AOL Autos recently wrote up an article about ways to keep your car cool.

Window tinting is very effective in lowering interior temperatures. However, there are different rules regulating window tinting for every state. Some states prohibit tinting of the front windows so police officers can see into a vehicle during a traffic stop. Other states allow tinting, but the degree of tinting is defined, which varies from state to state. So before having your vehicle’s windows tinted, check with your state DMV to make sure you don’t break any laws.

It is nice to see that the effectiveness of window tint is starting to be realized by mainstream media.  Window tint is not just for the young and reckless who want to look cool, the criminals who have something to hide, or the celebrities protecting their privacy.  There is a very practical use to window tint to protect your own health from the heat and UV of the harsh sun.

It is true that each state has its own individual tint laws regarding what is legal and what is not.  Be sure to check out the tint laws in your state before you tint.

Despite the benefits to window tinting, you often hear the negative stereotype that the only people tinting their windows are criminals.  This is far from the truth, as people of all types and backgrounds are choosing to tint their cars for UV and heat rejection.  Although a tinted car may make police feel much more cautious when approaching as the occupants may not be visible, I do believe that this stereotype is severely overplayed. TintCenter enjoyed a recent window tint rant by the LRC blog

As of July 1, Florida cops are permitted to impose about a $100 fine for each person in a vehicle who is not wearing a seat belt.  So tinted windows, which are pervasive in Florida, are seen as a major obstruction to tax collection.  Just in case the Booboisee might object, the news show put on the screen an A-K47 that was allegedly taken from a car with — you guessed it — tinted windows. It just stands to reason, then, that the Florida legislature should outlaw curtains and all other forms of home window coverings.  Who knows what heinous crimes might be committed behind those curtains!

I repeatedly express my admiration for the people in uniform including our cops on the streets, but I subscribe to the greater good theory.  In 2008, around 130 cops die in the line of duty of which a small percentage is due to tinted cars.  On the other hand, consider these facts about skin cancer in the US:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two major forms of non-melanoma skin cancer. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either skin cancer at least once.
• In 2004, the total direct cost associated with the treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers was more than $1 billion.
• About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.
• Contrary to popular belief, 80 percent of a person’s lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.

It is pretty clear which side is the “greater good”.

TintCenter tries to keep up to date with changes to state tint laws, but to be honest, it is quite hard to keep track of 50 states plus US territories all the time.  We missed a change that happened in Maine, which was pointed out by a R Harvey that resides most probably in Maine.

The Maine Tint Law originally required 50% VLT on all side and rear windows.  This new law revises the allowed darkness down to 35%.   Complete breakdown of the patchwork of laws that make up the enter Maine Tint law is available here.

Although we here at TintCenter honor the service of state and local police departments for their courage in service, we continue to believe that the dangers of over-exposure to sun and heat inside vehicles contribute to more human and animal deaths a year than the policemen killed due to a criminal pulling a gun in a tinted car.