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Drivers facing crackdown on tinted windows
By Paul Keaveny

MOTORISTS who drive cars with illegally tinted windows could have their vehicles taken off the road by police.

Greater Manchester Police have launched a campaign to highlight the dangers of blacked-out windows.

They have already fined almost 2,000 vehicle owners for flouting new regulations - and are warning anybody caught will face similar action.

PC Dave Barrow, of Greater Manchester Police's Traffic Network Section, said: "Tinted windows are illegal for a reason - they are unsafe. I would urge anyone considering them to have a serious rethink, because we will penalise those found with them.

"If you already have tinted windows and are not sure if they are illegal, I would advise you to contact us so we can check them out."

The legal requirement is that car windscreens should allow 75 per cent of daylight to pass through and side windows 70 per cent.

Manufacturers already tint glass to the maximum level permissible by law, so any tint subsequently added automatically makes the windows illegal.

Penalties range from verbal advice to a £30 on-the-spot fine or prohibition notice, which prevents further use of the vehicle until the tints have been removed. Since the ban on tinted windows was introduced in October 2006, officers in Greater Manchester have issued 1,928 fixed penalty notices and 440 prohibition notices.

To black-out windscreens, an added layer of tint is applied on the inside of the window.

Lee Brickles, owner of Auto Direct Windscreens, in Crosby Road, Bolton, said: "I don't know anybody who has put an inside tint on a windscreen because it's a very difficult job.

"I have never been asked to do that, and it could be quite dangerous."

Trained officers from GMP's road policing units use Tintman kits to test windows on vehicles.

The kit includes a calibrated device that measures the amount of light passing through glass.

Tint regulations only apply to the front windscreen and front side windows

Since the ban on tinted windows was introduced in October 2006..."

PC Dave Barrow, of Greater Manchester Police's Traffic Network Section, said:

"If you already have tinted windows and are not sure if they are illegal, I would advise you to contact us so we can check them out."