Citation

Proffitt DR, Joseph JE, Bhalla M, Bertamini M, Durgin FH, Lynn CW, Jernigan JD. Transp. Res. Rec. 1995; 1485: 90-96.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree to which motor vehicle window tint films impede a police officer's ability to see clearly into a stopped vehicle. Three hundred twenty subjects were asked to view the contents and occupants of one of four experimental cars. One car had no aftermarket tint film, and the other three had aftermarket tint films tinted to various degrees. Although similar experiments have been conducted, all of those experiments yielded equivocal results because of methodological flaws. The present experiment was an attempt to correct some of those problems and to simulate standard procedures used during traffic stops by the Virginia State Police. In general, the study found that the abilities of subjects to detect occupants and objects in vehicles were substantially diminished as the degree of window tinting increased. However, at night the detrimental effects were substantially reduced when headlights and a spotlight were shone on the vehicle, as would be the case in a traffic stop.

Record URL:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1485/1485-012.pdf

Language: en

Keywords

Accident prevention; Highway accidents; Visibility; Motor transportation; Automobile windshields; Light reflection; Windows