Tint gets taint
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It’s not the first time that use of tinted glasses by cars and other vehicles has received the thumbs down. Alarmed by the rape and murder of BPO employee, Pratibha Murthy, their use was banned six years ago in Bengaluru. But you only need to look at cars on the roads today to realise that the ban has been far from successful. Not only do a lot of them still have heavily tinted glasses, some even have dark films on their windshields, making it impossible to clearly see the driver or any other occupant.
This time, however, the police seems serious about implementing the Supreme Court order specifying 70 per cent Visual Light Transmission (VLT) glasses for windshields (both front and rear) and 40 per cent VLT glasses for the sides, claiming it can come in handy in fighting crime. It plans to soon procure the equipment neccessary to test the degree of tint on the glasses to see if they meet the standards set by the court and begin imposing fines for violations from May 20, reveals Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), M.A. Saleem, who feels the move is entirely justified.
“There is no question of privacy when you are on a public road. Morever, the Supreme Court order does not ban tinted glasses altogether. It is acting in the interest of public safety and controlling crime. With more clear glasses the drivers will be able to see other vehicles and pedestrians on the road better and so make it safer for everyone,” he reasons.
DCP (Traffic, East), P.A. Muttanna warns that repeated violations will draw progressively bigger fines. While first time offenders will be fined `100, second time offenders will attract Rs 300 and subsequent offences could result in even steeper fines besides seizure of vehicle documents, he says.
Although former state director general and inspector general of police, S.T. Ramesh, admits he is not aware of any study linking the use of cars with tinted glasses with rise in crime, he points out that several terrorism-hit states in the country already demand clear glasses for all vehicles on their roads. Considering the large number of vehicles using tinted glasses, traffic expert, Professor M.N. Sreehari, however, feels the government needs to give their owners more time to fall in line.
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