Busted for Illegal Tint Out of State. Need Your Help!

Motodrew

Motodrew

Well-Known LVC Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
234
Reaction score
0
Location
Council Bluffs
Well on a road trip through Iowa I got busted for illegal tint. Iowa evidently requires 70% light to come through where Nebraska requires only 35%. Well I spoke with the county prosecutor of the county I was issued the fine and they are willing to wave the ticket if I can provide photos of the removal of the tint. That is where you guys come in.

I need a photo or two of a Black LS with no tint on the front side windows. There can be tint on the back windows however. Preferably something up close enough you cannot view the wheels/bumbers or anything else that would distinguish the differences of our vehicles. I hope you guys can help me out. I appreciate it!

d r e w
 
Motodrew said:
Well on a road trip through Iowa I got busted for illegal tint. Iowa evidently requires 70% light to come through where Nebraska requires only 35%. Well I spoke with the county prosecutor of the county I was issued the fine and they are willing to wave the ticket if I can provide photos of the removal of the tint. That is where you guys come in.

I need a photo or two of a Black LS with no tint on the front side windows. There can be tint on the back windows however. Preferably something up close enough you cannot view the wheels/bumbers or anything else that would distinguish the differences of our vehicles. I hope you guys can help me out. I appreciate it!

d r e w
Click to expand...

I think you should talk with a lawyer about this one. Provided that you have Nebraska tags and have not moved to Iowa you should not be ticketed for the tint. If your car is legal in the state it is registered in you should not be liable for that law in another state (ie. every car that drives into California does not have to go through smog inspection just to enter the state, only if it is registered there.... another example here in Arkansas you are only required to have a rear license plate but if the car were registered in Missouri it would have to have both front and rear, I dont add a front plate every time I drive into MO). Someone correct me if I am wrong but this only seems logical to me. Is your tint legal in your home state?

n8
 
gt95coupe said:
:I I cant stand bullcrap like that some cops think just b/c they have a car and gun they can do crap like that
Click to expand...

Dude, it's not about cops, so get over it. Try to be constructive. There's a legitimate error that extends all the way to the county prosecutors office. The prosecutor probably realizes the error and is looking for a quick way out without anyone loosing face, including the vehicle owner. He probably figured this was the best way out. Worse case scenario is he can appeal it and he'd win hands down in court.
 
n8bachelor said:
I think you should talk with a lawyer about this one. Provided that you have Nebraska tags and have not moved to Iowa you should not be ticketed for the tint. If your car is legal in the state it is registered in you should not be liable for that law in another state (ie. every car that drives into California does not have to go through smog inspection just to enter the state, only if it is registered there.... another example here in Arkansas you are only required to have a rear license plate but if the car were registered in Missouri it would have to have both front and rear, I dont add a front plate every time I drive into MO). Someone correct me if I am wrong but this only seems logical to me. Is your tint legal in your home state?

n8
Click to expand...
:I I cant stand bullcrap like that some cops think just b/c they have a car and gun they can do crap like that
 
Correct, if your car is legal for the state it is registered, then you are not in violation. Otherwise, states could make up silly laws like all red cars are illegal on days that end in "Y".

Call the county prosecutor back and ask him to check with your state about it's current tint laws.
 
I asked them about these scenarios. I felt that one state had to respect another states laws, however she told me this isn't the first time and if you bring your vehicle into the state you have to abide with their laws. I also got questioned on my liscence plate tinted cover too but he let that slide as long as I removed it soon.

I have also been told to go to my local doctor. He can provide a quick doctor's excuse for the tint with the reasoning of sensitive skin or somethin. Anyone heard of this?

I still need pictures just in case....

thanks.
 
Acutually your eye doctor can also help you on this too. You can say your eyes are sensetive to light.
 
Motodrew said:
I asked them about these scenarios. I felt that one state had to respect another states laws, however she told me this isn't the first time and if you bring your vehicle into the state you have to abide with their laws. I also got questioned on my liscence plate tinted cover too but he let that slide as long as I removed it soon.

I have also been told to go to my local doctor. He can provide a quick doctor's excuse for the tint with the reasoning of sensitive skin or somethin. Anyone heard of this?

I still need pictures just in case....

thanks.
Click to expand...

Dude,

Get a lawyer or got court and fight it.. I bet it will be dropped. If this was the case every time I drive thru the state I am illegal. My car is tinted to MO laws and registered in MO. Your car has to meet the state laws that it registered in.

Mike is 100% correct, besides he has background in law.. :D
 
haha...just pay the ticket. I've gotten 4 of them...2 in my camaro and 2 in my LS. Unless its over $200 I'd just pay the ticket and call it a day...
 
Consult with a lawyer to save money have him advice you on sending a written correspondance to the court. I agree with other posts here. Statutory laws are just that. When I was a teenager I had "secret zone" tint that was an absolute beauty - it was only 3% transmission. It was illeagal in my state but I was in school and there was nothing the local authorities could do about it as long as I was in their state. I don't know if things have changed but I went to court and told the local judge just that - you don't have jurisdiction. He was reluctant but he had to concede. But, I strongly suggest you consult with an attorney (not retain).

One more thing, most states allow a state trooper to sign off on those tickets. My neighbor just finds his best-friend state trooper whenever he gets a tint violation to sign the citation saying the tint is removed. Check around.
 
I've got a midnight gray metallic car or I'd help.

Life is too short. Get a pic. Send it in. Have a nice day.

You have to choose your battles and an out of state BS tint ticket is not one worth fighting.
 
Motodrew said:
I have also been told to go to my local doctor. He can provide a quick doctor's excuse for the tint with the reasoning of sensitive skin or somethin. Anyone heard of this?
Click to expand...

Most state tint laws have medical exceptions for tinting jobs that exceed state maximums (e.g., you have a skin condition that causes you to burn excessively, so your tint exceeds the maximum allowed by state law). However, if you use this excuse, you may be asked why you did not make it known to the officer or prosecutor initially.

If I were you, I'd be legitimate about it. Either argue it or pay the fine. Don't send in pictures of a car that isn't yours. That will get you in a whole heap of trouble if they find out. Remember, its never the crime, its the coverup!
 
by the way what color is your interior - it will be :q:q:q:qed up if ur interior is black and you send it a tan interior pic --
 
I got a letter from my DR and now i have 20% all the way around with 5% brow on my LS and 5% all the way around on my F250 with 35%on the whole windshield with 5% brow
 
Todd's right; the cover-up is a really, really bad idea. Trying to cheat the system carries far worse penalties than losing a BS fight in an Iowa courtroom. The worst that could happen if you lose on the tint case is a fine. If they catch you falsifying court documents, there's a real possibility of jail time--and those of you who're thinking about sending pictures, consider that you're conspiring to falsify those documents, which is also a crime.
 
Black interior too!!! And there is no worries for any of you who send me the pics. There isn't any way to tell the difference as long as you have a black on black. I'm not going to drive back and forth to Iowa to fight the damn ticket. I just want to email them the photos and be done with it.

lets end this thread soon... pics are appreciated!

thanks
 
This whole area of enforcing tint laws has always been ambiguous. I have been retired for more than 10 years now, so a lot may have changed. But I can verify that California enforced their tint laws on ALL vehicles in the state for years (when the officer chose to enforce). Honoring out of state tint laws was always just a courtesy extended to out of state vehicles. I lived in AZ at the time and have dealt with AZ drivers receiving citations for tint in CA quite often. Over the years, most officers have begun to extend out of state courtesy to tint violators of local laws, but it is not as far as I know mandatory. Unless the Federal Government (DOT) supersedes local laws, they will stand. The only thing that may have happened since I retired to change this is if the interstate uniform traffic law compact has included tinting of windows in the list of equipment that should be honored from out of state.
 
George is right they can give you a ticket all they want, but it wont stand in court. Most people probably just pay the fine because they don't want to go through all the hassle of coming back and fighting it. I mean really how many people would come from out of state and fight a tint ticket. But the vechicle is only subject to the laws of the state it's registered in. That's like an inspection sticker some states have it some don't. If you drive through a state the requires it and you don't have one, they could give you a ticket but it won't stand. Just contact your local DA and DMV (some is bound to help without costing you a dime) to ask them how you should go about handling this out of state ticket. Use your picture as a last resort (I guess). But if you do go to court it will more than likely be thrown out. Especially if you have documentation that your car complies with your state laws
 
ovsims said:
George is right they can give you a ticket all they want, but it wont stand in court. Most people probably just pay the fine because they don't want to go through all the hassle of coming back and fighting it. I mean really how many people would come from out of state and fight a tint ticket. But the vechicle is only subject to the laws of the state it's registered in. That's like an inspection sticker some states have it some don't. If you drive through a state the requires it and you don't have one, they could give you a ticket but it won't stand. Just contact your local DA and DMV (some is bound to help without costing you a dime) to ask them how you should go about handling this out of state ticket. Use your picture as a last resort (I guess). But if you do go to court it will more than likely be thrown out. Especially if you have documentation that your car complies with your state laws
Click to expand...

True, but it will probably have to be a Court of Record that follows precedent. Local traffic courts are usually not a court of record and do not always follow precedent, especially in small jurisdictions. (note "Court of Record" is a legal term and does not mearly mean that records are kept):) That might mean two trips to the well.
 
Dude, I live in Iowa myself and these cops are hard a**es on window tint and tinted plate covers. I found out the hard way with the plate cover. Just so everyone knows, in the state of Iowa, you cannot have dark tint on your front windows. On the back, you can go pitch black. My advice, go to an eye doctor and ask for a letter stating that your tint is for sensitive eyes to the sunlight. Then take that letter with you to your court date. Iowa has strict laws but if you can prove something to them, more then likely they will throw the ticket out. Whala, problem solved.
 
Guys, guys, guys!! Listen. I'm not driving back to Iowa to fight this. The gas would probably be more than the darn ticket. I'm not going to just pay the lousy thing either. I don't got all that much money to throw away. There isn't a need to argue over what I should do. I just want a simple photo taken. End of story...
 
Motodrew said:
Guys, guys, guys!! Listen. I'm not driving back to Iowa to fight this. The gas would probably be more than the darn ticket. I'm not going to just pay the lousy thing either. I don't got all that much money to throw away. There isn't a need to argue over what I should do. I just want a simple photo taken. End of story...
Click to expand...


I dont know why they want a photo of you removing the tint, its legal where you live.

Personally, I would just send them a letter that the tint has been removed, and ask them to dismiss as agreed. Point out that the whole deal is quite unfair since your car is licensed out of state and its legal where you live. Dont send them a pic. If that isnt enough, well, eat the fine. Its not worth the fight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 266 (members: 0, guests: 266)
Back
Top