AN ACT Relating to
tinted windows in motor vehicles; and amending RCW 46.37.430.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.37.430 and 1990 c
95 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No person may sell
any new motor vehicle as specified in this title, nor may any new motor vehicle
as specified in this title be registered unless such vehicle is equipped with
safety glazing material of a type that meets or exceeds federal standards, or
if there are none, standards approved by the Washington state patrol. The
foregoing provisions apply to all passenger-type motor vehicles, including
passenger buses and school buses, but in respect to trucks, including truck
tractors, the requirements as to safety glazing material apply to all glazing
material used in doors, windows, and windshields in the drivers' compartments
of such vehicles except as provided by subsection (4) of this section.
(2) The term
"safety glazing materials" means glazing materials so constructed,
treated, or combined with other materials as to reduce substantially, in
comparison with ordinary sheet glass or plate glass, the likelihood of injury
to persons by objects from exterior sources or by these safety glazing
materials when they may be cracked or broken.
(3) The director of
licensing shall not register any motor vehicle which is subject to the
provisions of this section unless it is equipped with an approved type of
safety glazing material, and he or she shall suspend the registration of any
motor vehicle so subject to this section which the director finds is not so
equipped until it is made to conform to the requirements of this section.
(4) No person may sell
or offer for sale, nor may any person operate a motor vehicle registered in
this state which is equipped with, any camper manufactured after May 23, 1969,
unless such camper is equipped with safety glazing material of a type
conforming to rules adopted by the state patrol wherever glazing materials are
used in outside windows and doors.
(5) No film
sunscreening or coloring material that reduces light transmittance to any
degree may be applied to the surface of the safety glazing material in a motor
vehicle unless it meets the following standards for such material:
(a) The maximum level
of film sunscreening material to be applied to any window, except the
windshield, shall have a total reflectance of thirty-five percent or less, plus
or minus three percent, and a light transmission of thirty-five percent or
more, plus or minus three percent, when measured against clear glass ((and))
resulting in a minimum of twenty-four percent light transmission on AS-2
glazing where the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors on both
the right and left. Installation of more than a single sheet of film
sunscreening material to any window is prohibited. The same maximum levels of
film sunscreen material may be applied to windows to the immediate right and
left of the driver on limousines and passenger buses used to transport persons
for compensation and vehicles identified by the manufacturer as multi-use,
multipurpose, or other similar designation. All windows to the rear of the
driver on such vehicles may have film sunscreening material applied that has
less than thirty-five percent light transmittance, if the light reflectance is
thirty-five percent or less and the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview
mirrors on both the right and left. ((Manufacturers of film sunscreening
material shall provide a label to affix to the vehicle indicating the
percentage light transmittance and light reflectance of the film and it shall
be affixed by the installer to the area immediately below the federal vehicle
identification number sticker on the driver's side striker post. All vehicles
equipped with film sunscreening material are required, on and after January 1,
1991, to meet the labeling requirements in this section. The label shall meet
standards adopted by the state patrol.)) A person or business tinting
windows for profit who tints windows within restricted areas of the glazing
system shall supply a sticker to be affixed to the driver's door post, in the
area adjacent to the manufacturer's identification tag. Installation of this
sticker certifies that the glazing application meets this chapter's standards
for light transmission, reflectance, and placement requirements. Stickers must
be no smaller than three-quarters of an inch by one and one-half inches, and no
larger than two inches by two and one-half inches. The stickers must be of
sufficient quality to endure exposure to harsh climate conditions. The
business name and state tax identification number of the installer must be
clearly visible on the sticker.
(b) A greater degree
of light reduction is permitted on all windows and the top six inches of
windshields of a vehicle operated by or carrying as a passenger a person who
possesses a written verification from a licensed physician that the operator or
passenger must be protected from exposure to sunlight for physical or medical
reasons.
(c) Windshield
application. A greater degree of light reduction is permitted on the top
six-inch area of a vehicle's windshield. Clear film sunscreening material that
reduces or eliminates ultraviolet light may be applied to windshields.
(d) When film
sunscreening material is applied to any window except the windshield, outside
mirrors on both the left and right sides shall be located so as to reflect to
the driver a view of the roadway, through each mirror, a distance of at least
two hundred feet to the rear of the vehicle.
(e) The following
types of film sunscreening material are not permitted:
(i) Mirror finish
products;
(ii) Red, gold,
yellow, or black material; or
(iii) Film
sunscreening material that is in liquid preapplication form and brushed or
sprayed on.
Nothing in this
section prohibits the use of shaded or heat-absorbing safety glazing material
in which the shading or heat-absorbing characteristics have been applied at the
time of manufacture of the safety glazing material and which meet federal
standards and the standards of the state patrol for such safety glazing
materials.
(6) It is a traffic
infraction for any person to operate a vehicle for use on the public highways
of this state, if the vehicle is equipped with film sunscreening or coloring
material in violation of this section.
(7)
Owners of vehicles with film sunscreening material applied to windows to the
rear of the driver, prior to June 7, 1990, must comply with the requirements of
this section and RCW 46.37.435 by July 1, 1993.
