Enemy Comba-tints
By Aidan Cashman
I am not one to involve myself in the lives of others, and push my view of how things should be onto them. Leave me alone, and I’ll do likewise. That’s how I’ve always lived, and it works for me. But as someone who spends a fair amount of time outside at all times of day, walking or biking, I am becoming more and more concerned with a seemingly innocent trend among auto owners. This past summer, I began to notice myself being constantly confused by the intentions of drivers with tinted windows, hiding from both me and other drivers. Too many times I would try to cross the street, unable to tell whether or not a driver was signaling for me to pass, or if they even knew whether I was there at all. While this is an issue to me and I’m sure countless other walker/bikers/runners etc., this is only one concern that stems from tinted windows. Tinted windows can absolutely facilitate crimes, such as kidnapping and human trafficking.
Then come the counter arguments. “But most states have laws that regulate how dark tints can be for each window”. True, but no one thinks about how hard it would be to not only spot these windows, but also to judge that they are too dark within that fraction of a second that a officer has to inspect a car as it passes by? In addition to this, a 2013 survey conducted by The National shows that up to 10% of cars on the road today break the laws that their states have in place.
To be honest, however, despite the laws and the dangers that these windows present to our communities, I fail to see any justification for their continued legalization or necessity in any capacity. People scream “Privacy! Freedom! Liberty!”, to which I would normally say that you’re right, those should absolutely be priorities. But, for better or for worse, where else in our society, in laws or all policy precedents, does privacy triumph over public safety? Where else can my privacy legally trample your safety, your right to life? The privacy argument falls flat, and, as such, I’m calling on the state of Illinois, which, as we all know, loves to regulate everything into oblivion, to ban these windows, which offer so many threats to the lives of this state’s citizens but offer no tangible benefit to them as any compensation, on all automobiles. And, my dear driver, stop hiding! Stop endangering your life and mine! Quit the use of these unnecessary, egotistical windows! You’re not good enough that no one should have the privilege of seeing your face, not to mention your hand signal permitting me to cross the street! Come on down from that pedestal, and act like what you are, a normal Illinoisan. Even you will appreciate a bright, visible world, free from the fear of the unknown as people walk or bike across the wide streets of this state.
Bibliography
Editorial, National. “Dark Window Tints Are a Clear Danger.” The National, The National, 3 Mar. 2015,
“Window Tinting Laws in All 50 States.” Instamotor, instamotor.com/blog/window-tinting-laws-50-states.
No comments:
Post a Comment