37 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.3 - Standards for Sunscreening and Privacy Window Devices
(a) The words and terms
detailed in this section, shall have the following meanings unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Sunscreening
device--A glazing, film material, or device for reducing the effects of visible
sunlight and/or preventing observation. This does not include glazing or film
material without visible tinting providing protection from the effects of
ultraviolet light because this type of sunlight is not visible to the human
eye.
(2) Light transmission--Has
the meaning assigned by §
547.001(3)
of the Transportation Code.
(3)
Luminous reflectance--Has the meaning assigned by §
547.001(4)
of the Transportation Code.
(4)
Manufacturer--Has the meaning assigned by § 547.613(g)(2) of the
Transportation Code.
(5)
Installer--Has the meaning assigned by § 547.613(g)(1) of the
Transportation Code.
(b)
All sunscreening devices used as standard equipment, optional equipment, or in
replacement parts, adhering to the federal standards at the time of vehicle
manufacture, are authorized.
(c)
After-market sunscreening devices. Standards and specifications described in
paragraphs (1) - (4) of this subsection apply to after-market sunscreening
devices applied in conjunction with window glazing (vehicle safety glass)
meeting federal standards.
(1) All installed
after-market sunscreening devices will be measured in combination with the
vehicle's original equipment (window glass).
(2) Windshields. No after-market sunscreening
devices shall be installed, affixed, or applied to a vehicle windshield below
the AS-1 line, or five inches from the top of the windshield if the AS-1 line
annotation is not present.
(A) If an
additional sunscreening device is used above the AS-1 area of the windshield,
the light transmission value, in combination with the original windshield
glazing, must be 25% or more.
(B)
The luminous reflectance of any additional sunscreening devices used above the
AS-1 area of the windshield must be 25% or less.
(C) An installed after-market sunscreening
device used on the windshield may not be of a red, blue, or amber
color.
(3) Side Windows.
Side windows to the immediate left and right of the operator must have at least
a 25% light transmission value and luminous reflectance of 25% or less, over
the entire surface area of the window. Side windows to the rear of the driver,
both left and right, have no minimum requirement for light
transmission.
(4) Rear (back)
windows.
(A) If the vehicle has left and
right outside mirrors that are located so as to reflect to the driver a view of
the highway through each mirror a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of
the vehicle, there is no minimum light transmission requirement.
(B) If the vehicle is not equipped with both
a left and right side outside mirrors that are located so as to reflect to the
driver a view of the highway through each mirror a distance of at least 200
feet to the rear of the vehicle, the rear window must have a 25% light
transmission value for the area used for driver visibility value. A glazing
shade band is authorized at the topmost portion of the rear window, as with the
windshield. The shade band area is authorized to have less than 25% light
transmission. The device must have a luminous reflectance of 25% or
less.
(d)
Window covers and other window privacy devices.
(1) The use of curtains, blinds, drapes, or
stick-on novelty designs in the rear window or windows is not prohibited if the
vehicle has left and right outside mirrors that are located so as to reflect to
the driver a view of the highway through each mirror a distance of at least 200
feet to the rear of the vehicle.
(2) Louvered materials, when installed as
designed, shall not reduce the area of driver rear visibility below 50% as
measured on a horizontal plane. When such materials are used in conjunction
with the rear window, the measurement shall be made based upon the driver's
view from the inside rearview mirror.
(e) Medical exceptions.
(1) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions
of this section, a motor vehicle operated by or regularly used to transport any
person with a medical condition which renders the person susceptible to harm or
injury from exposure to sunlight or bright artificial light may be equipped, on
all the windows except the windshield, with sunscreening devices that reduces
the light transmission values of less than 25%. An untinted film or glaze may
be applied to the area below the AS-1 line of the windshield of a motor vehicle
provided the total visible light transmission is not reduced by 5%. Vehicles
equipped with sunscreening devices under this medical exception shall not be
operated on any highway unless, while being so operated, the driver or an
occupant of the vehicle possesses a signed statement from a licensed physician
or licensed optometrist.
(2) The
signed statement from a licensed physician or licensed optometrist shall:
(A) identify with reasonable specificity the
driver or occupant of the vehicle; and
(B) state that, in the physician's or
optometrist's professional opinion, the equipping of the vehicle with
sunscreening devices is necessary to safeguard the health of the driver or
occupant of the vehicle.
(f) Manufacturer and installer requirements.
(1) Each manufacturer shall obtain
certification from the Texas Department of Public Safety of sunscreening
devices used on the side windows of passenger vehicles and windows immediately
to the left and right of the vehicle operator on all other vehicles. To obtain
certification the manufacturer will provide test results that the product or
material manufactured or assembled complies with the light transmission and
luminous reflectance requirements of this section.
(2) Each manufacturer shall provide a label
with a means for permanent and legible installation between the material and
each glazing surface to which it is applied that contains the name or
registration number of the manufacturer and a statement that complies with
Texas Transportation Code, §
547.609.
(3) Each manufacturer shall include
instructions with the sunscreening device, product, or material for proper
installation, including the affixing of the label required by this
section.
(4) No installer or
business shall apply or affix to the windows of any motor vehicle in this state
a sunscreening device that is not in compliance with requirements of this
section.
(5) At a minimum,
installers shall affix the label described in paragraph (2) of this subsection
between the sunscreening device and the lower rearward corner of the driver's
left side window which is legible from the outside of the
vehicle.
Notes
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