Could Michigan’s Laws on Window Tinting Be a Safety Hazard for Drivers?

We've all seen it happen before, right? The cop pulls over the heavily modified car with the loud exhaust and stereo, usually also with a custom paint job, and very likely souped up beyond its factory settings. But instead of checking you for speeding, he pulls out a little device from his pocket, and asks you to roll their window UP a bit.

He's checking the tint levels of the windows, and in most states, it is HIGHLY enforced. It could be a severe safety hazard if you can't see well enough through your windows at the rest of traffic. but Michigan is built different, and actually has one of the most relaxed tint laws in the country.

Get our free mobile app

I personally have tint on the windows of my truck, but it's not much. Just enough to keep the sun from pouring in on me on those hot, sunny days. I did mine mostly for functional reasons, but there are people who do it strictly to look cool, and for privacy.

In Michigan, you can practically be as private as you want - we have the darkest legal tint laws for a car'. The rear door windows, back window, and side mirrors can be any darkness you want, which means you could practically black them out if you wanted.

Michigan is the ONLY state in the country that allows this.

Likewise, on the front windows and windshield, you can have a non-reflective tint of ANY darkness above the manufacturer's AS1-line (it's a little bit of text on your windshield indicating it's an American Standard-made windshield, about 5-6 inches from the top of the glass). AND, any tint below that, only has to allow 35% of light through.

These are the absolute, most relaxed tint laws in the entire country. That's not to say, there still isn't a degree of people who will push that limit. People who do violate the tinting law could still receive a $100 fine and a "fix-it" ticket for their first offense. Beyond that, it's up to the discretion of the officer and a judge as to what your punishment might be.

So if you see a car that's practically blacked out on the road in Michigan, turns out that's probably legal... until they cross any state lines.