KITTY HAWK, N.C. — It's not quite the new year, but there are new laws that recently went into effect in North Carolina. One specifically for drivers with window tint — first, it will no longer be a part of safety inspections. But now during a traffic stop, if a law enforcement officer requests it, you will be required to roll down every tinted window.
"We would love for all the vehicles that we stop, if they have tinted windows, to roll down all windows that are tinted. But on request, if we ask them to roll it down, they are required to do so now," said James Helms, a lieutenant with the Kitty Hawk Police Department.
Helms said this new aspect of the law is not just about safety for law enforcement, but for drivers as well.
"That's for their safety and our safety. If they're reaching for a weapon or just a registration, we just don't want anything bad to happen just because of dark windows," said Helms.
That message was echoed by Todd Mahan, owner of OBX Window Tint.
"I feel like the main benefit to this, or what a vehicle owner should take into consideration, is the fact that you do need to roll down your windows now, regardless if you have window film or not, courtesy for the officer," said Mahan.
Mahan said it will also be positive for inspection stations being able to omit that part of the test for vehicles. Mahan might see a bit of revenue loss, but nothing that will have much impact on his business.
"In the past, if the vehicle owner failed inspection, they would call me or another window tint company to either remove it, leave it clear, or get it removed and put legal film back on. For me, it's a little bit of a revenue loss because I don't get those failures, but not much," said Mahan.
It's important for drivers to remember that the current window tint laws remain in effect on all vehicles. If they have illegal tint on their vehicles, they can still be ticketed normally.
"You still have to have 35% (visible light transmission) all the way around, on sedan vehicles. On SUV's and trucks, the front two windows have to be at least 35% in tint. And of course, the AS-1 line, it cannot be below that line when it comes to tint, and that's on your front windshield," said Helms.
