# tinted car windows look almost black - of course? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548 "2017-05-13T19:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/1 "2017-05-13T19:16:57Z")
I find that re Illinois law, tinted windows must let in at least 35% of the light. Ok. So, given average daylight illumination, how likely would it be that one could see into a car with tinted windows well enough to know that, say, a man or a woman is driving? Or to count the number of people traveling in the car? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/2 "2017-05-13T19:57:55Z")
It would seem to me it would matter a lot on how much light the windows are required to let out as well. If you can block ~ 100%, you won’t be able to tell regardless of how much light is let in. ---
**Author:** ![Walton\_Firm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Walton\_Firm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walton_Firm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/3 "2017-05-13T20:11:04Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > It would seem to me it would matter a lot on how much light the windows are required to let out as well. If you can block ~ 100%, you won’t be able to tell regardless of how much light is let in. There is no such thing as glass which blocks light in one direction and lets it through in the other. (And if it did exist, the car’s interior would get unbearably hot very quickly.) On the other hand, a lot depends on how much darker or lighter the interior of the car is than the environment. In bright daylight, it can be difficult to peer into a car from outside even if the windows aren’t tinted at all, just because of ordinary glare. Under such circumstances, tinted glass will appear almost completely opaque but the people inside will have no trouble looking out. Whereas if it was dark outside, and there were several bright light sources inside the car, you could easily see the interior of the car from outside, even through tinted glass, but the people inside would have trouble looking out. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/4 "2017-05-14T12:55:33Z")
Speaking of tinted windows, what’s up with tinted windshields? And I don’t mean slightly tinted, I mean so dark that you can’t see the driver. I’m assuming is just the “cool” factor (and I don’t mean temperature) but really? I find that being able to see the driver and especially making eye-contact, makes for much safer motoring. I have had a couple of employer-supplied cars with dark tint on the side windows and hated it. You can’t see anything at night w/o rolling down the window. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/5 "2017-05-14T13:41:00Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I find that re Illinois law, tinted windows must let in at least 35% of the light. Ok. So, given average daylight illumination, how likely would it be that one could see into a car with tinted windows well enough to know that, say, a man or a woman is driving? Or to count the number of people traveling in the car? I understand the rationale behind the law, but we’re not required to leave our shades open and let people peer into our house. Maybe the latest cars already have them, but an electronic window tinting (adjustable) would be a great application for cars. Turn it almost black for the high summer sun, or just one side of the car or as required. Off at night, etc. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/6 "2017-05-14T14:45:40Z")
Anything that increases the anonymity of drivers greatly increases their tendency to drive like a jerk. “I’m invisible” and “I’m invincible” seem to be connected in folks’ minds. Or maybe causation goes the other way and people who drive like jerks like to buy tinted windows to better preserve their anonymity. In either case, at least around here there is a very strong correlation between darkness of tint and jerkishness of driver behavior. If I was King window tinting would be flat illegal and aggressively enforced. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/7 "2017-05-14T14:53:47Z")
The window tint always looks darker when looking into the vehicle. Because the windshield is also the main light source for illuminating the interior of the car. If the tinted windshield has 35% transmission, it’s blocking 65% of the illumination, _and_ it’s blocking 65% of the light reflected off the interior. So the tinting makes the interior look 87% darker. Then there’s contrast. In order to see the interior of the car through the windshield, the light reflected from the interior and out the windshield must be at least comparable brightness to the light _reflected by the windshield_. This depends on so many factors, but typically the windshield is reflecting a bright sky, if not the sun itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/8 "2017-05-14T17:11:32Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Speaking of tinted windows, what’s up with tinted windshields? And I don’t mean slightly tinted, I mean so dark that you can’t see the driver. I’m assuming is just the “cool” factor (and I don’t mean temperature) but really? I find that being able to see the driver and especially making eye-contact, makes for much safer motoring. I have had a couple of employer-supplied cars with dark tint on the side windows and hated it. You can’t see anything at night w/o rolling down the window. I’ve never seen a tinted windshield outside of a car commercial. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/9 "2017-05-14T17:50:22Z")
They’re real common around here. The whole cab is blacked out. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/10 "2017-05-14T17:52:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They’re real common around here. The whole cab is blacked out. Could you find a pic? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/11 "2017-05-14T19:57:49Z")
My concern is twofold. As mentioned by\*\* LSLGuy,\*\* I think it might lead to more traffic incidents, as people behave differently when they (think they) are anonymous, usually less socially responsibly. And I do agree that at times, when drivers can look one another in the eye, there is a sense of shared community, leading to better driving. I would also think that the police would feel better not being shut out of the opportunity to observe the people in a car. I would hate to be a cop approaching one of those cars on foot after some sort of stop. By the same token, I wonder how many people have tinted windows to make the car cooler vs the number of people who seek to hide themselves from scrutiny of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/12 "2017-05-14T20:18:04Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I would also think that the police would feel better not being shut out of the opportunity to observe the people in a car. I would hate to be a cop approaching one of those cars on foot after some sort of stop. By the same token, I wonder how many people have tinted windows to make the car cooler vs the number of people who seek to hide themselves from scrutiny of some sort. I’m amused, sort of, to hear people cite “a shared sense of community”, that ship sailed a long, long time ago. Anyhoo, how do you suppose police feel about being “shut out of the opportunity” to observe people inside their homes when they knock on the door? Why is that any different? Perhaps we should be required to live in glass houses, albeit with a 35% tint limit. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/13 "2017-05-14T20:19:56Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I would also think that the police would feel better not being shut out of the opportunity to observe the people in a car. I know a guy who was busted for possession of cocaine a week before his wedding. He had hired two limos, one for his bachelor party and one for travel from the wedding reception to the airport. The second limo had a totally blacked out passenger area. For the bachelor party he hired a cheaper limo that had regular glass in the back. The idiot was doing a line of coke at a red light, right in front of a cop, thinking he was invisible. ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/14 "2017-05-15T09:53:49Z")
I thought tinting a car windshield below the AS1 line is illegal in most (some?) places. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/15 "2017-05-15T12:09:42Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I would hate to be a cop approaching one of those cars on foot after some sort of stop. I was under the impression that this was the entire reason for laws that limit car window tinting, i.e. to assure that officers can see into the car when approaching on foot during a traffic stop. Anyone know otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/16 "2017-05-15T13:29:42Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > I’m amused, sort of, to hear people cite “a shared sense of community”, that ship sailed a long, long time ago. While it’s not as well-developed as it could be or should be, I think that one reason for some degree of decorum on the road is just that, a shared sense of a driving community. People still slow down to let someone pass, people still wave if you let them into a tight traffic flow, four-way stops still look mostly like deferential meetings rather than shootouts at OK Corral. I think it would be good if the notion were more definitively taught in driver’s ed, but it does still exist, fortunately for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/17 "2017-05-15T14:03:07Z")
I heard some world-weary comedian joke that he wanted a limo with a window where everyone could look in but he didn’t have to see anybody. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/18 "2017-05-15T14:04:56Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > I thought tinting a car windshield below the AS1 line is illegal in most (some?) places. 😕 “AS1 line?” ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/19 "2017-05-15T14:10:46Z")
> **[Car Windshield Markings: names, sample images, meaning](https://www.carwindshields.info/windshieldmarkings)** > > Find information about Car Windshield Markings: mark names, sample images, and information. Car Windshields: Unbiased information on repairing and replacing car windshields. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548/20 "2017-05-15T14:14:15Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > [Car Windshield Markings: names, sample images, meaning](http://www.carwindshields.info/windshieldmarkings) Huh. I will never look at windshields the same way again. Do all car owners “know”/are aware of these symbols and icons? That is, that they are a thing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinted-car-windows-look-almost-black-of-course/786548.md?page=2)