BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – With the new year comes new laws taking effect in New York State, including one that could potentially keep your car off the road for a while.

Starting January 1, auto shops will be required to check window tinting on all vehicles as part of the annual inspection process.

“We’re the bearer of bad news enough as it is and unfortunately, good or bad we have to tell you,” said Rick Tringali, the owner of Tringali’s Auto Service on Hertel Avenue, as he explained why he’s not looking forward to his customers’ reactions to the new law taking effect.

The law that’s already on the books in New York State already requires your vehicle’s windows to let at least 70 percent of the light through, but until now, that rule was only enforced by police who checked the tinting with special meters when the pulled over a vehicle. Now, every vehicle in New York State will be checked to ensure compliance with the law.

State police say it’s important all drivers follow the rules for window tinting. Having windows that are too dark can create dangerous situations for drivers who may not be able to fully see their surroundings, and those dark windows can also create dangerous situations for law enforcement officers.

“We don’t know who’s in there. We don’t know what’s going on,” explained Trooper James O’Callaghan, public information officer for New York State Police Troop A. “In law enforcement, to have that window tint removed is a nice thing in the routine traffic stop.”

But, while auto shop owners like Rick Tringali say they understand the safety aspects behind the law, they say they’re not happy about being the ones to enforce the rules.

The auto shops will be required to buy meters to check the tint and they’ll have to take more time for each inspection to complete the checks, which will cost labor, and they’ll have to eat the added expenses. “We can’t charge any more for the state inspection. The state inspection is regulated by the state,” Tringali said.

Having to bring your vehicle into compliance if your windows are too dark can get very expensive for the vehicle owner, too.

Not only do you have to pay to have your vehicle inspected when it fails because of the window tinting, but you’ll have to repay to have it reinspected when the windows are changed, and that tint removal process often isn’t very cheap. “It does not come off very easily,” Tringali said. “I would think you’d have to have some very strong solvent or a heat gun. It’s going to take some time to get those properly off.”

And, Tringali says he expects to hear some flack from customers about it. Many of the people who have the darker tinting on their windows paid good money to put it on in the first place. “It’s a luxury item,” Tringali said. “A guy could have a perfectly brand new car but he could have a window tint that’s too dark, and now the car is technically illegal for inspection.”

Tringali said he wishes other shops would not have sold the illegal tint in the first place, and he says he wishes there was a longer grace period for vehicle owners to get their windows fixed, but he says his hands are tied in this situation. The state licenses his shop as an inspection, so he has to follow the state’s rules.