Registered in MD. DC tickets my tint

[melody301]

Well my tint is illegal for MD and yes I know this. It's 20% when MD limit is 35% but what I don't understand is how can a DC cop ticket me for a MD violation? At the bottom of the violation in the comment section is says "Left front window 17% MD requires 35%". Can someone help clarify this for me. I'm going to pay the fine regardless but I was just wondering what jurisdiction does DC have to ticket me on a MD violation.

[Phase V]

If they ticket you they just can't ticket you for their laws if ur not registered in that state. They can still hit you if it is illegal in the state it's registered. I got a ticket in MD for tint when I first got here from Hawaii when I was still registered with HI plates

[melody301]

Oh okay thanks for clearing that up for me.

[HopeRidesAlone]

yup theres a couple states to worry about with that just like they will check you to your state. i heard VA is bad with that too

[stuntman]

DC can give you a ticket but they can't make you take the tint off.

[Infern0]

Exactly right it seems.

I almost got a ticket at the airport by metro police for no front tag when my tags were all Texas cause he knew the TX rule required it too. He let me go though since I had it in my glove compartment.

[SILVERHAWK]

The statutes only apply to the State that you are in at the time. Example- Florida vehicles are allowed to have tint ( i am not sure of the exact percentage) but they do not need to have a medical waiver. I don't stop them and give them a ticket in DE because they don't have a waiver because in their State they are not required to have a waiver in order to have the tint on. Another example---my friends come to see me on their motorcycles from PA because DE doesn't have a helmet law (but PA does). DE law enforcement can't write them tickets based on PA law since they are in DE they are covered by DE law. One more---MD requires that you have 2 tags one if the front and one in the rear. DE only requires that you have one tag displayed on the rear of any vehicle operating on any dedicated roadway in the State. So if you are from MD with only a rear tag on your vehicle I can't give you a ticket for not having the front one because DE doesn't require that you have a front tag. So if your tint violates a DC traffic statute it is valid if you were in DC at the time unfortunately. Unless there is some wierd jurisdictional agreement based on the unique geography of DC being inside of MD.

[JethroDawg]

I live in MD and work in DC. I have had tinted windows for the past 4 years but have never been tickets (knock on wood). I heard that DC will actually cut the tint when they give you the ticket.

Did he pull you over for the tint or was it a secondary ticket?

[melody301]

The tint was the primary ticket. He actually had another car pulled over and was finishing up the stop I assume. He saw me at a stop light...eyeballing me hard. Vein me, I thought he was admiring the Camaro. LOL Well as I proceeded through the light I saw him in my review running back to his cruiser. Few seconds later he was behind me with the lights on and approached the car with the tint meter reader.

Unfortunately for me, I found out during the stop that my license was suspended for an outstanding ticket in MD. All other can of worms I had to deal with.

[Tribute]

DC is pretty tough on this kind of thing. I almost got a ticket for having something hanging form my rearview mirror. He was kind enough to let it slide. Usually DC cops don't worry too much about these kind of petty things, but they are stickler for TINT, I think this whole area is. In DC I think dark TINT is synonomous with crime, drugs, etc.

[melody301]

Originally Posted by Lukeko

DC is pretty tough on this kind of thing. I almost got a ticket for having something hanging form my rearview mirror. He was kind enough to let it slide. Usually DC cops don't worry too much about these kind of petty things, but they are stickler for TINT, I think this whole area is. In DC I think dark TINT is synonomous with crime, drugs, etc.

I think you hit the nail on the head "In DC I think dark TINT is synonomous with crime, drugs, etc."

I haven't had any problems since and knock on wood that I won't. I had a cop pull up next to me (DC again) and saw my 9 year old son sitting in the passenger seat. He asked me how old my son was and I asked him why?. He said because he looks to little to be sitting in the front seat. I told him if I were sitting in that seat he would be asking the same thing because the passenger seat is extremely low. Anyway I told him the age and he looked suspicious but pulled off. But he probably thought I had a six year old in the seat. lol

[GunnyG]

That's weird! I'd talk to someone to find out how this cop determined he has jurisdiction to write a MD violation in DC. The fact that he knows the limits of MD tint is irrelevant. He doesn't have jurisdiction to enforce. Was it a DC violation? Can't be, you're not registered there. I'd go to court and let a judge straighten it out.

[Tribute]

I think DC tint limit is 50% all around. Not sure though.

[GunnyG]

DC allows 30% tint front & 50% tint rear. I wouldn't take that ticket easily. Especially if you're not violating DC law, and you're registered in MD.

http://dmv.dc.gov/pdf/Vehicle_Tint_Waiver_Request.pdf