Window tinting has become quite famous in the modern day as people’s perspective of cars changes from mere vessels that transport us from one to place to the next to instead involve things like identity i.e. merely looking at a car nowadays tells you the type of person that drives it. Actually, your interest in this area is testament to the said reality.
As more people tint their cars though, there has grown concerns too about how the same affects those around them as well as the general public hence the need for regulation. In the case of the United States, the duty to ensure promulgation on window tinting laws falls on the states hence we will explore the law in Indiana today.
Indiana first passed the law of tinting in 2003 which was rather late in the game if contrasted with other parts of the country. From then, there have been modifications and amendments though this should not worry you as my research canvasses through all this timeframe thereby presenting a wholesome picture of how things look like up to the moment.
The specifics to be shared are the general principles of window tinting law i.e. window tinting darkness and reflection, and other important provisions say, exemptions, and enforcement clauses.
Finally, we will talk about some practical issues which are key to understand if you are going to better contextualize whatever it is that we will have covered up to that point.
In my analysis, I have endeavored to adopt very simple language so you do not have to have gone through law school to appreciate the details carried.
Additionally, I have made sure that I contrast the stipulations of Indiana law with states elsewhere in a bid to give you a sense of how rigid or otherwise a given provision would be.
Indiana Window Tinting Darkness Laws
Window tinting darkness is the most famous aspect of tinting i.e. when most people hear about tint, the most thing that comes to their minds is tint darkness. The way that this variation of tinting accomplishes its purpose is simple.
Just like its name suggests, a vehicle will be dressed with tinting of a dark shade which in turn blocks a portion of the light coming its way.
Note that not all dark films block the same amount of light however which brings us to the notion of measuring tint darkness. This is accomplished through what has come to be known as Visible Light Transmission also referred to as VLT.
VLT is captured in percentage with the highest figures indicating more amount of lighting entering through a window.
A window that has a film of 90% VLT attached to it thus, allows more light into the car to which it belongs than one whose tinting is 40% VLT.
When stipulating VLT standards in law thus, legislators do so by way of indicating the permissible VLT percentages. Often, they are influenced be two factors one of which is the type of car in question.
To be more specific, what makes a difference is either the car’s purpose or structure. Take law enforcement cars for instance. One will find that they will in many cases be allowed to use way lower VLT than other cars.
The rationale here is hinged on their purpose that is, since officers use them to go after notorious actors, tinting them with dark shades helps protect the privacy of these security personnel. Moreover, the said cars are not many so they can easily be tracked down incase this allowance is abused.
The second factor regards the position of the different windows on a car. While one may make the argument that these windows are attached on the same car, it is the case that they serve very different roles.
It would therefore be absurd for anyone to expect that the same VLT numbers will be asked of them. Notoriously, legislators will always require that minimal VLT is used for the windshield if at all.
This is understandable now that it is through the said window that drivers vet to interface with the part of the road ahead of the car (which is always considered to be the most important).
That said, legislatures do not always consider the two factors all the time. In Indiana however, both of them influence VLT levels as we will now see;
- Sedans
- Windshield: tint is allowed only above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line.
- Front side windows: a minimum of 30% VLT must be allowed.
- Backside windows: a minimum of 30% VLT must be allowed.
- Rear window: a minimum of 30% VLT must be allowed.
- SUVs and Vans
- Windshield: tint is allowed only above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line.
- Front side windows: a minimum of 30% VLT must be allowed.
- Backside windows: no restrictions on VLT. This means that it can be as low as 0%.
- Rear window: no restrictions on VLT. This means that it can be as low as 0%.
Indiana Window Tinting Reflection Laws
Window tinting reflection is the less famous of the branches of tinting i.e. it does not immediately occur to people when someone tells them about tinting.
This however, should not mislead you into thinking that it is not effective. In fact, tint reflection is better than window tinting darkness in some respects. You should therefore always ask a professional about which of the options works best for your situation whenever you decide to tint a car.
Tint reflection executes its task by deflecting part of the light that comes its way. It is therefore quantified by the amount of light that it diverts away. The higher the percentage number reflected by this tint, the higher percentage reflection it is said to have.
Law makers always aim at minimizing the lighting reflected by a window as much as possible.
Notice that because of the nature of window tinting reflection, regulation is needed much more than with tinting darkness. This is the case because whereas any distortions under the latter category has direct implications for car owners, this is not always the case under tinting reflection.
Take an example of accidents arising from distorted viewing. For the case of window tinting darkness, it would mean that it is the driver of the car with poor tinting that risk is heightened. By contrast, the light that bets reflected is viewed by people on the outside of the car so it is innocent third parties that will have their lives put at stake in those instances.
Even in the absence of regulation thus, drivers of tint darkness cars have a direct incentive to act sensibly but the same cannot be said about the window tint reflection situation.
When deciding how much reflection percentages are to be asked of drivers under window tinting reflection, law makers follow the same determinants discussed in the tinting darkness section i.e. the type of a car and then the position of its windows.
Again, it is not that the two will always be considered. Indiana only follows the second factor. It does not matter therefore that one drives a van or a sedan.
- Front side windows: should not allow more than 25% reflection.
- Backside windows: should not allow more than 25% reflection.
Other Indiana Window Tinting Laws
Anywhere you go, window tinting reflection and tinting darkness always form the crust of tinting law including in Indiana. With the two covered thus, you can be sure that you pretty much now know a considerable portion of everything there is to know in this branch of law.
Stay with me for a moment however, as I will under this section proceed to tell you about several provisions for which if you had not known, there would still be nuance lacking from your knowledge.
- Restrictions on Color: Indiana imposes no ban on any colors whatsoever so you may paint your car with any shades that you fill most attached too. This is a rather surprising fact as whereas moderate states do not restrict that many colors, they will at least ban red and amber. These colors are considered to be shouting and therefore having a high potential for distorting the view of other road users.
One assumes that Indiana is confident that with the requirements under tint reflection being needed to, even the colors pointed out would be applied in a manner that is safe for everyone.
- Side mirrors: Indiana has no mandatory requirement for side mirrors at all. Again, this is quite interesting if one understands that in contemporary tinting law, this ask is always present whenever car drivers tint the rear windows with 0% VLT. And of course, this scenario is possible in Indiana for SUVs.
The rationale for side mirrors goes back to the fact that once the rear window is blocked off then a driver will struggle to establish sight of the objects behind the car at any given moment thereby compromising safety.
I would encourage you thus to install both side mirrors on your car if your rear is tinted even though state law does not ask it as a matter of good practice.
- Certificates and Stickers: manufacturers in Indiana must certify the tint films they produce. In window tinting language, certificates refer to documentation that manufacturers issue affirming that the film they have given out complies with the relevant laws. These become important in proving responsibility in cases of violation. If a driver is pulled over for instance, they can present a certificate as proof that they were misled.
Stickers serve more less the same purpose with the major difference being that they are portable. Rather than worry about keeping paper work, a driver that has secured a sticker attaches it in their car once and for all. Indiana does not mandate the issuance of stickers.
On this front, the state of Indiana is relatively strict since there are many places that neither mandate certificates nor stickers. As already shared though, the policy ultimately serves in your best interest as a driver.
- Medical exemption: Indiana law allows special treatment for folks whose health situation makes it impossible for them to heed to the general reflection and VLT standards without causing harm to themselves. This an issue that is widely acknowledged in the United States. Common cases of folks that will benefit from this bracket are persons struggling with skin conditions as well as eye problems.
Note however, that it is not sufficient that someone suffers from any of the said medical challenges. They must go a further step and obtain documentation from a qualified medical practitioner attesting to their condition. They should then keep such paperwork with them whenever on the road such that they can present it to law enforcement in their defense should they be stopped.
Unlike states that ask for application to transport departments, this criteria by Indiana is less bureaucratic.
- Penalties: in Indiana, window tinting law violations are either classified as Class C or Class A infractions. The difference in classification ultimately determines the fine that is to be met on the offender. Class C infractions will attract as high as $500. It is even worse for Class A infractions i.e. $10,000. These sums are indeed sum of the most pernicious anywhere in the country. Considering that most provisions are lenient, though the fines are justified as the laws would likely be taken for granted otherwise.
Law enforcement will establish violation by using a hand tool which they will place on the windows of a car suspected to be in violation of tinting laws. Note that payment of a fine does not exonerate you from being fined again should you not remove the offending window(s).
Others
Now that we have seen everything there is in regards to the law, we can proceed to look at a couple of factors that are not legal and yet from my experience, I know will prove instrumental in your quest hereafter.
I am hoping that sharing these will spare you yet another Google search and time to read another article.
- Keeping the interior intact: at this point, everyone knows that tinting is good for privacy but that is not all, there are more advantages which though less popular are pretty remarkable and one of them is how tint keeps the inside of your car relatively new.
By keeping out heat, then the upholstery, electronics… wear and tear less and don’t have their coloring fade thereby allowing you a comfortable experience. Moreover, there are added advantages to this fact one of which is selling your car for a good amount of money should you decide too.
- Saving energy: tinting keeps out UV rays hence the heat that they carry. This means that your car will remain cold for the most part and so you will not need to use functionalities such as air conditioning which are known to consume loads of energy.
- Transparent tint advantages: There are properties that only dark tint gives you e.g. privacy. For folks that do not mind that however, and are instead interest in the rest of advantages instead e.g. those discussed above, then you don’t have to do dark tint if it is not your thing. Transparent tint will just work fine.
Indiana State Info
Indiana is located in what is commonly referred to as the Great Lakes region in North America. It forms one of the fifty state that make up the United States of America and it has been so since its first admission in December 1816.
Sitting on roughly, 94,900 km sq, Indiana is only larger than twelve other states. The state’s capital is Indianapolis. Other renown urban areas there are; Brownsburg, Fishers, Columbus, Portage, Vincennes, West Lafayette, Terre Haute, Avon etc.