Sun films on car windows make a quiet comeback

MVD to go slow on violators for the time being in view of the raging heat

On the radar: The Motor Vehicles Department has taken note of an increase in the number of vehicles with sun films in violation of a Supreme Court ruling.

Soaring temperatures seem to have prompted many Kochiites to use tinted windscreens and black sun films on the windows of cars, in contravention of the Supreme Court verdict banning the use of dark films on four-wheelers.

A travel through the busy roads in the city and along the national highway bypass revealed an increase in the number of people using an additional tint on their cars.

Car accessory dealers pointed out that the extreme weather conditions had forced several car owners to add additional tint on the windows. Some use black sun films to keep interiors cool, they said.

Dark films not allowed

Senior officials of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) said they had noted an increase in the number of vehicles with sun films in violation of the Supreme Court ruling. Rules insist that the interiors of cars should be clearly visible from outside through both front and rear windshields. The use of dark films in violation of the apex court ruling and the Central Motor Vehicles Act cannot be permitted, they added.

However, Enforcement officials said they were yet to begin crackdown on vehicles with black sun films in view of the rising heat conditions. “Such vehicles will be on our radar,” they added.

The Supreme Court in April 2012 had prohibited the use of tinted glass or sun films on windshields and windows of vehicles that restricted vision beyond the permissible limits fixed under the Motor Vehicles Act 1989.

Section 100 (2) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules says: “The glass of the windscreen and the rear window of every motor vehicle shall be such and shall be maintained in such a condition that visual transmission light is not less than 70%. The glasses used for side windows shall be such and shall be maintained in such a condition that visual transmission light is not less than 50%, and shall conform to Indian standards.”

A driver of a cab aggregator said his clients, especially tourists visiting Kochi, used to wonder how they could travel long distances without sun films on windshields and windows. “We have no other option but to add another tint to meet the demands of our customers,” he said.

MVD officials said the drive against the use of tinted glass and black sun films in cars, affecting the visibility levels of drivers, would be intensified soon.