Driving instructor in Peel charged for operating with window tints

A driving instructor in Peel Region was charged for operating their vehicle with what police determined were “extremely tinted front windows.”

A police spokesperson shared on X that a road safety officer in Peel Region stopped the driving school instructor on Thursday.

“Since 2017, no aftermarket tint is permitted on the windshield,” the post reads.

The student driver was not charged, police said, noting that the instructor was driving at the time.

In Ontario, drivers can tint their rear windows, but front windows can only be tinted up to 30 per cent, according to the Highway Traffic Act.

“Any window to the direct left or right of the driver’s seat […] substantially obscures the interior of the motor vehicle, when viewed from outside the motor vehicle,” the act states.

“Front side windows may have 70 per cent VLT (Visible Light Transmission) only if originally manufactured as such.”

Ontario law also requires having left and right external rear view mirrors in case the rear window is tinted.

The province amended tinting laws in July 2016, and the new regulations have been in effect since Jan. 2017.