Drivers don't join the dark side

3:20pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

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POLICE are warning drivers not to be left in the dark over excessive window tinting.

Car showrooms across Teesside have been visited by trading standards officers after vehicles were sold with illegally tinted glass.

Motorists alerted officers to the problem after 30 fixed penalty notices were slapped on the windscreens of new cars which already had the tinting applied.

The drivers were told that it was illegal to use the cars on the road as their windows were too dark.

The fashion for darkened windows has spread under the influence of famous footballers, Hollywood stars, rap artists and stretch limousines.

The Highway Code states that vehicles must not be used with excessively dark tinting applied to the windscreen or to the glass in any front window to either side of the driver.

Tinting applied during manufacture must comply with visual light transmittance (VLT) standards which for the windscreen must allow in 75 per cent of light while at least 70 per cent must pass through the driver's side windows.

There are no VLT limits for rear windscreens or rear passenger windows.

In a joint initiative, Cleveland Police and Trading Standards officers in Middlesbrough have warned that, at the moment, driving tests do not cover window tinting and therefore car owners may be unaware that they are committing an offence.

Sergeant Paul Dee of Cleveland Road Policing Unit said: "The problem of excessive window tinting is something that the police acknowledge could have a serious and detrimental effect on road safety as it impairs the driver of vehicles from having a clear view of their surroundings.

"This problem is compounded during the hours of darkness when their all round visibility is even further reduced.

John Wells, Trading Standards manager for Middlesbrough Council, said that selling an unroadworthy vehicle was an offence under road traffic law.

He said: "If we established that this was a regular practice we could take enforcement action. In these cases I am satisfied that the sales occurred through a mistake, but to ensure we do not get any further complaints officers have visited all traders in Middlesbrough and made them aware of this problem so that it can be avoided in future."