SF 401

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 01/24/2019 02:09pm

A bill for an act
relating to transportation; amending a window glazing exception related to
prescription or medical needs; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 169.71,
subdivision 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 169.71, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Glazing material; prohibitions and exceptions.

(a) No A person shall must
not drive or operate any motor vehicle required to be registered in the state of Minnesota
upon any street or highway under the following conditions:

(1) when the windshield is composed of, covered by, or treated with any material which
has the effect of making the windshield more reflective or in any other way reducing light
transmittance through the windshield;

(2) when any window on the vehicle is composed of, covered by, or treated with any
material that has a highly reflective or mirrored appearance;

(3) when any side window or rear window is composed of or treated with any material
so as to obstruct or substantially reduce the driver's clear view through the window or has
a light transmittance of less than 50 percent plus or minus three percent in the visible light
range or a luminous reflectance of more than 20 percent plus or minus three percent; or

(4) when any material has been applied after August 1, 1985, to any motor vehicle
window without an accompanying permanent marking which indicates the percent of
transmittance and the percent of reflectance afforded by the material. The marking must be
in a manner so as not to obscure vision and be readable when installed on the vehicle.

Subd. 4a.

Glazing material; exceptions.

(b) This Subdivision 4 does not apply to glazing
materials which that:

(1) have not been modified since the original installation, nor to original replacement
windows and windshields, that were originally installed or replaced in conformance
conformity with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 205;

(2) are required to satisfy prescription or medical needs of the driver of the vehicle or a
passenger if, provided:

(i) the vehicle's driver or a passenger is in possession of the possesses a prescription or
a physician's statement of medical need, and the prescription or statement is available in
the vehicle;

(ii) the prescription or statement identifies the motor vehicle being operated;

(ii) (iii) the prescription or statement specifically states the minimum percentage that
light transmittance may be reduced to satisfy the prescription or medical needs of the patient
driver or passenger; and

(iii) (iv) the prescription or statement contains an expiration date, which must be no
more than two years after the date the prescription or statement was issued; or

(3) are applied to:

(i) the rear windows of a pickup truck as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 26;

(ii) the rear windows or the side windows on either side behind the driver's seat of a van
as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 40;

(iii) the side and rear windows of a vehicle used to transport human remains by a funeral
establishment holding a license under section 149A.50;

(iv) the side and rear windows of a limousine as defined in section 168.002, subdivision
15; or

(v) the rear and side windows of a police vehicle.