DEARBORN, Mich. – The City of Dearborn is cracking down on car window tints. The initiative picked up speed after a teen got hit by a car while walking to school.
The 15-year-old girl spent months in the hospital. The driver who hit her was just 19 years old. He was charged with reckless driving, causing serious impairment.
Police said the driver ran a red light, was speeding and had tinted windows.
“This is not just a Dearborn situation; this is a Southeast Michigan concern, and we’re taking a proactive approach to address this,” a police spokesperson said.
The crackdown intensified after a Fordson High School student was hit by a driver last December. Since then, police have issued more than 850 tickets for tint violations.
“We’ve seen tints as dark as limo tints,” the spokesperson said. “Think of that on a front windshield and imagine trying to drive at night or in a rain/snowstorm with limo tint level on front or sides windows. That can make it very difficult to see outside those windows.”
Michigan law allows tinting on the rear window and rear side windows. The front side windows may have tint on the top four inches only. The front windshield can have tint only with a doctor’s prescription.
Optometrists are often the first stop for people seeking medical exemptions for window tints, but concerns have arisen about some faking medical needs.
“At the beginning, we will get multiple phone calls every day asking if we do prescriptions for window tints, and it started to decrease when it became known I’m not a doctor that does it,” said Dr. Bashir Tarraf, who opened Dearborn Eye Care three years ago. He noted that mostly young teen boys ask for tints.
While sunglasses address most light sensitivity issues, legitimate reasons for tint prescriptions include chronic eye inflammation, traumatic brain injury, dry eyes or high astigmatism.
In February, the city sent a letter to Dearborn optometrists urging them to limit issuing medical exemptions and warning of legal consequences for fraud.
“I was happy that the police and city are aware of the problem, and becoming more problematic in the area, and they’re doing something about it,” Dr. Tarraf said about receiving the letter.
In a separate effort, the city is engaging teens directly. Months after a classmate was hit while walking to school, Fordson High partnered with the Oakland Community College Police Academy to offer young drivers a simulator experience to understand reckless driving risks.
“At the Ford/Schaefer intersection, there was a major accident that happened, the 15-year-old is still in intensive care, and the 19-year-old driver, who was distracted and speeding, and chose to drive recklessly, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said. “So the goal is to mute these drivers, understand the power and responsibility that comes once they sit behind the wheel and face the road ahead.”
Mayor Hammoud has made safe streets a priority, calling for more speed humps, posted speed limit signs, and flashing stop signs.
Drivers said that while tinted windows may look cool, the risks outweigh the benefits.
“I had tints on my car, but I took them off because I had too much police problems. Plus, people are dying, and we gotta be more careful of what we’re doing,” one driver said.
“The fads and what’s popular isn’t worth your life or a car accident, and it’s not worth the ticket, so don’t do it,” another added.