Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: bob.dent on 04 March 2011, 09:25:59
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I got stopped at a police check point at stansted Airport on my way to work yesterday morning and was told the reason I had been pulled in was because my front window tints were illegally dark. I had an idea they were as Broocie (Hotel21) had told me in his capacity as an ex policeman at one of our previous OOF meets. Having bought the car with the tints alreadyon and having owned the for nearly 4 years without being stopped, I hadn't given it much more thought. They said I could be fined £60 per window and get 3 points on my licence per window. :o However, they said if I removed the front tints there and then I would just get a £30 fine. :-?
Anyway, was impossible to peel off at the roadside and they could see I was struggling, so after a car inspection they said because I had not been "arsy" (their words) with them and co-operative, they let me off with a warning but said to remove the tints at my earliest opportunity.
I could have agued that I can see out of them perfectly well and they haven't caused me any problems in the 4 years of ownership, but then the law is the law and I probably wouldn't have been let off. ::)
My problem now is how the hell do I remove the bloody tints without scratching the windows? :-/
Anyone done this before?
PS......OK Broocie, you were right so no gloating please!! ::)
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you know, it might just be less faff to get two fresh door glasses?
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unlucky bob, its part of what makes your car yours.
all ive seen removed have involved getting a corner started, like selotape, and then pulling hard and removing in one piece, i gather getting started is the tricky bit.
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you know, it might just be less faff to get two fresh door glasses?
you've obviously never had the pleasure of replacing a front door window! ;) ;) ;)
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I removed one by warming with a hairdryer in one corner first to get it started
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you know, it might just be less faff to get two fresh door glasses?
you've obviously never had the pleasure of replacing a front door window! ;) ;) ;)
cant be any harder than that of a bora, mine was a PIG of a job!
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Get your hair dryer out bob and warm them up
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Get your hair dryer out bob and warm them up
Come on mark, do you really think Bob has a hair dryer? ;D ;D ;D
Greg or Tim may have though....
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I got stopped at a police check point at stansted Airport on my way to work yesterday morning and was told the reason I had been pulled in was because my front window tints were illegally dark. I had an idea they were as Broocie (Hotel21) had told me in his capacity as an ex policeman at one of our previous OOF meets. Having bought the car with the tints alreadyon and having owned the for nearly 4 years without being stopped, I hadn't given it much more thought. They said I could be fined £60 per window and get 3 points on my licence per window. :o However, they said if I removed the front tints there and then I would just get a £30 fine. :-?
Anyway, was impossible to peel off at the roadside and they could see I was struggling, so after a car inspection they said because I had not been "arsy" (their words) with them and co-operative, they let me off with a warning but said to remove the tints at my earliest opportunity.
I could have agued that I can see out of them perfectly well and they haven't caused me any problems in the 4 years of ownership, but then the law is the law and I probably wouldn't have been let off. ::)
My problem now is how the hell do I remove the bloody tints without scratching the windows? :-/
Anyone done this before?
PS......OK Broocie, you were right so no gloating please!! ::)
That's a bit of a buggeration as I've always thought that your car looked the part. :-* :-*
Aside from the pain of trying to get the tints off - hairdryer or heat-gun on a gentle setting and a razor blade on the edge of the glass to get things going - well done on getting that result from the officers who stopped you. 8-) :y
In the main - not always mind you - the right attitude taken with the peelers can work in anyone's favour.
It also requires the police officer to recognise reasonable people and behave accordingly. :y
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Get your hair dryer out bob and warm them up
Come on mark, do you really think Bob has a hair dryer? ;D ;D ;D
Greg or Tim may have though....
OI!! enough of that James, I just choose to have it cut short. ::) ;D
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Get your hair dryer out bob and warm them up
Good idea Mark :y - it had crossed my mind to try applying heat but I hadn't thought of a hairdryer.
Now, what did I do with that hairdryer I had when I still had use for one. ::)
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I removed one by warming with a hairdryer in one corner first to get it started
This seems the way to go - thanks. :y
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I removed one by warming with a hairdryer in one corner first to get it started
same way used to get decals off the bodywork e.t.c i used a heat gun on mine (decals) and they came off o.k geuss it would be the same for the tints as i peeled them back i kept the heat on the bit i was peeling to melt the glue as it went
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You could sand blast it off but guessing you'd only get stopped again.
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Bob,
The letter of the law (for a car of your age) is that the windscreen must allow at least 75% light through, and the front windows at least 70%.
Did the plod measure the light able to pass through window in three seperate places using a device in a black box (known as a tint-man?)
If so - what were your readings?
If the light allowed through was significantly less than the 70%, then you could be issued with an endorsable fixed penalty notice for using the vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Where the light is below the limit, but not by a great deal, it can also be dealt with by way of a non-endorsable £30 FPN.
I think the officer probably got it wrong re. the 3 points per window. If the tints are very dark, the offence is a singular one, of "using the vehicle in a dangerous condition", so would only attract one penalty of £60 and 3 points at worst.
If there were further offences, they'd have to report you for summons.
They also have the power to prohibit the vehicle if the tints are dangerous, but again this is highly unlikely unless the levels are very very low.
Either way, it sounds like he used some common sense, and made a good judgement call with the words of advice :y
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Bob,
The letter of the law (for a car of your age) is that the windscreen must allow at least 75% light through, and the front windows at least 70%.
Did the plod measure the light able to pass through window in three seperate places using a device in a black box (known as a tint-man?)
If so - what were your readings?
If the light allowed through was significantly less than the 70%, then you could be issued with an endorsable fixed penalty notice for using the vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Where the light is below the limit, but not by a great deal, it can also be dealt with by way of a non-endorsable £30 FPN.
I think the officer probably got it wrong re. the 3 points per window. If the tints are very dark, the offence is a singular one, of "using the vehicle in a dangerous condition", so would only attract one penalty of £60 and 3 points at worst.
If there were further offences, they'd have to report you for summons.
They also have the power to prohibit the vehicle if the tints are dangerous, but again this is highly unlikely unless the levels are very very low.
Either way, it sounds like he used some common sense, and made a good judgement call with the words of advice :y
Thanks for that James. :y
He didn't measure the light but said he could arrange for it to be tested in which case if it failed he would definitely have to nick me.
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Bob,
The letter of the law (for a car of your age) is that the windscreen must allow at least 75% light through, and the front windows at least 70%.
Did the plod measure the light able to pass through window in three seperate places using a device in a black box (known as a tint-man?)
If so - what were your readings?
If the light allowed through was significantly less than the 70%, then you could be issued with an endorsable fixed penalty notice for using the vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Where the light is below the limit, but not by a great deal, it can also be dealt with by way of a non-endorsable £30 FPN.
I think the officer probably got it wrong re. the 3 points per window. If the tints are very dark, the offence is a singular one, of "using the vehicle in a dangerous condition", so would only attract one penalty of £60 and 3 points at worst.
If there were further offences, they'd have to report you for summons.
They also have the power to prohibit the vehicle if the tints are dangerous, but again this is highly unlikely unless the levels are very very low.
Either way, it sounds like he used some common sense, and made a good judgement call with the words of advice :y
Thanks for that James. :y
He didn't measure the light but said he could arrange for it to be tested in which case if it failed he would definitely have to nick me.
Not sure why he said 'have' to nick you.
Obviously I wasn't there, but it sounds like he needs to think about exercising a little discretion.
Ultimately, what is his aim by stopping you for tints? The answer to that is road safety.
If by offering you advice (peeling them off), which he thinks you are going to take, this objective becomes achieved, the requirement for him to 'nick' you isn't there.
Either way, not to worry, you avoided a ticket :y
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Not sure why he said 'have' to nick you.
Obviously I wasn't there, but it sounds like he needs to think about exercising a little discretion.
Ultimately, what is his aim by stopping you for tints? The answer to that is road safety.
If by offering you advice (peeling them off), which he thinks you are going to take, this objective becomes achieved, the requirement for him to 'nick' you isn't there.
Either way, not to worry, you avoided a ticket :y
I would assume that he was saying that if they tested the transparency and it failed he would have to issue the ticket, instead he did use his discretion and let Bob go with the advice to remove them :y
But be warned Bob, your car is very noticeable so there's a good chance he'll spot you again and if you haven't removed the tint :-X :-X
It's a real shame but, to be fair, you've been expecting it for a few years now :y
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Not sure why he said 'have' to nick you.
Obviously I wasn't there, but it sounds like he needs to think about exercising a little discretion.
Ultimately, what is his aim by stopping you for tints? The answer to that is road safety.
If by offering you advice (peeling them off), which he thinks you are going to take, this objective becomes achieved, the requirement for him to 'nick' you isn't there.
Either way, not to worry, you avoided a ticket :y
I would assume that he was saying that if they tested the transparency and it failed he would have to issue the ticket, instead he did use his discretion and let Bob go with the advice to remove them :y
But be warned Bob, your car is very noticeable so there's a good chance he'll spot you again and if you haven't removed the tint :-X :-X
It's a real shame but, to be fair, you've been expecting it for a few years now :y
That about the size of it Paul, he was prepared to let me go with a warning but if I'd challenged him to test it he would have had to have nicked me if it failed.
TBH I have been expecting a tug ever since Broocie told me he was sure they were borderline illegal. ::)
BTW, I see the "lazytinker" name has stuck! ;D
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he was prepared to let me go with a warning but if I'd challenged him to test it he would have had to have nicked me if it failed.
I guess it's just a different approach. I personally test tints (to gauge what level the tints are) before deciding how to deal with it.
Either way, I do agree, he did the right thing by giving you advice :y
(Edit to add, even if, upon testing, the tints don't let enough light through - this does not automatically mean the officer can no longer deal with it by advice) :)
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I very nearly T boned a new fiesta ST on Wednesday on the way back from a job in Hereford. I was travelling along the A49 at just about the legal limit and saw this Fiesta waiting to pull out of a T juction, the windows were blacked out and I couldn't see the driver, anyway the scrote driving waited for the car coming towards me to pass and then pulled out, well my ABS works but my undies needed changing, god knows what his/hers were like ;D
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Bob, you knew it was 'when' not 'if'.... ;D
Couple of thoughts. If the Officer noted details of you and your car then they will probably be added to the database as a warning. If not noted then its an individual Officers assessment and you would then balance removal with the probability of meeting that particular Officer again.
Personally, I would look at removing the tint thats on and replacing it with a legal one. bear in mind that some, not all, glass fitted to cars is already at legal maximum/minimum and so the addition of any film will render them naughty.
You pays your cash and takes your chance, as the saying goes.... :)
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eny film that doesnt release with heat try abit of brake cleaner on paper wiped over should loosen up then clean with meths,
had a volvo estate few years back that had been owned by a chemical firm the tints all round were so dark that i had to open the drivers window at night to see,but i was never stopped, some areas of the country thay have a crack down ,east anglia is pretty hot for stops for tints 8-)
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Bob,
The letter of the law (for a car of your age) is that the windscreen must allow at least 75% light through, and the front windows at least 70%.
Did the plod measure the light able to pass through window in three seperate places using a device in a black box (known as a tint-man?)
If so - what were your readings?
If the light allowed through was significantly less than the 70%, then you could be issued with an endorsable fixed penalty notice for using the vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Where the light is below the limit, but not by a great deal, it can also be dealt with by way of a non-endorsable £30 FPN.
I think the officer probably got it wrong re. the 3 points per window. If the tints are very dark, the offence is a singular one, of "using the vehicle in a dangerous condition", so would only attract one penalty of £60 and 3 points at worst.
If there were further offences, they'd have to report you for summons.
They also have the power to prohibit the vehicle if the tints are dangerous, but again this is highly unlikely unless the levels are very very low.
Either way, it sounds like he used some common sense, and made a good judgement call with the words of advice :y
Thanks for that James. :y
He didn't measure the light but said he could arrange for it to be tested in which case if it failed he would definitely have to nick me.
The problem is that virtually any tint on Omega front windows puts them over the limit as the original factory tint is very close to the limit.
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If this should happen again to any one, and you are being reasonable and the police are being condesending/arsey as a lot of them can be, then tell him to fetch his meter and while he's doing that wind both windows down and pull the fuse sharpish :y
PS, only do this if there is nothing else remotley wrong with your car...
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If this should happen again to any one, and you are being reasonable and the police are being condesending/arsey as a lot of them can be, then tell him to fetch his meter and while he's doing that wind both windows down and pull the fuse sharpish :y
PS, only do this if there is nothing else remotley wrong with your car...
... and brand yourself as a bit of an eejit that would probably be likely to be stopped more frequently. ::)
And what about obstructing a Police Officer in the execution of their duty?? C'mon..... :P