337.28 USE OF SUNSCREENING, NONTRANSPARENT AND REFLECTORIZED MATERIALS.

   (a)   Requirements.

      (1)   No person shall operate, on any highway or other public or private property open to the public for vehicular travel or parking, lease, or rent any motor vehicle that is required to be registered in this State with any sunscreening material, or other product or material which has the effect of making the windshield or windows nontransparent or would alter the windows’ color, increase its reflectivity, or reduce its light transmittance, unless the product or material satisfies one of the following exceptions:

         A.    Any manufacturer’s tinting or glazing of motor vehicle windows or windshields that is otherwise in compliance with or permitted by “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 205" (FMVSS 205) in effect at the time of the manufacture of the motor vehicle until such standard is subsequently repealed or reduced. In “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 205" (FMVSS 205) “manufacturer” means any person engaged in the manufacturing or assembling of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, including any person importing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for resale. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 205" (FMVSS), Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 571, can be obtained online at web site http://www.gpo.gov.

         B.   Any sunscreening material or other product or material applied to the windshield when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of such window, has a light transmittance of not less than seventy per cent plus or minus three per cent and is not red or yellow in color.

         C.   Any sunscreening material or other product or material applied to the side windows to the immediate right or left of the driver, so long as such material, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of such windows, has a light transmittance of not less than fifty per cent plus or minus three per cent and is not red or yellow in color.

         D.   Any sunscreening material or other product or material applied to a window not otherwise listed in subsections (a)(1)A. to C. or E. of this section, except that outside left and right rear view mirrors are required if the sunscreening material is applied to the rear window and the sunscreening material, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing material of such window, has a light tranmsmittance of less than fifty per cent plus or minus three per cent.

         E.   Any sunscreening material or other product or material applied along the top of the windshield and that does not extend downward beyond the AS-1 line or five inches from the top of the windshield, whichever is closer to the top, is not regulated by this section.

      (2)   No person shall install in any motor vehicle any glass or other material that fails to conform to the specifications of this section.

      (3)   No used motor vehicle dealer or new motor vehicle dealer, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4517.01, shall sell any motor vehicle that fails to conform to the specifications of this section.

      (4)   No reflectorized materials shall be permitted upon or in any front windshield, side windows, sidewings or rear window.

      (5)   No person shall operate on any highway or other public or private property open to the public for vehicular travel or parking, lease, or rent any motor vehicle that is required to be registered in this State that is equipped with privacy drapes, louvers, curtains or blinds unless the drapes, louvers, curtains or blinds are open and secure during vehicle operation.

      (6)   All motor vehicles, beginning with the 1990 model year, must be equipped with labels identifying sunscreening material. All sunscreening material must indicate the manufacturer’s name and the percentage level of light transmission of the material permanently installed between the material and the surface to which the material is applied or affixed. Such label must be legible and must be placed in the lower left-hand corner of the vehicle window when viewed from the outside.
(OAC 4501-41-03)

   (b)   Exemptions. The provisions of this section do not apply to:

      (1)   A motor vehicle registered in this State in the name of a person, or the person's parent, legal guardian or spouse who has an affidavit signed by a physician licensed to practice in this State under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4731 or an affidavit signed by an optometrist licensed to practice in this State under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4725 that states that the person has a physical condition that makes it necessary to equip such motor vehicle with sunscreening material which would be of a light transmittance and/or luminous reflectance in violation of this section. Such affidavit shall be in the possession of the person so afflicted or the driver at all times while in the motor vehicle;

      (2)   The windows to the rear of the driver in chauffeured limousines as defined herein;

      (3)   The windows to the rear of the driver in those vehicles designed and used to transport corpses which include hearses and other vehicles adapted for such use; and

      (4)   The manufacturer's tinting or glazing of motor vehicle windows or windshields that is otherwise in compliance with or permitted by "Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 205" (FMVSS 205) in effect at the time of the manufacture of the motor vehicle as provided in subsection (a) hereof. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 205" (FMVSS 205), Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 571, can be obtained online at web site http://www.gpo.gov.  

         (OAC 4501-41-05)

   (c)   Definitions. As used in this section, certain terms are defined as follows:

      (1)   "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as specified in Section 301.20.

      (2)   "Sunscreening material" means products or materials, including film, glazing and perforated sunscreening, which, when applied to the windshield or windows of a motor vehicle, reduce the effects of the sun with respect to light reflectance or transmittance.

      (3)   "Transmittance" means the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, which is allowed to pass through the product or material, including glazing, to the amount of total light falling on the product or material and the glazing.

      (4)   "Windshield" means the front exterior viewing device of a motor vehicle.

      (5)   "Window" means any device designed for exterior viewing from a motor vehicle, except the windshield or any roof-mounted viewing device.

      (6)   "Manufacturer" unless otherwise specified in this section, means any person who engages in the manufacturing or assembling of sunscreening products or materials or any person who fabricates, laminates or tempers a safety glazing material, incorporating, during the manufacturing process, the capacity to reflect or reduce the transmission of light.

      (7)   “Chauffeured limousine” means a motor vehicle that is designed to carry nine or fewer passengers and is operated for hire on an hourly basis pursuant to a prearranged contract for the transportation of passengers on public roads and highways along a route under the control of the person hiring the vehicle and not over a defined and regular route. “Prearranged contract” means an arrangement, made in advance of boarding, to provide transportation from a specific location in a chauffeured limousine at a fixed rate per hour or trip. “Chauffeured limousine” does not include any vehicle that is used exclusively in the business of funeral directing.

         (OAC 4501-41-02)

   (d)   Penalty. Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(ORC 4513.241)