(b) One-way glass and sun screening devices.
(1) One-way (AS-3) glass on motor vehicles. The following regulations establish standards and specifications for the use of one-way glass.
(A) One-way (AS-3) glass is safety glazing which must meet federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS 205 and 128) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z26.1-1977. The luminous reflectance and light transmittance capacity are incorporated into the glazing during the manufacturing process.
(B) Use of one-way (AS-3) glass. AS-3 safety glazing (one-way or privacy) glass is an option available on many new motor vehicles. It may be used anywhere in a bus, van, club wagon, truck, or truck tractor except in the windshield and front (side) windows to the immediate right and left of the driver, and in the rearmost window if such rearmost window is used for driving visibility. If the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors, then one-way (AS-3) glass may be used in the rearmost window. One-way glass may not be used in any window, interior partition, or aperture created for window purposes in a passenger automobile, station wagon, or taxicab.
(2) Sun screening device definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(A) Sun screening device--A film material or device meeting standards adopted by the department for reducing the effects of the sun.
(B) Light transmission--The ratio of the amount of total light to pass through a product or material to the amount of total light falling on the product or material and the glazing.
(C) Luminous reflectance--The ratio of the amount of total light that is reflected outward by a product or material to the amount of total light falling on the product or material.
(D) Manufacturer means either--
(i) A person who engages in the manufacturing or assembling of a sun screening device; or
(ii) A person who fabricates, laminates, or tempers a safety glazing material, incorporating, during the manufacturing process, the capacity to reflect or reduce the transmission of light.
(E) Multipurpose vehicle--A motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer persons that is constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use.
(3) Sun screening devices on motor vehicles.
(A) The following regulations establish standards and specifications for the use of sun screening devices.
(i) The front side wing vents and/or windows to the immediate right and left of the driver may be applied with a sun screening device that has a light transmission of not less than 35% and a luminous reflectance of not more than 35%. Labeling on these windows must be provided as referred to in paragraph (4) of this subsection. Labels on wing vents are not required.
(ii) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver may be applied with a sun screening device in conjunction with glazing (vehicle glass).
(iii) Rear window or windows may be applied with a sun screening device that has a light transmission of not less than 35% and a luminous reflectance of not more than 35% if labeling requirements are met in paragraph (4) of this subsection. Rear windows failing to meet labeling requirement of paragraph (4) of this subsection may be applied with sun screening devices if the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 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.
(B) This paragraph does not apply to a windshield that has a sun screening device that:
(i) has a light transmission of not less than 33%;
(ii) has a luminous reflectance of not more than 35%;
(iii) is not red or amber in color; and
(iv) does not extend downward beyond the AS-1 line or more than five inches from the top of the windshield, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield.
(4) Manufacturer requirements.
(A) 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 following information: manufacturer (name or registration number), and statement--complies with VESC-20, DPS, or 37 Texas Administrative Code (TAC).
(B) Each manufacturer shall include instructions with the product or material for proper installation, including the affixing of the label. At a minimum, one window shall have placed in the left lower corner between the sun screening device and the glass a label legible from the outside of the vehicle.
(C) Each manufacturer shall obtain certification of sun screening devices used on the front side wing vents and windows that certifies to the Texas Department of Public Safety that the product or material he or she manufactures or assembles is in compliance with the reflectivity and transmittance requirements of this section.
(5) Placement of required certificates and use of window covers.
(A) This section does not permit or prohibit the use and placement of federal, state, or local certificates on any window as are required or prohibited by applicable laws.
(B) The use of curtains, blinds, drapes, or stick-on novelty designs in the rear window or windows is not prohibited.
(C) Louvered materials, when installed as designed, shall not reduce the area of driver 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.
(6) On application from a person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the direct rays of the sun, supported by written attestation of that fact from a licensed physician, the Department of Public Safety may issue an exemption from the requirements of this section for a motor vehicle belonging to the person or in which the person is an habitual passenger.
(7) The provisions of this subsection are applicable to motor vehicles if the manufacturer's model year is before 1988.
(8) This section does not apply to:
(A) an adjustable nontransparent sun visor mounted forward of the side windows and not attached to the glass;
(B) a side window that is to the rear of the driver on a multipurpose vehicle; or
(C) a motor vehicle that is not registered in this state.
(9) Manufacturer's model year of a motor vehicle 1988 and later shall comply with the provisions of Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6701d, Article 14, § 134B and § 134C, and labeling requirements promulgated in paragraph (4)(B) of this subsection.