Senate considering bill to raise fines for illegal car window tinting

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Car owners who tint their vehicle windows beyond the legal limits would be subject to fines of up to $500 under a measure approved yesterday by a Senate committee. Companies that install the illegal tinting could be fined $1,000 for each offense.

Bill SB-2087 is designed to cut down on an increasing number of automobiles with tinting so dark that the drivers can't be seen from outside the vehicle, said Sen. Cal Kawamoto, chairman of the Senate's Transportation, Military Affairs and Governmental Operations Committee.

The state's tinting law, passed 21 years ago, provides for fines of $50, which "are just plain too low to act as a deterrent to those who put on tinting in excess of the requirement," said Tim Lyons, executive vice president of the Hawai'i Business League.

After Hawai'i Safety Inspection stations began enforcing the law in 1994, the number of illegally tinted vehicles dropped sharply. However, the illegally darkened windows have become commonplace again in recent years, said Tommy Silva, president of T&T Tinting Specialists.

"You can sit in traffic or stand on the side of any street and easily see them driving by," he said. "Here's a simple guideline to detect illegal auto tinting: If you cannot see the driver through the front-side windows and the windshield, the tinting is illegal."

Silva said some cars, including those that have been caught racing on O'ahu's streets, even have completely blacked-out film on all windows, including the front windshield. He said there are many glass tinting establishments in the state that will install any level of tinting just by asking for it.

Honolulu police said they issued more than 600 tickets for illegal tinting last year and have stepped up enforcement as more officers have become equipped with devices to measure the level of tinting on vehicles they stop.

Under the amended measure approved yesterday, police offers would be asked to enforce the existing law and issue tickets resulting in the increased fines, said Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).

Among several other automobile safety measures approved by Kamamoto's committee yesterday:

• SB-2018, which would require the use of child safety seats or booster seats for all children over 4 years but under 7 in a vehicle.
• SB-2237, which would make it illegal to operate a vehicle with any measurable amount of illegal drugs in a person's blood or urine, regardless of whether or not the drug impaired the person's ability to drive.
• SB-2533, which would require all bicycle riders under the age of 18 to wear helmets. The law now requires only those 15 and younger to use helmets.

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.