Window Tinting in Wyoming
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
What is the purpose of tinting the windows on your car or truck?
There are lots of reasons why a window tint on your vehicle is beneficial. MSN.com says, both Cheyenne and Jackson, WY are among 20 of the sunniest cities in the U.S. Adding to this is the higher altitude in parts of Wyoming, which increases the intensity of the sun rays. Driving in the harsh sun can be dangerous because you can’t see, but it’s bad for your eyes too. Adding a window tint reduces the harshness and glare from the sun.
A window tint in Wyoming can help reduce the heat building up inside your vehicle on scorching hot summers day. According to 3M™, their Crystalline Series Window Film, “… rejects up to 60% of solar energy and up to 97% of heat-producing infrared rays for the ultimate in comfort”. The light and heat from the sun can cause damage to the inside of your vehicle too. This could be warping and/or fading of interior materials.
Privacy is another reason for tinting windows. Probably the most important reason would be to keep valuables out of sight, but then there are bad hair days and nose picking. There are also window tint films available that are shatter resistant. This could help protect occupants of the vehicle from glass shards, should the window get broken. This may be an important factor too if you live somewhere that gets a lot of hail storms.
How is window tint darkness calculated?
How dark the tint is, is measured by, ‘Visible Light Transmission’. This is calculated as a percentage (the difference between the natural light outside and the amount of light that travels through the window with the tint.
The lower the percentage number, the darker the tint.
For example, a window with 80% VLT will have a very slight tint. A vehicle with an 18% tint will be very very dark (and probably illegal depending on your state law).
What is the window tint law in Wyoming?
Even although there are lots of benefits to tinting the windows on your vehicle, there needs to be a limit as to how dark the tint can be. For safety reasons such as still being able to see other vehicles and potential hazards around you. The law is different for each state, so be sure to check the legal limit for the state you live in.
Wyoming Statute Title 31, Motor Vehicles part 31-5-962.
Sunscreening devices.
Front side windows
“(d) A sunscreening device, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of the side wings or side windows, or both, located at the immediate right and left of the driver, shall be a nonreflective type and have total light transmission through both the sunscreening device and glazing of not less than twenty‑eight percent (28%)”.
This means the front side windows on your vehicle cannot have less than 28% VLT. Remember that some vehicles come with a window tint from the factory, so if more tint is added this will add more darkness and reduce the VLT.
Rear sides and back window
(e) A sunscreening device, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of the side windows behind the driver and the rearmost window, shall be a nonreflective type and have total light transmission through both the sunscreening device and glazing of not less than twenty‑eight percent (28%)”.
Windshield
“(c) A sunscreening device when used in conjunction with the windshield shall be a nonreflective type and may not be red, yellow or amber in color. A sunscreening device may be used only along the top of the windshield and may not extend downward beyond the AS‑1 line or more than five (5) inches from the top of the windshield, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield”.
Exceptions
“(h) The requirements of this section shall not apply to windows behind the driver of trucks, buses, motor homes, ambulances, limousines and multipurpose passenger vehicles, to windshields on motorcycles or motor‑driven cycles”.
In the eyes of the law, a multipurpose vehicle is a passenger vehicle that can carry less than 10 people that is built on a truck chassis or equipped with off-road features.
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2014 Wyoming Statutes :: TITLE 31 – MOTOR VEHICLES.” Justia Law, law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/2014/title-31/
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