I keep seeing this pop up in comment sections, about how you need to tint your windshield to protect you from the F350 Xenon Eyemelters and if you don’t that’s your fault. What the fuck? What do you mean tint your windshield, how the fuck do you see at night?

  • FALGSConaut [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    Where I live window tint is technically illegal, but just like license plate covers cops selectively enforce it based largely on us-foreign-policy. Basically it’s an excuse to pull people over and fish for other shit they can get you with.

  • TommyBeans [they/them, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    In my state there’s a legal maximum, but pretty much any tint shop will put whatever you want on, only time a cop will hassle you about it is if they’re already hassling you for something else. In for a penny, in for a pound. Lots of 90%+ tinted side and rear windows and concerningly tinted front windshields.

    I did go to one of those places to have a strip of dark tinting put onto the top 1/3 of my windshield that fades down to a much lighter one.

    • 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.netOP
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      5 days ago

      I did go to one of those places to have a strip of dark tinting put onto the top 1/3 of my windshield that fades down to a much lighter one.

      Hold up once more isn’t this sort of factory standard in the US? My fucking 90s Volvo 940 had that

      • TommyBeans [they/them, he/him]@hexbear.net
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        5 days ago

        I think it used to be. All my old beater cars had it, but I got a newer (2016) car recently and that shit was maybe 20% over the whole thing and no dark strip on top. It was like staring directly into the sun when driving.

  • states generally have laws about what level tint you can have and it is usually different (less shady) for windshields compared to sides/rear, and some allow for some portion of the upper windshield to be more tinted. it’s a complete mess of differences between states.

    warmer states’ laws tend to be more lax and allow heavier tints, but not always.

    supposedly, the reasonable standard is that a cop is supposed to be able to see the driver’s face through the windshield easily and if they can’t, they can pull you over and cite you. I say this as someone with a tint job others might construe as illegal and I have my little ways of avoiding scrutiny.

    I have never heard someone say that other people should have a type of tint job to mitigate effects from headlights. that person sounds like a bozo and I would tell them to cram it up their cram hole.

  • Abracadaniel [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    Haven’t heard of tinting a windshield for eyemelters but I’m going to tint my cars windows soon to reduce the greenhouse effect in summer. That said I am looking forward to reduced headlight brightness from the rear & sides. I don’t even drive in daylight without polarized lenses anymore.

    Even ignoring headlights there are just way too many bright flares from sun reflections. Everything is too shiny!!!

  • miz [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    4 days ago

    is it possible that tinting is popular among minority populations because it makes it harder to be dinged for Driving While Non-White by casual police observation? genuine question

  • cmhickman358 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    A few years back I started a new job, and when I was introducing myself to the guy I would be working with one of his first three questions was, “What level of tint do you have on your car windows?” within about 30 seconds of us meeting each other.

  • pr0kch0p [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    When you live somewhere the sun is actively trying to kill you 7+ months of the year a tinted windshield does wonders. I have one on my car and I couldn’t tell you the difference between my night vision with the tinted windshield versus untinted. If I can’t see in front of me with time to stop with the light my low beams give, I’m driving too fast.

    It does nothing to stop the glare from the massive trucks with the headlights deliberately aligned to shine directly into a passenger car’s cabin. Anyone who drives at night with a tiny that dark is a danger to the public and belongs in the same camp the F350 eyemelter owners end up in for their crimes.

  • turtle [he/him]@lemm.ee
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    5 days ago

    As far as I know, no windshield tinting is allowed in my state, but when I visited another state and saw a dark tinted windshield it freaked me out. I think dark tinting in general, let alone windshield tinting, is a big safety hazard in multiple ways: not being able to have eye-contact with other drivers and pedestrians, not being seen by trigger-happy, scared cops. I don’t know if a study has been done, but I’m positive that if it were it would show that tinting causes a statistically significant increase in auto accidents and getting shot by police.

  • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    I’ve been in many online arguments about the ultra dark tint. My biggest gripe is that I can’t tell if a driver is looking my way. It’s very helpful to be able to tell if someone is looking your direction, as a driver and even more importantly as a pedestrian. If I’m about to cross a street and I know the driver saw me, I can cross without too much worry of being hit.

    Tint does make a difference with regard to how hot your car gets in the sun, but a legal tint does that pretty well without comprising safety.

    I very much doubt tint does anything for the lights, though. It’s the brightness as much as the intensity and direction of projector beam headlamps that hurt your eyes.

    • keepcarrot [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      4 days ago

      It’s very helpful to be able to tell if someone is looking your direction, as a driver and even more importantly as a pedestrian.

      It’s either not recommended or illegal here for that reason. We live in a very hot place and I would much like to be in a darkened space most of the time, but here we are.

  • Adkml [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    You don’t.

    You called it this is like if you complained about somebody running around kicking peo0le in the dick and people asked you why you weren’t wearing a cup 24/7.