I can't speak for Texas cops, I can tell you how some police agencies in
California act. My brothers department (San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Dept)
requires that as they approach a vehicle that their hand be on their weapon
and the holster lock unsnapped. They are to stop in the drivers blind spot
and do a cursory inspection of the interior of the vehicle. This policy has
saved the lives of two of their officers. As you can tell, Sheriff's don't
like to write tickets so you usually have to be doing something really
obnoxious (or suspicious) to get pulled over by them.
The Irvine and Newport Beach Police departments here in Orange County are
famous for their paranoid and gestapo tactics: but these two cities both rank
in the top ten for least crime in the nation for populations over 100,000 so
they will continue such tactics. Irvine Cops will not approach a vehicle at
night until a second backup car arrives: even if the first car has two
officers in it.
I'm not asking you to buy into the reasoning or even tell you that all
departments have such requirements. It's just that some do. The tinting laws
have nearly nothing to do with cops as compared to driveablity. I'm sure in
some states the cops did put in two cents on it, but this usually takes a
backseat to the real issue: being able to correctly operate your vehicle at
night. Fully tinted cars may "look" cool, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere
near one at night. It's hard enough to see all the obstacles. You may as
well drive with your lights off or a blindfold on.
The reality is that in both situations: Police pulling someone over, and
tinting your glass- eventually it will catch up to you. Any probablity
greater than zero, given time and circumstance: will happen. Cops will die at
traffic stops, cars stupidly tinted will get into accidents because of it.
This is a fact. I for one am not willing to die because some dufus thinks
that (and if it were legal) a limo black windshield would really make his car
cool. Thank heavens these laws exist.
I can't say anything about your dislike for the police wanting to control
things. I can say that my brother risks his life every day because he decided
he wanted to make a difference and help protect people. I can see no
justification of unnecessary risk to the lives of our police officers or
the public just to satisfy vanity.
There is no flame in the above message, just a sincere argument for the way
things are, and in my opinion: should be.
Shaun
Tustin, CA
-----original message------
It's hard for me to buy into this line of reasoning. I know that sometimes
traffic stops go horribly wrong, but in the vast majority of cases they
don't. I know, the times I've been stopped, as the officer is approaching
I'm usually either reaching in my pocket for my license or digging in the
glove box for my insurance card. I would guess that the majority of people
are doing the same thing when they get stopped. Both of these could be
construed as highly suspicious activities, yet I've never had an officer do
anything but walk right up to my vehicle. Day or night, tinted or untinted
windows, it's never made any difference. My guess is that cops, being cops,
dislike anything hidden and want to be able to see what people are doing
all the time. This is, of course, totally unacceptable. And for them to
exploit the occasional tragedy just so they can stick their noses where
they don't belong is one reason cops have bad reputations with some people.
BTW, the cops in Texas carry around little light meter type thingeys to
measure your window tint. If it's too dark, they make you pull it off on
the spot.
-- Mike Crumley mcrumley@airmail.net 97 RC 3.9L V6 3.55 Auto Rhino Liner Bug Shield Mud Flaps DDBC
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