The Sioux City Journal
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Sioux City police officers are looking for motorists hiding behind dark windows as part of an effort to again enforce the city’s tinted-window law.
Statistics suggest they’re not having problems finding them, issuing 23 tickets in April alone to motorists for having windows too dark.
Officers toting hand-held tint meters issue the citations, simple misdemeanors which carry a fine of $36.50.
Police Sgt. Mark Skaff said enforcement of the law has two benefits. It will make sure people can see where they’re driving and allow police to see what the driver of a pulled-over vehicle is doing, he said.
“It’s a good law, and I think it needs to be enforced,” Skaff said.
Sioux City’s tinted window code mirrors Iowa law, which requires 70 percent of light transmission through the front side windows and windshield.
The police department has three tint meters, which slip over a partially rolled down window to measure the amont of light that transmits through the glass.
Nathon Smith of Dave’s Glass Company in Sioux City said that most customers just want to keep the sun out to reduce the temperature in their cars. He said he sees more customers during the spring.
But additional incentives include a sleeker look for the vehicle and privacy for a driver who wants to conceal a radar detector or stereo equipment, he said.
“They know all the laws before we do it,” Smith said.