In the Spotlight

was on my way to pick up my wife in our recently acquired "preowned" (and here I thought it was "used") vehicle, when I saw those red and blue flashers come on behind me. So I pulled over, wondering what I had done.

I have to admit, I'm not really that used to seeing those flashers (only two tickets in twenty-three years driving, none in the last twenty), so it really startled me. What had I done wrong?

As the officer approached, I reached into the glove box and got out my insurance card, and then pulled my driver's license from my wallet. The state trooper politely asked me how long I had owned the vehicle (the temp plates were a dead giveaway I bet)?. Only two weeks I replied, almost three...

After running some checks on the windows, he politely informed me that the windows on my vehicle were too dark, and he needed to issue me a warning. As he walked back to his vehicle to write the warning, I had time to think about just why would having my windows too dark matter?

I realized that having the windows too dark meant that I could not see as well at night. I then realized, even more importantly, that it meant that if I was pulled over (like I had been), that the police officer would be unable to see inside the vehicle to assess any possible threats.

Personally, though I've only been pulled over four times in my life, I think I prefer to have the police more relaxed when they approach, then coming up with their hand on their pistol, wondering if they have a routine traffic stop, or if they have an armed criminal waiting.

Anyways, I'll take the vehicle back to the dealer tomorrow and ask them to remove the tint, then I'll go out and get some lighter (and legal) tint to help temper the sun this summer.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.