Once the car industry resolve the question of the machines being able to work i.e. reliably take one from one destination to another, then priorities changed significantly. A major thing in this regard has been the aesthetics a fact where tinting comes out as one of the top things to look out for.
States would quickly realize though that this attribute could not just be left only in the hands of drivers given the many interests at play.
In Colorado thus, the initial law was passed as early as 1994. As technology dynamics changed, amendments and modifications came up such that by now the present body of regulations is not easy to navigate around without stumbling a few times.
In writing this article, I intend to help you avoid that. My research has covered through the different years picking out the positions that remain legal so that is what I will be presenting to you.
The particulars fall in the categories of window tint darkness, window tint reflection, provisions on enforcement etc. Most importantly, this information is up to date.
As usual, the provisions are shared in very simple language so you do not need to have gone through law school first to understand what it is that I am writing about. Please let me know in the comments section how you found the article to be. Nice read.
Colorado Window Tinting Darkness Laws
Window tint darkness is one of the two broad branches of window tinting. It is also the most famous at that i.e. when people think about tinting it is darkness that comes to mind first.
The way it works is just as the name suggests, a dark film is dressed on the windows and so it blocks light from passing through.
Overtime, a standard of quantifying window tint darkness has been developed so it is accurate to say that not all film of this nature blocks the same amount of lighting.
This phenomenon has come to be known by the term Visible Light Transmission in the industry. It is calculated in percentages with the highest figures being representative of more light being allowed into the car. Tint of 90% VLT therefore, will allow more light into the car than say one that is 50%.
The variation of VLT percentages adopted in legislations are determined by mainly two factors. The first is in relation to the car that is in question.
The characteristics of interest may rotate both around its structure/build up or its general purpose. It is common thus for commercial cars to be allowed more lighting since when boarding an Uber you cannot always be sure of who is driving and if the windows are tinted pitch darkness, it would be easy for kidnappers to manipulate the system.
The other major inspiration for the VLT figures usually is the position of a window on a vehicle in question. Given the different roles that windows play on a car, it is unrealistic to think that the same lighting will be asked of them. The windshield for example is crucial for driving and so more lighting is always usually required.
It is important to say however, that states can always to choose whether to consider both aspects, one of them, or even none. For the purposes of Colorado only the factor of window positions on a vehicle is reflected in the law.
Otherwise, it does not matter that you drive a sedan, SUV, or van or that the said car is privately owned or otherwise. The same VLT percentage is expected. Below are the specific numbers;
- Windshield: tint is only to be used for the top four inches of the screen.
- Front side windows: a minimum of 27% VLT must be allowed.
- Backside windows: a minimum of 27% VLT must be allowed.
- Rear window: a minimum of 27% VLT must be allowed.
Colorado Window Tinting Reflection Laws
Window tint reflection is the other major part of tinting. It is also usually not noticed by most folks. This by the way, does not mean that it is window tint reflection is not efficient. If at all, it is on the same footing with window tint darkness and better in some aspects as a matter of fact.
Like window tint darkness, window tint reflection regulates the amount of light and heat that gets to enter the car. The only subtlety here is that rather than block light coming its way, reflection tinting deflects the said rays instead.
Let us linger on that last fact for one more moment though since it highlights how important regulation in this realm of tinting is. Notice that often, the immediate impact of bad tinting is only directly detrimental to the very persons that adopt this tinting in most cases.
If a driver does not see clearly what is coming ahead of them thus, they might not notice a bend in the road and so they will drive off the cliff. This means that darkness tinting individuals have an incentive to follow the law.
In the case of reflection however, the persons to be immediately affected when light rays are projected away are innocent third parties for whom bad luck has brought in interaction with a bad actor.
If someone one was to damage their car if not lose their life that way, one would empathize with them more than in the case of the first scenario. And yet, irresponsible drivers have nothing to be scared of with this tint in the immediate. It makes sense then that Colorado has adopted a very strict approach for window tint reflection as we will shortly find out.
Prior to that though, it is crucial to note that the determinants of what amount of light a car will be allowed to reflect is influenced the same two issues discussed under tint darkness i.e. the situation of the car that is being looked at and then the position of different window on that vehicle.
As opposed to window tint darkness though, Colorado does not only generalize when it comes to the former factor but also the latter.
As such, the position of reflection in the state is such that no kinds of metallic and mirroring appearance window tinting is to be used whatsoever.
Other Colorado Window Tinting Laws
Having looked at the main stipulations under Colorado law, it is now important that we proceed onto other significant aspects for which without knowing our understanding of the law would be lacking.
This is not to say that I am now going to share everything there is but rather that this section looks at the parts of the regulations which either complement window tint darkness and reflection or the ones that bring with them further nuance. Here we go;
- Restriction on colors: tinting car windows can mean to be a distorting venture for both the persons in the tinted car on as well as the folks on the outside. In the case of the driver for instance, color is likely to mess with their reading of traffic lights whereas other road users can easily mistake the colors for lights on a car thereby reacting as they usually do when such lighting is given off by another car.
That said, Colorado is fairly liberal on this ground. The law only bans the usage of Red and Amber.
- Side mirrors: Colorado makes it a must for folks who tint their rear window to have side mirrors. This is a rather interesting one because this aspect will predominantly be mandated only for vehicles that use 0% VLT on rear windows which is not something possible in Colorado as we have seen already.
Nonetheless, side mirrors are a good way to keep tabs with objects behind a car which purpose is not effective with rear windows that tinted.
- Stickers and Certificates: Certificates are documents issued by manufacturers of film attesting to the fact that the tint appearing on a car complies with the requirements of the laws of a given state.
Some states will require that drivers carry these with them such that they can showcase them when law enforcement pulls them over. Because certificates are easy to lose however, states often ask that upon certification, manufacturers go ahead and give out stickers to drivers too. These can then be attached on the vehicle.
In the case of Colorado however, neither of these two requirements are asked. That said, I would highly recommend that you stick get a sticker though if you are not the type to tolerate interferences.
I mean, you might have explicitly told the tint folks to give you a product that is legal and yet they still did not. In a situation where it is just you and the police, a sticker could back you.
- Law enforcement exemptions: whereas the VLT minimum is to always be 27% as already shared, there is an exception in Colorado when it comes to vehicles used by police and other law and order/security organizations.
This goes back to the unique nature of these jobs. It is not unreasonable for example to tint a car with very low VLT percentage because it is used in transporting legitimately classified material. The key thing to not however, is that such a car is not to be used for private duties.
In short, it should be a vehicle that belongs to some security organ.
- Medical exemptions: Colorado’s position here is startlingly surprising. Whereas an overwhelming number of states now allow individuals for whom their health conditions are such that exposure to UV light rays either on their eyes, skin, or otherwise to apply for specific permission for an exemption under the standard VLT minimum, Colorado strictly has no such room. For some, this is an approach that is discriminatory towards a certain faction of society.
To be fair however, the state’s general VLT requirements are so low that most people should work fine with them including persons that are diagnosed with medical issues.
- Penalties: If you were to ask me, I really think that Colorado has already made things simple that you do not have excuse to be found in violation of its window tint provisions. Should do that happen though, then there is punishment to be faced.
Violations that accrue to any of the provisions that have been tackled fall under a category of offences known as Class B infractions. This is a rather not so serious subset and so the matters are considered to be civil.
This means for instance that no jail term accrues to folks found guilt. Instead, a fine of $50 is what is to be paid a long with a surcharge of $16. It is also possible that you will lose points in relation to your driver’s license.
Obviously, you want to remove the car tint in such an instance since the fact that you paid a fine already does not bar authorities from trying you yet again and therefore slap another fine against you.
If at all, your situation will be considered as more escalated since you will be presumed to have refused to comply with the law even after explicit notification that you were in wrong.
As for how the real situation plays out, if an officer suspects that your tint is in contravention of the law, they will pull you over and look at the windows more closely.
Alternatively, they might have requested you to stop in regards to another traffic issue only for them to be alerted to the situation of your windows when they get up close.
Others
Having understood the things you are expected of under window tint law in Colorado, here are some practical issues regarding tinting that you will most certainly benefit from as you make up your final decision regarding whether you will go ahead and tint your car or not.
- Subtle benefits: there are quite a number of advantages to tinting however some of them tend to be more pronounced than others even when they may not necessarily be the most beneficial. We all know for instance that tinting is good for the aesthetics as well as privacy.
Not many though appreciate the fact that tinting your car keeps its inside from peeling, wearing out etc. The parts that are protected in this case include the dashboard and upholstery. You will also find that you will save energy and fuel through tinting since the inside of your car remains cool for the most part. As a result, folks who drive tinted cars use the air conditioning systems less frequently.
- Window tinting in court cases involving accidents: again, tint laws exist because there is are downsides to leaving the industry unregulated the most tragic one being road accidents.
In some instances therefore, this issue will come up during trials. The lawyers of the parties that were affected by the accidents will present to the judge evidence relating to how the fact that a vehicle’s tint did not comply with the state’s requirements directly culminated into the incident at hand. They could say for example, that but for the tint, the driver would have otherwise clearly viewed where they were headed.
Lawyers for the driver on the other hand, will want to deny liability. They may for instance say that whereas the car’s tint did not conform to the applying laws, there is no immediate relationship between this fact and the accident itself. The judge will then weigh either claims and determine which of them is more convincing.
Should he/she agree with the first lawyer/set of lawyers, he/she is likely to grant compensation to the victims with the amount of money being dependent on medical expenses, loss of income etc.
Colorado State Info
Colorado forms part of the Mountain States located in Southwestern United Stated. Its name comes from River Colorado which is a major water way that runs through the state.
Colorado is quite big per USA standards. It is the eighth biggest state in the country actually. Its capital is Denver. Other cities in the state include; Frisco, Lafayette, Broomfield, Ouray, Golden, and Pueblo.
Cities in Colorado: Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins, Aspen, Vail, Longmont, Breckenridge, Pueblo, Aurora, Grand Junction, Estes Park, Durango, Loveland, Steamboat Springs, Littleton, Greeley, Golden, Telluride, Arvada, Centennial, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Glenwood Springs, Lakewood, Englewood, Westminster, Crested Butte, Thornton, Winter Park, Louisville, Pagosa Springs, Ouray, Parker, Manitou Springs, Salida, Leadville, Nederland, Montrose, Gunnison, Lyons, Lafayette, Alamosa, Cañon City, Buena Vista, Silverton, Frisco, Trinidad, Erie, Fairplay
Counties in Colorado: El Paso, Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams, Larimer, Boulder, Douglas, Weld, Pueblo, Mesa, Broomfield, Garfield, La Plata, Eagle, Fremont, Montrose, Delta, Morgan, Summit, Montezuma, Routt, Teller, Elbert, Logan, Otero, Chaffee, Pitkin, Park, Las Animas, Alamosa, Gunnison, Grand, Moffat, Prowers, Archuleta, Rio Grande, Yuma, Clear Creek, Kit Carson, Conejos, San Miguel, Lake, Huerfano, Rio Blanco, Bent, Saguache, Crowled, Lincoln, Gilpin, Washington, Phillips, Ouray, Custer, Baca, Costilla, Sedgwick, Dolores, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Jackson, Hinsdale, Mineral, San Juan