You should have went to a window tinting shop.

No one said that they didn't get it done at a shop. Maybe the person who did it didn't care if it was illegal.

ahaha YDI for asking a cop if you're breaking the law instead of asking google. it would have shown you in .00008 secs that any tint on your windshield/front 2 windows is illegal in CA, no matter how light (includes factory tint).
btw my cars front 2 windows are tinted just below limo and I've got the lightest shade on my windshield yet I've only been ticketed for them a couple times; when I've been pulled over for speeding or something important and they want to charge me with everything. otherwise they usually just turn a blind eye. hell some cop cars in SoCal have tinting on their front windows but it's still illegal lol.

ahahah and to all the commenters: we have tons of window tinting shops in CA because people love getting their cars tinted (myself especially) for the way it looks/to keep the interior cooler. some people tint just the back/back sides where it's legal to and others like me get the the front windows/sometimes the windshield tinted too.
shops normally warn you it's illegal buy no one really cares cause you don't get ticketed for it unless the cop is trying to nail you. but even if we do get busted we just pay the court 25ish and get our cars front windows stripped, checked off, and retinted the same or next day.

OP "You deserved it"

I wish there was a button for that...

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Entirely different ballpark in terms of crime dude

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Yeah, say he's abusing his power and being a pos when he's just doing his job. Tickets for window tint are usually no more than $20 as long as it's fixed.

#30 - you're*

Not an abuse of power at all. OP did something against the law. Doesn't matter if he "was being honest." Illegal is illegal. The cop wasn't abusing his power though.

26 and 11, are you two right in the heads? you're comparing illegal tint to murder. op should have asked first seeing as he obviously wasn't sure the tint he had was legal or not, look at this way op, if you didn't get ticketed now, you would have been next cop you saw

Each crime has a different price. It doesn't matter if it's murder or a petty crime. If you do something illegal you have to pay the price. I'm a strong believer of following the law. Everyone who commits even the pettiest crime should be punished. Doesn't matter if it's a gang member, friendly neighbour or even my mother.

It's not "abuse of power"... but it is a dick move.

What about MLK, Jr. breaking the law by protesting?

Not always so black and white.

#2 - OP should have asked beforehand. Yes, if the officer wanted to be nice, he could have simply told OP to just go get it fixed. But, as the officer was actually doing his job correctly, he had obtained both visual evidence and a statement from OP confirming his offence, and because OP drove, he therefore broke the law. I'd be pissed too, but at the end of the day, the cop was just following procedure for his job. The only time the cop would legally be allowed to let him off would be if OP was driving to a shop to get the tint removed.
Another example of this, without using a large scale crime like others, in the state of Australia I live in, any car accident where police must be called gets you a $405 fine and 3 demerit points for negligent driving, even if you're honest about it. Cops aren't bad man, respect them and they'll respect you. Plain and simple

#70, that was not illegal, you are allowed to protest, he was protesting because whites were taking away right he had by law

For crying out loud, if you MURDER someone, you have enough sense to realize that murder isn't legal ANYWHERE. Tinted windows are allowed in some places, they aren't a deathly crime. Did you notice how OP got a ticket and not handcuffs and shipped off to jail? You aren't going to get a ticket for murdering someone because that'd just be stupid "Oh you did a school shooting? Here's a ticket, don't do it again buddy."

Actually #75, that is not protest, that is civil disobedience which is when someone breaks a law in order to peacefully rebel against a law

They broke the law. Being honest doesn't change the fact that it's illegal.

I think everyone missed the part that says OP just got the car and it probably came tinted, which is why he asked if it was legal but still OP should of just googled it.

Not knowing if tinted windshields are legal in your state is completely different than murder. Murder isn't legal anywhere. It's common knowledge. Nobody moves to a new location and says "hmm I wonder if it's legal to kill someone here?" OP not knowing if it's illegal to have tinted windows where they live is understandable. Though, they should have googled it like most people would have done.

Different ballpark same situation. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

38 - are you right in the head? How is assault murder? It could be as simple as a light pat...

Either way, it's the same scenario. Being honest about an illegal act (hey, unlikely but, someone could grow up not knowing that you shouldn't hit others) does not exempt you from the law and certainly doesn't make the officer at fault.

Contest it, explain what happened, and most likely the judge won't give you the ticket, instead you'll just have to pay the court cost, which will be less than the ticket would be.

Clever

What shop let you get it so dark anyway?

Bought the car in a different state probably.

California special interest groups fucking with the laws make this state a shitty place to live at times.

Not necessarily I always tint the windows on my cars with limo tint all around in California (I have been ticketed once in 10 years) and the shops never mention that it's illegal.

Any tint on the front windows is illegal in California. I have also had one ticket in ten years . 25$ and remove the tint.

I never knew it was illegal in California until now!

My brother-in-law who is a police officer told me that it's not the shade of the tint on front-seat windows that's illegal; it's whether it not the tint is a stick-on thing that would prevent first responders from being able to break the window to save your life in the event of an accident. Makes sense to me - I don't know about California's laws though.

The film isn't the reasoning . It's because California has laws that prevent drivers views from being impaired/obstructed and from identification of a driver from law enforcement . I promise you the thin ass film will not stop us from getting you out of a car wreck. This is why you can be fined for having something hanging on the rear view mirror as well in California.

I got my car windows tinted! You can have any amount of tint on the back windows and the back windshield, but you can't have any tint at all on the front windows or front windshield, though it's still popular to get your front windows tinted. I got mine done! I just had to sign something saying that I was aware it's illegal and wanted to do it anyway. IF you get pulled over, it's either a $25 fix-it ticket + around $30-$50 to get the tint removed OR around a $200 fine if you don't remove the tint. However, it's not likely you'll get ticketed for tint unless you are pulled over for something else, are a douche bag, or bring it to their attention!

Now you know better. You don't go ask the cops it's not their job to tell you the law. Next time you need information go to a specialist, for example in this case, a window tinting shop.

So... don't ask the cops about a law?
Besides, if it's illegal in California, why would there be a window tinting shop?

Presumably the person got it out of state, besides there is always the internet or you can check that kind of thing and state law.

No the cops job ISNT to tell you the laws. He in forces the laws. You should know them and if you do something 1st, then ask, it's too late. You've already done the illegal thing. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. It's a citizens duty to know all applicable laws.

#36, isn't that exactly what OP was trying to do? Some people prefer hearing the information straight from the source. Maybe they bought the car out of state? At least they were trying to do the right thing instead of just remaining ignorant.

37, you and 36 are both right.

Honestly, is there anyone who really knows the law? Think about it, how many laws are there? We don't have something like Hammurabi's Code to tell us the law on a pillar, and the U.S. Is more complicated than that. There are too many laws to really know. While there are some that are obvious, this one may have been less known.

58, it doesn't matter that they're not publicly displayed. It is still a citizen's duty to know them. Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense in any court.

oh im sorry so if my ( fake ) wife and I went over to Saudi Arabia, and she was arrested for not wearing a burqa but we didnt know she had to wear one, its fine if she gets thrown into jail? also the police are ENFORCERS of the law, to enforce something doesnt mean just physically, if they have to remind or teach people about the law they will and have to.

Isn't it legal to tint the back window? I think that's why there's tint shops. It's just illegal to tint the front.

68 - yeah it is justified if she gets thrown in jail.

Also do you know what the word enforce means? You've capped it, but used it in place of the word inform...

#68, Unfortunately, yes she is allowed to be arrested in that situation. Because when you are in another country, it's not like you don't have to abide by that country's laws just because you are visiting or aren't from there. Only America has the constitution and separation of church and state, guys. If you step into another country's borders, you then need to respect that country's laws!

Well, that's news to me... it's been awhile since I have been in Cali though... the car I rented there had window tint... trolling cop?

im pretty sure windshield and driver window tints are illegal everywhere... any other windows are fine

Not everywhere! Not KY, MD, DE. That's the ones I know of off the top of my head

NY can have it as long as it lets 70% of light through. Quick Google searches are a lifesaver.

In Texas you can have pretty dark tint in the front windows. Not sure about the windshield though.

i got a ticket for my window tint and had to take it off. according to the cops up here in Alaska, window tint IS illegal, EXCEPT if your car came off the line with the illegal tint, its okay. if its after-market tint, they can ticket that.

sounds about right :)
in Denmark the rules are: no tint in the windshiels or the two front side windows, unless its from the factory,
the rest of the windows you can what ever you want with

My grandpa got a ticket on one of his work trucks for the window tint, he didn't realize it was too dark. He removed the tint within a few days, took pictures and mailed them in, and the ticket was taken off since he complied with the law.

Also, he bought the truck used with the tint as it was, not knowing it was illegal and didn't have trouble for several years until one cop noticed. Sorry, ran out of edit time.

my problem with it is the whole reason tint is illegal is because it can be a danger to vision. so why is factory tint okay, but not after market? logic? i see none

You're a little confused. When you tint your windows, the tint is really only noticeable from the outside. All it does is dim the amount of sunlight just a little and keep the interior cooler.

Sometimes honesty isn't the best policy even if intentions are good

In California, you can legally have anything you want behind the driver, and up to 70% (which is hardly even tinted) in the front side windows. You can also have up to a 7" "visor" across the top of your windshield, though I'm not sure about how dark is legal on that one.

any tint at all is illegal in the front two windows regardless of %

No, number 9 is right. Actually it's like that for a number of states.

No, actually #9 is incorrect. The law has been changed and currently it is illegal to have any tint on your front two windows. It used to be legal, but not anymore.

I live in California and have never heard about windshield tinting being illegal. I see it all the time.

windshield tinting for the most part, isnt illegal. its only once it gets to be too dark of a tint that it is illegal.

I live in California and was fully aware of this law

Front two windows and the windshield are illegal to tint in California, but it's rarely enforced.

you're ignorant. shut up.