This isn't right FFS!!!

[Lou Girardin]

The first thing to do is check the regulations for window tinting and helmets specs. Particularly legal definitions of car windows and visors.
The second issue is how he measured the light transmission qualities of the visor.
Thirdly, the legality of the visor itself is irrelevant if you were not using it. (Most open face users do not have visors, they are not legally required.
Don't take this one up the jacksey.
Good luck

[Colapop]

That's just bizarre! I could see the point if it was dark or something and you had your visor down. But this guy (just had a bike run over his cat??!??) I dunno maybe he had a stressful day.....

Is this the sort of thing you can take up at the police station or do you have to f*ck around taking it through the courts and all the dicking around that this entails? Can you then invoice the police for loss of income? (for the time you wasted getting it sorted)

[Paul in NZ]

Well this sucks.... What an astonishing waste of time... From memory it's not even that dark in ChCh at 8:15 at the moment so the ticket writer was probably just out to discourage you from Manchester St which is in itself a bloody laugh.

For those of you that don't know ChCh Manchester street is where the most aggresive and ugliest prostitutes in NZ go to die... It's actually frightening (no I'm not making this up) to go down there in the evenings. (we had a site we had to visit for work down that way)

ChCh in the evenings is one of the scariest cities in NZ and I'm sooo grateful one of our finest is able to clean it up by issuing tickets for dark visors. What a bloody idiot.

Sniper. Go to court and fight it. I'll kick in some $$ for a lawyer OR I have a bloody good lawyer mate in ChCh (ex police) that will give you a deal. I'll pm you his details if you want?

Cheers

[MSTRS:Me]

Sniper - that ticket is a crock of shit. Fight it all the way.

[FROSTY:Me]

Sniper--Ill bet ya a chokkie fish on this one--the cop--He had a pommie accent diddnt he?? Go ask his senior whats this all about?
In the UK its against the law to have a dark tint visor and you get fined for it. Its the whole anti terrorist thing I think

[bugjuice]

lol.. yeah, cos the UK is just full of 'em...

[ManDownUnder]

Sniper--Ill bet ya a chokkie fish on this one--the cop--He had a pommie accent diddnt he?? Go ask his senior whats this all about?
In the UK its against the law to have a dark tint visor and you get fined for it. Its the whole anti terrorist thing I think

Surprised they're allowed to wear helmets at all in that case (having a go at the bureaucrats - not you FROSTY)
MDU

[jrandom]

interesting, and previous comments re. ticket being a crock should be right on the money.

laws relating to tinting specifically apply to the vehicle; your helmet is nothing to do with the vehicle. open and shut.

be interesting to see how this one pans out.

in the first instance I would simply write a letter back pointing out the inapplicability of whatever portion of the road regs applies to tinted windows. couch it in the right terms and there's a high likelihood that the ticket will be dropped.

[ManDownUnder]

lol.. yeah, cos the UK is just full of 'em...

course it is - just ask dubya

[James Deuce]

Sniper, get Paul's lawyer mate to help you write the letter. You'll probably pay him half the cost of the fine, BUT this is for all of us in a way.

reckon Frosty has a point too, and it may just be a new import's lack of understanding of local regs.

[crashe]

Fight it all the way......

If this copper is a UK import... Don't they go throu training here first before being let out on the streets... So surely they are made to learn ALL the NZ rules.

I would laminate the ticket and frame it... that is one ticket thats worth keeping.

[jrandom]

crashe makes a good point - remember tinted visors are a no-no in the UK, and you *can* get a ticket there for wearing them. copper boy could well be an import.

[Ixion]

The cop is out of line. IANAL, but I am very confident that there are NO laws in NZ regarding visors. The law about window tinting does NOT apply because a visor is not a window. Nor for that matter is a bike windscreen, it is a wind deflector and specifically excluded from windscreen rules.

Tinted windscreens and side windows are controlled by Land Transport Rule
Glazing, Windscreen Wipe and Wash, and Mirrors 1999 . This does not extend at all to motorcycle visors, and they cannot reasonably be imputed into it.

The actual rule is

2.2(1) The general safety requirements for glazing are:

* (a) glazing must be mechanically sound, strong and securely affixed to the vehicle; and
* (b) glazing must not be manufactured with, or modified to have, a mirrored effect sufficient to dazzle other road users; and
* (c) a windscreen, and front side windows (that is, glazing forward of the left or right of the driver’s seatback in its rearmost and upright position), must be kept clean and free of obstruction to ensure that the driver has sufficient vision through the glazing to operate the vehicle safely; and
* (d) a windscreen must not have scratches or other defects that unreasonably impair vision through the glazing or compromise the strength of the glazing; and
* (e) a laminated windscreen must not show signs of discoloration, and any overlays must not have any bubbling or other defects that could unreasonably impair vision through the glazing; and
* (f ) the overall visible light transmittance of a windscreen must not be less than 70%; and
* (g) the overall visible light transmittance of front side windows (that is, glazing forward of the left or right of the driver’s seatback in its rearmost and upright position) must not be less than 35%.

The only grounds available would be a general "vision obscured" charge (eg, like if you riding with a blindfold on, or with a big object on the tank blocking your vision

Riding at night with a tinted visor may be unwise. But it is not up to a cop to manufacture laws. If tinted visors need to be forbidden or controlled, that is up to Parliament (or, at least, the responsible Minsiter via a Road Rule)

[Postie]

sniper, you don't necessarily need to get a lawyer to write your letter to the police, you should be able to get enough info from what everyone has posted on this thread so far. you can write a letter to the address on the back of the ticket and explain the situation and that the cop needs a slap and you are not paying the ticket. They will write back to you and either drop the ticket and not issue and apology, or they will ask you to pay the ticket and give you an extended time to pay it. In the unlikely event that they think you should pay the extra tax to Helen (Pretty girl) Clark, then seek legal advice. I've had heaps of tickets and after writing in, I’ve got of at least half and they were legit fines too.

[Paul in NZ]

Boys and girls... All admirable seniments but seriously...

We should be prepared to help a brother out with a few $$ to fight this lest a precident be set and we all suffer. I'll pledge $100 to the fund right now and more if required later.

The reason. I wear perscription glasses and love my tinted visor. On tour I carry my clear in case we are caught out but a couple of times I've ridden home from the ferry (50km) with it up 'cos I forgot to change it. No big deal.

In my opinion, this sort of stuff is a stupid waste of police time and as someone pointed out another liberty we loose. These sad pricks won't be happy until all the fun is gone... stuff this... fight the bastards.

Paul N