Tinted windows in cars shown in almost all the Hollywood movies have always made me wish that I will install the same one day. Guess how shocked I was to learn that tinted windows are not legal in India?
Yes, you read that right. Tinted windows are not allowed in India after the Supreme Court banned the usage of tinted glass and sun films in 2012..
What is Tinted Glass And Why Is It Illegal??
The windows and windshields in cars are usually preferred to have tinted suns films with a particular material to minimize the transmissions of the UV rays by blocking the harsh sunlight and preventing the insides of the car from heating up.
It has quite a few features such as protecting the car from overheating, blocking the UV rays which protects us from various skin diseases, it also helps prevent the glass from shattering in case of an accident and last but not least, it keeps away the prying eye.
The Supreme Court banned the windows to maintain the safety of the passengers in vehicles and set the limit for visual light transmission for the front and rear windshields at 70% and 50% for all side windows on all vehicles. This became a major problem in the hot regions of the country.
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Ultimately, these tinted windows were banned on suspicion of the numerous crimes happening inside cars with heavily tinted windows across the country. Another reason was to improve visibility for drivers which lessened the risk for more car accidents due to limited visibility.
However, this law is still violated every day by thousands of people in the country who prefer paying a hefty fine for their car windows rather than brave the rays of the sun. People are exempted from this law only under two conditions.
Firstly, if the car has been manufactured with the tinted windows already in place and two, for security purposes in the case of high profile celebrities and personalities, but only with prior permission from the home ministry and concerned authorities.
What Is The Current Scenario?
Currently, 4 cars are seized every day by the police for violating the permissible limits for visual transmission of light. Every year almost 1500 vehicles are stopped on the roads and their tinted visual screens are torn down by the police for not following the law.
Reports from the police say that almost 8000 challans have been issued against illegally tinted car windows between January 2016 and June 2021. While only 126 cases were on record in 2016, the number rose to 3,802 in 2017 following which 2,552 were issued in 2018. The number drastically fell down to only 875 and further down to 78 in 2020 and 113 in 2021, the pandemic years.
The Deputy Commissioner (traffic) in Kolkata, Arijit Sinha said, “A severe crackdown on both tinted and dark tinted glass has been ordered now. However, data shows that we have been serious about both issues for a long time.”
Vehicles Manufactured With Tinted Windows
Back in 2019, Asahi India Glass (AIS) introduced a new and legal way for Indians to use tinted windows and sun films in cars so that they could beat the terrible temperatures of the long summer months. The company worked with technology in Japan to manufacture a product called Dark Green UV Cut glass.
This product was aimed at the Indian automotive sector and offered quite a lot of comfort. The product claimed to reduce thermal load inside the cabin of the car and eliminate UV radiation by almost 80%.
The company assured that the product complied with the regulations set by the Supreme Court in India and provided light transmissions of 50% for the windows.
The basic criteria of the authorities is essentially the fact that anything that cuts down on visibility is illegal. The usage of magnetic sun shields and other such alternatives is highly recommended as is the suggestion to not argue with the cops if they stop your vehicle on the road!
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: FinancialExpress, TimesOfIndia, AutoFurnish +more
Meet The Blogger: Charlotte
This Post Is Tagged Under: Tinted windows, cars, Hollywood movies, India, Supreme Court, sun films, Tinted Glass, windshields, tinted suns films, UV rays, visual light transmission, car windows, home ministry, tinted visual screens, tinted car windows, The Deputy Commissioner, Kolkata, Asahi India Glass, AIS, Dark Green UV Cut glass, Indian automotive sector, thermal load, magnetic sun shields, cops
