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ShareMumbai: The next time you opt for the darkest film for your car's glasses to spruce up its appearance, you may drive into trouble.
The Mumbai traffic police have launched a campaign to crack down on vehicles with glasses darker than the limits prescribed in the Motor Vehicle Act. The police have imported at least 25 tint meters from the USA for the drive and have distributed them to the various traffic divisions in the city.
The Act stipulates that the rear and front glasses should let in at least 70% of sunlight and the side glasses at least 50%. But, according to the traffic police, many vehicles in Mumbai violate the norms. On the first day of the drive on April 11, the traffic police filed cases against 211 car owners and fined them Rs100 each. Incidentally, most violations -- 76 of the 211 cases -- were recorded in South Mumbai.
On April 12, 170 motorists were fined.
A batch of 15 policemen was trained last week to use the meters and 30 more are expected to be trained this week. "The machines are simple to use and effective," Sashi Honawar, managing director, Cosmic Traffic Systems Pvt Ltd, the sole distributors, said.
The meter to measure the tint of side glasses costs Rs30,000 each. The one that measures the tint of the front and back glasses costs around Rs1 lakh.
The drive is primarily for security reason, traffic police officers said. "Some glasses are so dark that policemen can barely see the person sitting inside," SS Solunkhe, deputy commissioner of police, headquarter, said. "This poses a serious security concern," he said. "Several elite people use the darkest film citing security concerns and for privacy," a traffic policeman said.
Another reason for the drive is to restrain indulgent couples who throng the seafaces and little bylanes in the city, especially at night. There is usually a fleet of cars parked back-to-back, and the patrolling vans can hardly see what is happening inside them because of the dark glasses, the traffic police said. "It is impossible for us to see what's going on inside the car. What if something untoward is happening," a traffic constable on duty at the Worli seaface said.
