Edmond police now equipped to check tint

EDMOND — A small handheld laser device is now helping Edmond police measure the amount of tint on vehicle windows. If the tinting is too dark, it could get drivers a $100 fine.

The new equipment is designed to measure the thickness of the glass coating material on side windows of a vehicle, said traffic officer Milo Box.

Through October, officers won't be writing tickets for violations of city or state laws for side window tint violations.

Instead, people can bring their vehicles to the police department at 23 E First St. from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday to have their windows tested.

The department has purchased three of the tint measurement devices for about $240, Box said.

Use of heavily tinted windows and windshields is becoming a more serious safety problem.

Two years ago, Box said, he would write one ticket a month for too much tint materials on the windshield. Now, his number of tickets has increased to 10 or 12 a month, he said.

The purpose of monitoring window and windshield tinting is a safety issue for both the officer and the driver, Box said.

"If you can't see the people in the vehicle at night there is a hazard for them,” Box said. "If there is no light getting in, it's like driving with your sunglasses on at night.

"It's also dangerous if we can't see how many people are in the vehicle or what they are doing. If I can't see in the car on a sunny day, how are they going to see at night or on a cloudy or rainy day?”

Officers can stop people just for a possible tinted window violation.

The law says the driver and front-seat passenger side windows can't block out more than 25 percent of any light. The back seat side windows and the back windshield can't block out more than 10 percent of the light. No tint is allowed on the front windshield except for five inches from the top or above the AS-1 line, a designation of the type of safety glass use on the windshield.

The reaction of the drivers getting a ticket for tint violations has been varied.

Some people have called the tickets ridiculous and others got angry, Box said. "Some knew they were wrong, but were waiting until they were caught before they did something about it.”