Very Confused, Please Help

[RE Goddess]

Hi. I live in Ga. I just got a ticket for tinted windows. I tinted my windows recently, when it was legal (before I knew there was a tint law that had been revoked and then reinstated) because I have been stalked once - he tried to follow me home after pulling up next to me to see if I was a woman...case of mistaken id, don't know. It was scary - he finally went away after I pulled into a police station. And then it happened again! With a different guy! Except this guy REALLY chased me. I was not familiar with the area and I did not have my phone with me, so I just outdrove him eventually. He kept getting out as if to confront me at lights, and of course, I would get going when he did that. It may seem silly, but having had this happen twice,

Unfortunately, I have developed an anxiety (to my amazement, there is a name for it!) of being targeted in the car. Mind you, I had my baby in the car with me one of the times. Go figure. Dumb luck for me, I guess, being targeted in the car! I haved lived in LA, NY, Atlanta and Boston. Walked alone in all of them. But I was and still am scared and hyper-aware and anxious with being in the car targeted. So much so, that I break out in sweats and shake. I just didn't know what to do. And to top it off, I am an RE agent so I must drive a lot! What hell was this? LOL

So, my choices were: get a permit for a gun and use it, or, get my windows tinted so that the next nut would just move on. What you can't see you can't fool with, and as you all know, men are the visual sex as I have understood. As I don't feel comfortable with a gun and having 6 and 4 year old girls, this was my choice. Even an officer who was AT the tint shop having his PERSONAL car done told me, after I relayed the story to him: "Go ahead and do it. We pull over people who look like drug dealers, not a nice car like yours." So, I went ahead and did it. Now everyone says, "Find that officer and have him corroborate your story. No way. The man gave his honest opinion, and no way will I fault him for that.

So I was pulled over right after this law changed again, and I rolled down my windows out of respect for the officer and so that he could see me. My tint is so light that you can see through it standing on a hill! This officer rudely asked me to put my window back up. I asked why, and he said that my tint was illegal. Color ME surprised! I told him the story, and he ignored me and sat a light meter on my tint. Then he wrote me a ticket for it, and as I tried to explain what had happened and ask him for advice on how to handle it within the limits of the new laws, and if he could warn me for now, he told me he would take me to jail if I did not be quiet and sign the ticket! And in front of my 4 year old!

What I REALLY don't get is that when I found my receipt, it was done when the law said it was legal, and the receipt said that the VLR (?)% was 35%!!! The new law here says, "(2) Which has material and glazing applied or affixed to the rear windshield or the side 11 or door windows, which material and glazing when so applied or affixed reduce light 12 transmission through the windshield or window to less than 32 percent, plus or minus 3 13 percent, or increase light reflectance to more than 20 percent."

My receipt says 35%, and the ticket only says, "excessive tint." I am not less than 32%!!!

Please help.

[Bodie]

Remove the tint and see a shrink............. that's all

[RE Goddess]

Oh cool, Thanks!

Hey, great advice! There actually IS an exemption in the law for a medical reason! You are absolutely brilliant!

Thanks for the advice!

Well done!

My mind is at ease.



_____________________________________________
"Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History"
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

[Big Sexy]

Hey, great advice! There actually IS an exemption in the law for a medical reason!

Well if you know that, why are you asking the question? Go get yourself a medical exemption, then take it to the judge. Don't ask questions to which you already know the answers.

[Centurion44]

There are two sides to every story. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that you were the "innocent angel" and the officer was the son of satan. I'm sure if he was as bad as you said he was, there was a reason for it. If you didn't give him a reason, I'm sure he wasn't that bad.

As for the charge, I would talk to the solicitor for the court that is on your citation. Ask him if you can schedule some time with him- either via phone or in person- and discuss the charge before the court date. Explain to him the facts of the case. Tell him you have a receipt that says 32% (or to be sure if there is some kind of warranty on the tinting take it back to the shop and get it re-tested, keep the documentation).

I don't think I've ever written a tint violation because the law is so up in the air- the only time I'd write one is of someone had limo tinting on their front windows or something crazy like that, but I digress. If I remember correctly, it's an equipment violation. Which means it does take any points off your license- just a straight fine.

I will tell you this: save the story. In traffic court there is rarely a need to proove intent as with most criminal cases. The only thing the solicitor has to proove is that the officer had enough PC to make the stop and the the violation you're accused of was charged accordingly. Telling a long story like that may seem like your trying to play off the judge's emotions because your a "helpless female" and may just get you the guilty verdict that much quicker.

Now for the law itself: " plus or minus 3 13 percent". Unless I'm missing something, 32 + 3 = 35%
I'm not that knowledgeable on the tint law because when I went through advance traffic law the law had not been re-instated after case law abolished it for that breif period. AtlCop could probably clear it up more- he's all brainy like that.

[jerrymaccauley]

tint

Actually, I no longer find it hard to believe tha an officer would be rude while writing an equipment violation. Thats the new generation of police officer for ya. They talk the talk and until they actually get some "combat" experience, they treat all violators like it was done personally to make the officer's life rough. I've been reigning in the rookies for years and have finally given up. Generation X has turned into generation "why."

[RE Goddess]

Centurion.....

Love the name - Rome the series on HBO should be cooler than cool.....

Actually, there are 3 sides to every story - his, mine, and the truth. No matter what our jobs are, we are all still HUMAN. And HUMANS make judgments and mistakes. I never said he was "Satan" as you eloquently put it....it seems to me that you might have some issues in the past with unruly civs that maybe made your initial response to me so judgmental?

What on G-d's earth could I have been doing with my four year old in the car? Since when is trying to discuss something a horrible crime that makes me un-angelic?

Thank you for your advice further down in the body of your message. I appreciate your insight.

Know, however, that people should be heard on a case-by-case basis, and that judgments should be reseved upon further investigation. It's only fair. All women are not manipulative, some acutally have real questions that must be answered with professional integrity.

Off my soapbox.....

_____________________________________________
"Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History"
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

[Centurion44]

Normally I don't bother defending my position (probably a character flaw in my line of work), you either understand what I'm saying or you don't. However, you seem more rational than most people that come here looking to get out of a ticket, so I'll humor you with a response as to my "judgemental" attitude.(That, and I'm bored anyway)

Let's go over the parts of my post that are "judgemental".

There are two sides to every story. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that you were the "innocent angel" and the officer was the son of satan.

I'm not making any accusations. This is just a general observation.

I'm sure if he was as bad as you said he was, there was a reason for it. If you didn't give him a reason, I'm sure he wasn't that bad.

Note the 'if's in bold. Speaking hypothetical. So far I haven't made any pointed observations. If you felt they were pointed, well... "methinks thou doth protest too much".

I will tell you this: save the story.

This is just a simply fact. I'm not saying your story isn't true. I was trying to point out that in traffic court the only thing that judge needs to hear is that it was a valid stop and a violation of the law. Intent, emotions, reasoning for the crime, need not be entered into testimony and may be frowned upon if you try. Believe it or not, I was trying to help you, in my own twisted way.

Don't take things so personally. You wanted a cop's opinion, you got it. No one said it would be a pleasant experience.

[RE Goddess]

I do....

understand. I'm not here to get out of a ticket....I'm trying to make sense of what the law is on this and if I am in violation of it or not, and I have turned to the experts....the Men and Women in Blue.

I ran this by my Officer friend in the Hopewell Township in NJ, and he gave me very prudent advice, but, before he did, he did the EXACT same thing as you, Centurion! He blazed me with the "Us vs. Them" schtick. I have known this man since HS grad, (I dated him when he went to GA Tech) and we stayed friends for years thereafter, even living in different states. It's been a 19-year friendship trading stories about love, work and general whatever. I had to shake him out of what seemed to me to be the "stock opinion" of an officer of a civilian.

So I said, "C'mon, NOW tell me what to do as a friend." And he did! But I had to shake him out of that mode.

How on earth does this opinion pervade as it does? Aren't we all just.....Americans?

_____________________________________________
"Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History"
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

[Centurion44]

In that case look at it objectively, just as we must. If you realize you were violation of the law- for whatever reason, or if you felt like you were really unjustly accused; do the right thing. You need us to do what your conscious tells you. Outside that, I gave you the best advice I know of on the matter. Traffic court solicitors are reasonable people. I'd talk with them first before doing anything else. They are more knowledgeable about the law and maybe they've seen a similar case as yours come through their court and know of a course of action to guide you best. From what I've seen these guys aren't like DA's trying to get as many "guilty" verdicts as they can. They seem to be just as interested in clearing their calender as much as possilble so if he agrees that the citation was incorrectly issued, he'll probably throw it out for you.

[AtlCop]

It is not uncommon for tint installers to put "32%" on their tickets even though they have installed illegal tint. Mainly because they can be charged for installing illegal tint. They'll do it for you but they'll give you paperwork that says different.

Either you were or were not in violation of the law. The officer has to show no intent or anything. If the car you were driving has illegal tint, you are guilty. It is like you driving a friend's car with an expired tag. Even if you didn't know it was expired you can still get a ticket.