Window Tinting questions

[slinky]

Chaps/Chapesses...

A chap in the office picked up an MG ZT with tinted windows recently...

The MOT is coming up shortly and he's concerned about the legality of the tints...

Worried about this, and the constant worry of being pulled over for the darkness of his tints has prompted the question..

How dark is legal? His tints are effectively Limo Black..

Also, how are the tints tested for legality?

Thanks in advance,

slinky

[bryan35]

had a work colleague that was done in a work car was dark tints.
They have a device that goes each side of the glass to measure light conduction, from inside to out.
Quite a big fine if I remember, as in the order of £300.
Not sure if police carry this kit all the time, or if the police were having a 'dark tints' day.

[KITT]

AFAIK it's only the windscreen and front side windows that are restricted to a certain level of tint. The rear windows can be as dark as you like.

[slinky]

Another question in addition to this if that's ok... is there anywhere tinted windows can be tested to prove whether or not they are legal?

Cheers,

slinky
587racing.com

[Plotloss]

Places that do window tinting should have a little machine that tests the percentage of light that passes through them or will be able to show you a legal tint for comparison purposes.

[Dibble]

From memory, windscreen has to have light transmission of not less than 75%, windows in front of the B pillar not less than 70%.

Measuring can be done with a device called a "Tintman". This has a light source and a light receiver which go either side of the glass being checked. The unit is switched on, with a sample glass with a known light transmission value between the source/receiver. The Tintman is then calibrated/adjusted to this value.

The source/receptor are then put on the window being tested and the glass is checked. Anything below the above figures is a "fail", and can result in immediate PG9/prohibition.

[Scott W]

Is the law slightly different for the Police Mobile CCTV vans that drive around?

I came across one heading towards Uxbridge a few weeks back and the drivers window (the only one I could see) was so black I couldn't see the driver.