Are shaded car windows legal?

never had so much shit from drivers, it all started since i got a ticket for RLJ now i stop at lights and things are getting worse. had a posh ct u-turn at a junction (me going down southwards slope on end of london bridge) and almost got wiped out. tonight some other ct in a 7-seater with shaded windows cut me up from the left driving out from orange st. when i was going down haymarket. i went up to speak to him at the set of lights he said he didn't see me. i told him he should have keep his eyes peeled he asked me to keep mine peeled. funny. if i haven't i would have been hit. he said sorry but don't you make mistakes i told him no, if i ever make one, i'll be dead because people drive like he does.

so are shaded car windows legal? or should shaded car windows be legal? i really don't think they should be. especially in this country where people think they own the road and can kill someone with an excuse they didn't see you.

they are legal on the side windows, illegal on the front and supposedly the back as they impair vision

In Oz what ras said.. as well as there being limits to how dark the tint can be.

well i think the side windows in the front should be illegal too then, we all know what the left hook is and most cyclists killed aren't killed from the front or the back.

You start the campaign, I'll vote.

man, i need brake fluid.

I want panniers full of half bricks to throw at cars.. they'll fscking notice me then won't they?! :)

maybe i should give up, they couldn't even see hippy.

I think you're allowed to have tint on all the windows. But they need to let a certain amount of light through to be legal. Some traffic polis have got the kit to measure this. Lucky you were on the ball when it happened.

There are no restrictions on how dark the rear windscreen and rear side-glass can be (just like vans, which obviously can have solid side and rear panels). The front windscreen and front side-glass (ie the glass in the driver's and front passenger's doors) must allow a certain percentage of available light to pass through. The front side glass can be darker than the front windscreen. I forget the exact limits, but Soweto is right - most traffic police have a light meter to test it.

In general, if you can't make out the driver's features, the glass is too dark. If you think it was a factor in you being cut up, get the reg and call the cops. The firms that do the tinting know the rules and still break them, and those who ask them to do it are penises and deserve the points and fine that come with getting caught.

And it just makes your car look shit anyway, so you're doing them a favour.

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/features/everything_else/2277.asp

I think they're fair enough if you need to keep things in the back of your car if you're a tradesman or something..

the front screen and side windows must let 70% of light thorough. most factory tinted glass lets through about 75-80% so as soon as you put pretty much any film on a modern car its illegal. Anything behind the front doors can be blacked out completely.

IMHO the tinted windows are not the problem, the careless twat of a driver is your issue. I've driven with many different shades of tinted windows (I used to tint car windows) and providing you are observant all but the blackest shades are fine.

If glass is not tinted but driver is wearing sunglasses, is this the same legally? It has the same effect what they see on the road.

Not a problem on bright days, but some idiots wear shades even when it's dark cos they think they look hard, eh?

What about those lenses that change their shading depending on how bright it is? They could be a serious hazard to everyone, not only cyclists when travelling through patches of light/shade.

ChrisNW What about those lenses that change their shading depending on how bright it is? They could be a serious hazard to everyone, not only cyclists when travelling through patches of light/shade.

That reminds me, it's almost time for my annual bout of agonising over whether to by a pair of Specialized Arcs.

ChrisNW If glass is not tinted but driver is wearing sunglasses, is this the same legally? It has the same effect what they see on the road.

Not a problem on bright days, but some idiots wear shades even when it's dark cos they think they look hard, eh?

What about those lenses that change their shading depending on how bright it is? They could be a serious hazard to everyone, not only cyclists when travelling through patches of light/shade.

that's the thing, eyeshades, you can take them off. but i dont see any reason for that idiot to roll down his tinted window on a freezing/rainy/snowy night.

never had so much shit from drivers, it all started since i got a ticket for RLJ now i stop at lights and things are getting worse.

you are learning the hard way

the-smiling-buddha never had so much shit from drivers, it all started since i got a ticket for RLJ now i stop at lights and things are getting worse.

you are learning the hard way

Exactly - one thing is that you should think about you road positioning. if you stop at the lights then get right in front of the cars and in the middle of the road, not on the left where you can get hooked. It'll piss them off when they can't rev off the lights but it will keep you safer.

Momentum
Exactly - one thing is that you should think about you road positioning. if you stop at the lights then get right in front of the cars and in the middle of the road, not on the left where you can get hooked. It'll piss them off when they can't rev off the lights but it will keep you safer.

+1. Always.

thanks for the comments, it's not like i jump all the lights before i got my ticket anyway, and i ride everyday so i know where to position myself. that's what i always do. ride on the right to get to the lights and i sit right in front of them at the lights so they see me (and i chose to buy a bright yellow bag to give them no excuse). if i can't make it to the front i sit right in the middle of the lane as well i imagine myself as big as a car.

that idiot who did a u turn was coming from the opposite way so it wasn't a left hook, i left the set of lights on my side before it turned red and he decided to u-turn into my lane from the other side (he was obviously jumping a red light to do it).