Police to crack whip on vehicles with dark films

SHILLONG, June 14: In what can be dubbed as a much-needed move, the Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of East Khasi Hills has directed traffic officials to impose fine on vehicles that use dark films or any other materials upon the windscreen or the side windows, which is in contravention of the Rules 92 and 100 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, read with section 177 of Motor Vehicles Act.
“Use of films or any other materials upon the windscreen or the side windows is impermissible in law. It is the VLT (Visual Light Transmittance) of the safety glass without any additional material being pasted upon the safety glasses which must conform to manufacture specifications,” the SP (Traffic) said in a statement.
The glass of the windscreen and rear window of every motor vehicle should be maintained in such a condition that the visual transmission of light is not less than 70%, while the glasses used for side windows should be maintained in such condition that the visual transmission of light is not less than 50%, the statement added.
Use of dark films may be considered for persons who have been provided Z and Z+ security as observed by the Supreme Court of India, the SP (Traffic) told the traffic police.
“You are hereby directed to issue challan to vehicles violating Rules 92 and 100 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, read with section 177 of MV Act and thereupon shall also remove the dark films from the offending vehicles. This order comes in force with immediate effect and for strict compliance,” the order stated.
The move comes in compliance with the Supreme Court order prohibiting the use of black films of any percentage of VLT upon the safety glasses, windscreen (front and rear) and side glasses.
It is worth noting here that decorating cars and motorbikes with different shades and designs is a common practice in the state.
In the past, there had been several attempts to implement the ban on tinted glasses or films but since there was lax enforcement of the rules, the directives were not adhered to.