nut in!!

[aceraf]

the last quoted figures were that the front (i.e. passenger and drivers windows) must allow 70% light through (rear's can be as dark as you like)....i read that in a leaflet found in a police station (no i hadn't been arrested!)

However, i've since heard from all my local tint place's that tinting the front windows is ILLEGAL regardless of how light they are....

whenever i've had my cars done since, i've had to get them done with no receipt (no come-backs to company), and they would only tint them 30%....which at first looks shite, but is more practical than getting them all smoked, as anyone who's had alloys on their car, and tints will testify to!

[shane21]

cheers for that aceraf

[aceraf]

best bet would be to remove the front one's if the plod are picky round your area....
i drove my last car with the front's lightly smoked for 3 years and never once got any hassle!

on the other hand, aslong as your old man doesn't drive like a lunatic, and doesn't come across any coppers having a bad day, then he should be okay!

your call!

[tomtomiS]

i had midnight on the rear windows of mine a few years back, with a lighter tint on the front windows. one evening i performed prohibited right turn out of a dodgy junction and roared off up the road happy that i had saved a few minutes on my journey. then a minute later i saw dull blue lights flashing through the rear screen. u guessed it, the coppers were actually behind me at the time of the offence and i didnt have a clue they were there! they didnt say anything about the tints they were more concerned about the 318i badge on my 316. i had the last laugh tho as my car wasnt taxed and they didnt check and let me on my way with a bollocking and a lecture about how people like me could have caused an accident if there were other cars coming downthe road!

[shane21]

ive just been on a website regarding this-ALL forward windows including the front sides arnt allowed any film that lowers the % of light thru,all companies that offer a tinting service are being encouraged to contact all custumers dating back to 2004!!-and are advised to offer removal of said tinting,having said that it also says that if a vehicle is seen driving on public roads and consequently pulled over if -'once the tints have been measured using an appropriate device'-are deemed to be illegal the officer/s in question are advised to give a temporary prohibition order whereby within a deemed number of days the owner of the vehicle has to have the tints removed,then inspected and approved to be able to go un-prosecuted.But my question now is this-does anyone know,or heard of the local traffic plod carrying these 'light measuring devices' in there cars etc-because as i see it-them just sayin 'your window tints dont let thru the minimum of 30% light,and issuing you with an on the spot fine is wrong?-unless the officer has some special bloody eyeballs!!!!