I just have to write another update on my tinted window posts. In the past I talked about SUVs/Pickups/Minivans as well as certain kinds of passenger cars (either luxury limousines or souped-up ghetto cars). Unfortunately, I now find that this is not true any more either. I see more and more “normal” cars with tinted windows, and not only rear windows and rear side windows, frequently even FRONT SIDE windows; on all sorts of conventional passenger cars.
Now with even dark colored side windows, new dangers mount for pedestrians. When crossing a road on foot, either at a light, or at a designated pedestrian crossing (white bars on the road). I always try make eye contact with a driver of an approaching car, and this is all but impossible if the windows are not clear. According to Wikipeadia, “the federal Department of Transportation specifies a minimum of 70% visible light transmission (VLT) for window tinting on the windshield and the windows to the immediate left and right of the driver. The DoT does not specify any VLT requirements for any other windows.”
If this regulation is in fact obeyed, then based on my experience, the 70% VLT seems to be chosen such that drivers are able to see through from the inside. Form the outside however, it is tough luck. With the front windows tinted up to 30% (or more , if regulations are not being obeyed), and the other windows tinted even more, there is little light inside the vehicle. I have been trying to identify persons inside cars on the highway; it is practically impossible to see them, not to mention to make eye contact.
I hope that lawmakers will realize this problem. I believe the trend of tinted windows just because they “look cool” strongly contradicts the “safety first” principle, and ought to made illegal. The sooner the better.