Common_Sense's Blog

As a continuing public service informing people of Arizona's traffic laws, today I'm going to touch on window tint.

When I stop a car for having illegally dark window tint, I'm invariably told that they weren't aware that Arizona has a law regulating tint.  I don't know if they're lying, or if they really are unaware that Arizona's tint law is the same as California's.

Arizona Revised Statutes 28-959.01.A.1 specifies that window tint on the front passenger compartment windows cannot have a light transmission specification of less than 33%.  33% window film is not very dark, and you can see clearly into the vehicle.

The rear side windows and rear windows can be as dark as you want as long as you have side mirrors.

We DO issue citations for violations of this law.  I carry a small, hand-held electronic tint tester that shows the amount of light transmission on an LED display.  The tester is calibrated and holds up in court.

I see loads of cars with "limo black" tint.  It's only a matter of time until they get tickets and have to scrape the tint off.  Scraping off window tint is a royal pain.  It's better to get legal tint in the first place.

What IS it with so many Valley drivers who refuse to turn on their headlights when it's pouring rain??  Nevermind the fact that it's required by law, it's the SMART THING TO DO.  Do these morons think they're saving gas or something?  This illustrates my point, once again, that about 20% of the people on the road have no business having a driver's license.

While we're on the subject of rain and incompetent drivers, how about SLOWING DOWN when it rains?  Slow down and leave more room between your car and the car ahead. 

Do you ever wonder why collisions increase ten to 20 times when it rains?  The answer: idiotic incompetent drivers who think they can drive the same way in the rain as they do when it's dry.  Today I saw a rear end collision from following too close,  a guy who lost control of his pickup truck when he made a left turn too fast and spun out of control, a collision caused by a schmuck who stomped the gas when the traffic light turned yellow...and lost traction, and a guy in a big Dodge Ram coming sideways right at me after making a right turn (from a stop sign, no less) too fast.  And this is just a small fraction of the idiocy that took place in the Valley today.

So, what have we learned?

1.  TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS when it rains and at any other time that visibilty is reduced (parking lights don't count.  You should ONLY turn those on when you're parked).

2.  SLOW DOWN when it rains or snows (yes, it has been known to snow in Phoenix in the winter).

3. LEAVE MORE SPACE BETWEEN CARS.

These three simple tips will help keep you safe and alive for Christmas and into 2008.

Lately, I've noticed more and more traffic violations by drivers turning right on red lights.  The law says a driver MAY turn right on a red light, if he comes to a COMPLETE stop and ensures that the way is clear.

A complete stop means that your wheels are not turning. 

The way is clear means that there are no cars in ANY LANE that might be impacted by your turn (vehicles in Arizona may legally change lanes in an intersection.  If a driver is changing into the curb lane as you're making a right on a red and collides with you, YOU will be ticketed and held liable).

Today, I observed a steady stream of cars turning right on a red light from Thunderbird Road onto I-17.  Not one of them stopped!  A red light does not mean "slow down and look for cars before jamming on the gas." A red light is not a yield sign.

I'm trying to save readers from getting expensive citations for running red lights.  Not to mention what a moving violation can do to your insurance rates for the next five years.

However, if you'd rather take your chances, watch out for those Mustangs and Firebirds with dark windows.  Grant money is buying more and more of those for Phoenix-area police agencies to use as undercover traffic units.  Few agencies use white Crown Vics for that purpose anymore.

I was in city court today, and there were HUNDREDS of people there paying traffic fines.  I heard a great many of them remarking that they had never received a ticket before.  Like the people running red lights on T-bird and I-17, they didn't think getting a ticket would happen to them.  My job is to change their minds.

What sort of parents buy their kids a bicycle and then send them out onto the streets of Phoenix with no training and no knowledge of the law?

A person on a bicycle is NOT A PEDESTRIAN.  A person riding a bicycle in a crosswalk is NOT A PEDESTRIAN.  If a bicyclist is in a collision with a motor vehicle, and the bicyclist was not obeying the traffic laws, the bicyclist will get the ticket and be required to pay for the dents and scratches in the car.

Arizona law says that bicyclists must obey all the same laws as motor vehicles when riding on public streets.  That means they must ride on the right side of the roadway, they must stop for stop signs, they must yield the right-of-way, etc. 

PARENTS:  teach your kids to WALK their bikes across streets in a crosswalk.  If they come zooming down the sidewalk into the crosswalk and they get hit by a car, the accident will legally be their fault.   I repeat:  bicycles being ridden in crosswalks are NOT PEDESTRIANS.

Watch your kids around water, too.  ;)

What IS it with stupid drivers' inability to properly use turn signals?  When changing lanes, I think two out of three drivers blink the signal once or twice AFTER they're over in the next lane.  Even worse are the retards who stop at a light, then put on the signal as they pull out to turn.

The law says that when changing lanes you must signal for 100 feet BEFORE moving into the adjacent lane.  Likewise, you must signal your intent to turn 100 feet BEFORE reaching the intersection.  The point of turn signals is to warn other drivers of your intent BEFORE you make your move.

When I stop some boob who has changed lanes and blinked his turn signal twice as he was half-way over, I invariably hear "I DID TOO SIGNAL!!"  I wish I could just impound their driver's licenses on the spot.  People that dense shouldn't be allowed to drive.

I'm a police officer. I stop and cite people whose cars are sporting those tinted or reflective license plate covers designed to foil photo radar. Every time, I hear "I didn't know they were illegal."

Arizona law prohibits ANYTHING on a license plate that inhibits the plate's visibility. That includes mud, stickers, and tinted/reflective license plate covers.

While I'm on a roll, we also cite people for illegal window tint on front-side windows. People also state that they thought that was only illegal in California. Arizona law requires tint with no less than a 67% light transmission ability. Looking at such a tint, it's only slightly tinted.

I hope this post will keep someone from having to spend a day in court and pay a costly ticket...and have to scrape off expensive window tint.

What IS it with Phoenix drivers and parking lights? Why do some drivers put on parking lights at dawn and dusk? Do they thing they're saving electricity? If it's dark enough for illumination, the LAW requires headlights. Parking lights are for when you're parked.