TEXAS, USA — Car window tinting can be a luxury that helps keep your car cool throughout the hot summer months, but can too much tinting can be illegal? As Texans spend hundreds to get their car windows tinted, people are asking what the law is when it comes to the job.
THE QUESTION
Are there regulations to how dark your car tint can be?
OUR SOURCE
THE ANSWER
Yes, there are regulations to how dark your car window tint should be. Texas drivers can have their car windows tinted to a certain extent.
WHAT WE FOUND
Washko says no tint is allowed on on the windshield below fives inches from the top. However, there are different rules for other windows.
"The windows to your left to and to your right, if you're sitting in the driver's seat, can be tinted, but it has to have a light that can shine through at 25%," Washko said. "Anything less than that is going to be a violation of law. The rear windshield can be completely blacked out as long as you have two functioning mirrors that are visible that you can see behind you 200 feet."
There are some medical exemptions, according to Washko and Brian McClanahan, owner of Classic Tint.
"Some people will have like skin conditions or eye problems and they'll get a prescription," McClanahan said. "They're allowed to have these little darker and even the windshields dark. That's legal."
Washko still says it is important to do research when taking a trip to car window tint shops.
"Remember, any car window tint shop may be able to do it," Washko said. "However it's not legal to have it. I've seen a 1% and 2%, and it's basically like putting a trash bag over the window, and you cannot see through it, and it's almost like zero light. Of course somebody can pay to do that, but here in Texas, there's a violation in which you take that vehicle from the shop onto the public roadway."
It's all to protect Central Texas as Washko says too dark can be deadly.
"We work several crashes where somebody has their window tint too dark, and they're pulling out into the highway and getting people hurt and killed," Washko added. "People can get killed over window tint because they just cannot see."
For more information on car window tinting standards from the Texas Department of Public Safety, click here.
Failure to comply with the law could result in a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $500.
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