Express dissent on internet, say dark-tinted windows are synonymous with safety.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision that upheld the clause of Motor Vehicles’ Act that says car should not have dark-tinted films has drawn the ire of motorists in the city.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, city traffic police ordered that such films be removed from cars, failing which the motorists will have to cough up fine from May 19. According to Motor Vehicles’ Act, front and rear windshields of cars should let in at least 70% light and side windows should let in at least 40% light. However, the usage of dark-tinted films on cars had been violating this rule all along. But this is set to change in the city from May 19, courtesy city traffic police.
In a statement, Bangalore traffic police said an awareness drive would be conducted for 15 days, during which car drivers would be told about the Supreme Court’s decision and the May-19 deadline. Any car found with dark-tinted glasses after May 19 will attract a penalty of Rs100 for the first time. Repeat offenders will have to cough up Rs300.
The car may even be seized to ensure that the owner follows the rules. If the car owner does not remove dark films despite several warnings, his/her driving licence will be seized and sent to the RTO concerned with a recommendation that it be cancelled.
Bangaloreans are not happy with this development. An online signature campaign (on www.change.org) in this regard, which had just about 40 signatures on Friday, saw the number of supporters swell up to 806 by Sunday evening. Then there are those who are expressing their disapproval on social networking website Facebook—on the official page of city traffic police.
Many car owners say dark-tinted films are synonymous with safety, especially the safety of lone women driver travelling at night. Shabu A Warrier wrote on the Facebook page that having see-through glass panes was particularly risky for women.
Another motorist, Kishore Cariappa, wrote that until now, he used to leave his laptop and other belongings in his car, something he would not be able to do once he has to remove dark tints from the window pane.
The meteorology department’s forecast that the coming days are only going to get hotter has further irked car owners, who rue that their cars will become like a ‘moving oven’ once the dark tints are taken off. This, they say, is not cool.
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