ASK THE EXPERT – WINDOW TINTING LEGALITIES?

Hey Adam,

I went to get my window tinting done a bit darker and I was told that as the rear windows were privacy windows they wouldn’t tint them as it is not legal here in Victoria. Is that correct, and why?

Thank you,

Nathan.

Hi Nathan,

Yes, that’s correct. Vic Roads has stated in their Roadworthy requirements that privacy glass, which is the darker glass that you see on more modern windows of the rear of the vehicles, cannot be tinted or even have a clear film over them.

These privacy glass windows that are affected here are marked AS3 on the lower corners of the windows. It stands for American Standards 3.

As a Roadworthy Tester we are required to test the window tint. The minimum pass for light transmittance is 35% but they allow a 5% leeway so really the minimum is 30%. Anything under that is a fail for Roadworthy.

When we went to a refresher course we were told that there has been an increase in accidents or even people being struck by vehicles at night and they have put it down to darker tinting making it harder to see at night.

The AS3 glass is legal as it was factory fitted, but any tint, film or change to it will make it unroadworthy. It is a hard one for us as roadworthy testers to tell people that their vehicle fails an inspection because the tinting is too dark but the rules are the rules.

I have also seen vehicles presented to us (from car yards) where a rear window – that should have been AS3 glass – had been changed and was tinted to look like it was an AS3 glass window.

Hope that helps,

GO NUTS!

Adam