I was pulled over on Saturday for what seemed like nothing to be told I had to pay a 130euro fine. Apparently unknown to me a new law came in at the start of the year outlawing tinted film on the Driver & Passenger door windows, Windscreen too, but I cant imagine having the stuff on my windscreen.

Luckily my (French) Mrs was with me & she managed to convince the Gendarmes we knew nothing about the new law & to avoid the fine I had to rip the stuff off on the side of the road before we left.

The car looks pretty stupid now with its standard tinted front windows & the blacked out rear ones, but it'll have to stay as I often have costly photo gear in the back.

The worst part was getting the glue residue off the glass. I reckon if I could've used some heat to get it off the glue would've come with it, but ripping it off cold left most of it behind.

Anyway, I hope this might help someone avoid the trauma we had.

Cheers....

Thanks for the heads up

I used to have front side tints on my last one, but there is a similar law in the UK, so with the L405 I decided to go legal.

In the UK, I don't think the law changed, but the interpretation did - it states a minimum level for 'in front of the driver' or something like that - which for a long time meant the windscreen only, but then widened to include front side windows.

On my L322 I had a light tint on the front sides, a medium on the back doors & a darker tint on the rear - I agree that going from nothing on the front, to full tint on the rear doors seems a bit harsh.

its not wise having tints on the front windows, it restricts vision at night and the police don't like it cos they can't see the driver and what he is doing i.e. talking on a mobile phone. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Not that I would have had tinted windows anyway, but another reason to avoid France like the plague! 2005 E60 M5
2006 L322 4.2 SC
2020 Tesla Model S Long Range
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2004 L322 4.4 Vogue, 2019 NP300 Navara, 2016 NP300 Navara, 2002 L322 4.4 HSE, 2006 (MY07) L322 S/C ,2001 330Ci Sport Track Car, 2005 650i Coupe, 2001 P38 Vogue, 2003 530i Sport Touring, 1999 P38 4.6 HSE, 2002 E39 M5, 1995 300zx TT Slicktop, 1997 M3 Evo, 1992 300zx TT Targa, 1998 323i Coupe

^

L'article 27 du décret n° 2016-448 du 13 avril 2016, entré en vigueur en 2017

Modified the Code de la Route from 1 January 2017.

Front window tints should allow a minimum of 70% transparency. Intended to ensure proper vision by driver and also as part of controlling use of seat belts and misuse of mobile phones.

€130 fine and 3 points. John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold

Last edited by Weegie on 2nd Mar 2017 9:19pm. Edited 1 time in total

Similar in Ireland at 65%.

The law in the U.K. is 75% for the windscreen and 70% for front passenger & drivers window. It's not very well enforced though and not checked as part of the MOT as the testers usually don't have the right equipment to measure it correctly.

I was pulled in my old Audi by a jobsworth while on my way to my Father's funeral and informed that my front window tints were illegal and that they would have to be removed.
I was completely unaware that the windows were tinted at all and not being in the best of moods, refused to be bullied by the policeman with clearly nothing better to do - when I questioned how he could prove the windows were illegal, he backed down completely as he didn't actually have the testing device in his car.

I'm still not convinced they were anything other than factory tinted. 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

The tints were already done on my fatty when I bought it. Its not something I would've paid to have done. I'd already taken it off the rear screen as I couldn't see out. It looks a bit stupid now 2 thirds well blacked out & the other third tinted green. It might all have to go but it is useful for stopping scrotes & scratters from peering in.