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Looks Like Tints Are In The Spotlight Again


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Source: Times

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_...icle1867909.ece

Boy racers beware. If the traffic police don’t catch you for speeding they could book you for the tinted windows in your car.

Darkened windows may enhance the street-cred of your speedster but go beyond legal limits, due to be spelt out in a new edition of The Highway Code this autumn, and you can be ordered off the road by the police to change the glass. Other penalties include a £30 fixed fine.

Under regulations first issued 20 years ago and clarified three years ago, the windscreen must allow in at least 75 per cent of light while at least 70 per cent must pass through the driver’s side windows.

A warning has been added to the new edition of the code after officials and police watched the fashion for darkened windows spreading wider under the influence of Hollywood stars, rap artists, Blist celebrities and stretch limo drivers.

The weapon of choice for traffic patrols is an electronic device known as the Tint Man, which shines light through glass and measures the amount that gets through.

Greater Manchester Police have been using it for 18 months and are booking 350 vehicles a month. Now they have mounted a public campaign to warn drivers that they are at risk.

Chief Inspector Hayden Roberts, in charge of traffic policing for the force, said: “First of all it contributes to road safety concerns because some of the windows are only letting in about 8 per cent of light and it’s very dark inside. But also it’s linked to gang culture in Manchester.

“We have found some of the gangs’ members using blacked-out windows so that people can’t see inside the cars and intimidate people.” Mr Roberts said young drivers were also attracted to tinting because it was part of a fashion that included adding chrome exhausts, special wheels and expensive body sprays.

Main dealers will supply only tinted windows which meet the legal limits, but Mr Roberts said there were companies with mobile tinters who visited drivers at home to add a thick film to the inside of windows rather than new glass.

Earlier this year police were given new powers to order cars off the road or give drivers 24 hours to get rid of tints.

The Manchester force is making use of the law. All its traffic divisions have the electronic equipment on standby.

Victims of the tests have already included the footballing brothers Phil and Gary Neville, who were each given £30 fines in 2005.

Forces who have also deployed the electronic tests include Lancashire and Gloucestershire, who offered drivers arriving at Cheltenham racecourse a “free” test: all ten that were tested failed.

The law

— The new paragraph for the Highway Code going through Parliament says:

“Window tints. You MUST NOT use a vehicle with excessively dark tinting applied to the windscreen, or to the glass in any front window to either side of the driver. Window tinting applied during manufacture complies with the Visual Light Transmittance (VLT) standards. There are no VLT limits for rear windscreens or rear passenger windows.”

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IMHO anyone who applies a tint film to the windscreen is a tool anyway, there's absolutely no point in that but I've seen it done a few times recently!

The same with limo tints on the front windows, why, they can be an absolute pain in the ***** to see out of in the dark!

My fronts should hopefully be ok as they're a light smoke, if they ever did come off I reckon I'd take the ones off the back too as I hate a misbalance in the looks of the car, never looks right in my opinion!

Why don't they focus more on proper crimes rather than easy tasks like this, I've got a lot of friends in the force and don't get me wrong, I've got total respect for what they do, but you do hear some horror stories at times!

It would be nice if someone put in a push to concentrate on solving proper crimes rather than just easy things such as this which sometimes you feel they are only doing because they are now in a world driven by statistics, and the easiest way to get those statistics up is to focus on easy wins, and 9 times out of 10 that is the driver!

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The same with limo tints on the front windows, why, they can be an absolute pain in the ***** to see out of in the dark!

My fronts should hopefully be ok as they're a light smoke, if they ever did come off I reckon I'd take the ones off the back too as I hate a misbalance in the looks of the car, never looks right in my opinion!

Why don't they focus more on proper crimes rather than easy tasks like this, I've got a lot of friends in the force and don't get me wrong, I've got total respect for what they do, but you do hear some horror stories at times!

I have light smoke all round too...err, I think the reminder in the Highway Code is aimed at those "gangsta" wannabes who might be up to dodgy dealings with limo tints all round!!!

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I can understand them saying from a safety point of view, I thought my rears were pretty dark until I was in the US inside some cars with them fitted, and I was struggling to see out of the car in the middle of the day!

Surprised the green parade haven't picked up on them yet either, as fitting tints reduces the vehicle temperatures which means less work for AC which in turn reduces emissions, who knows maybe one day we'll all be driving around with mild tints fitted as standard!

Wasn't there a story saying that this kicked off again because a biker was knocked over due to someone having tints fitted - but in general I find that people who don't have tints are just as bad if not way worse for reading what is coming on the road, nearly had a smash on Thursday due to someone not looking and just pulling out straight in front of me to turn right, I was only doing 40 (in a 40) and so was able to smash the brakes on, worst thing is they give you a funny look or the finger, yet in reality you've just managed to prevent them from being injured!

Boils my blood at times I tell you!

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My fronts should hopefully be ok as they're a light smoke, if they ever did come off I reckon I'd take the ones off the back too as I hate a misbalance in the looks of the car, never looks right in my opinion!

I've got light smoke on my front sides too, but the glass already had a light tint so it's probably illegal. I don't believe this new crack down is primarily due to safety aspects, although as you say Aido anyone who puts dark tints on any of the front glass is a tool anyway as you get reflections back into the car making it very difficult to see out. I think the real reason is connected to all the CCTV we've now got in the UK, big brother needs to know who they are tracking :lookaround: Think I'll take to wearing a ski mask and dark glasses...how long do you think it would take before I got pulled?

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A friend who was in the police once said you're ok as long as they can see that you're wearing a seat belt etc, which makes sense, but one thing I've noticed lately is that the number of people who don't wear a belt seems to be increasing quite dramatically lately - or is it just me?!

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I had my front windows tinted, i knew they were illegal but its the risk you take. when the police did catch up with me i had to remove them. They then tested the standard glass and it still failed the light test.

I thought standard glass was only supposed to block a few %?

That's pretty serious!

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I had my front windows tinted, i knew they were illegal but its the risk you take. when the police did catch up with me i had to remove them. They then tested the standard glass and it still failed the light test.

I thought standard glass was only supposed to block a few %?

That's pretty serious!

that was my argument, the car rolled of the production line with this glass. you can easily see through and after some banter i was let on my way. :unsure: i think he said it failed by around 5/8%

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That's bizarre, sounds like they could be letting themselves in for some trouble if their machines are saying that cars are coming out of the factory illegal - if so the manufacturer should be picking up the bill of replacing the glass but I would imagine the police would just have to lax the thresholds they allow?!

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A friend who was in the police once said you're ok as long as they can see that you're wearing a seat belt etc, which makes sense, but one thing I've noticed lately is that the number of people who don't wear a belt seems to be increasing quite dramatically lately - or is it just me?!

The etc. list is getting longer ..using a hand held, eating a sandwich, taking a drink etc. Is picking your nose still OK or is that verboten now?

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The etc. list is getting longer ..using a hand held, eating a sandwich, taking a drink etc. Is picking your nose still OK or is that verboten now?

Yeah something I definitely don't understand there.

You can be arrested for eating a Kit Kat or a sandwich at the wheel, but smoking at the wheel is fine.

Which one would make you jump more, a slice of tomato falling onto your ballsack or hotash falling onto your private parts?

OK you'd be wearing clothes (I hope) but personally I know if hot ash fell onto there I'd be panicking like a little girl!

So how come smoking is still allowed at the wheel?

I think it's on bided time as well myself, otherwise it just proves how stupid the law is getting!

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A friend who was in the police once said you're ok as long as they can see that you're wearing a seat belt etc, which makes sense, but one thing I've noticed lately is that the number of people who don't wear a belt seems to be increasing quite dramatically lately - or is it just me?!

well. Of course.

A little yellow box or civil servant sat in a Transit can't catch people driving without seatbelts, or drink driving, or driving without insurance, or dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, driving under the influence of drugs, driving while receiving oral s*x, driving while playing a piano, driving on two wheels, driving like a complete idiot at 5mph under the speed limit.... etc...

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A friend who was in the police once said you're ok as long as they can see that you're wearing a seat belt etc, which makes sense, but one thing I've noticed lately is that the number of people who don't wear a belt seems to be increasing quite dramatically lately - or is it just me?!

well. Of course.

A little yellow box or civil servant sat in a Transit can't catch people driving without seatbelts, or drink driving, or driving without insurance, or dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, driving under the influence of drugs, driving while receiving oral s*x, driving while playing a piano, driving on two wheels, driving like a complete idiot at 5mph under the speed limit.... etc...

:lol:

Yeah know where you're coming from pal.

Just had a bird round who's a copper and she was saying that they're not just allowed to stop someone randomly anymore, they have to have a reason for everything now, guess that explains a bit!

Have to admit driving when getting oral off a bird is mega but I have to admit I had to pull over afterwards as my attention was shot to pieces and could only watch her head bobbing up and down, oh happy days! :lol:

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Trust Aido to lower the tone!

I got my windows Tinted a few weeks ago but left the fonts well alone. Partly cause the Police in my area have been warning tinters that front tints are almost cetainly illegal and that they should be doing/encouraging it, and secondly because i didn't feel like paying out for them, just to rip them out a few weeks later.

Stav

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Ian started it, I just agreed :P

Yeah have to admit I did get pulled in the IS when I was in Lytham is it, near Blackpool, and he tried peeling the tints off there and then, luckily they wouldn't budge so he gave me a warning and told me to be on my way!

I've got the same tints on this car but touch wood nothing so far, it won't take long though :(

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I was stopped in my Lexus for having light smoke allround too :( £30 fine and had 14 days to get them taken off and then to present the vehicle to a Inspector so that the Vehicle probabation notice could be taken off!

I was unlucky , since the police were parked around a bend and stopping everyone they suspected of having tints.

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