Delhi Police Recommendation on car glass films

Now, solar films with tint certificates

New Delhi: With temperatures hovering over the 40 degrees mark, the demand for tinted
glasses in cars has shot up again. But after last years massive crackdown by the traffic police,
Delhiites don’t seem to be in a mood for confrontation with the police over transparency
limits. A new range of films, which come with a certificate specifying that the tint is within
the legally prescribed limits, is selling like hot cakes in city this season.
Some brands have also given the option of marking of tint level on the film. ‘‘The
certificates given with the films make the relation between the user and police cordial. There
has been an increase in people coming to get films put on their cars’ glasses and a large
number of them ask for such brands which issue certificates,’’ said Ravinder Chawla of
Popular Automobiles, CP.
Car owners feel that unlike local films, the certificates at least give some indication to the
policemen, considering that they still don’t have any mechanism to check the level of tinting.
‘‘I understand that this is not a legal document. But if I am spending money to get a film put,
it is better to get one which is legal. Last year, the police actually ripped the film from my old
car. I don’t want to take any chances,’’ said Sushant Mallik, a businessman.
The ‘‘certified’’ films have been manufactured specially for local markets by Indian
companies. But there are many foreign brands too in the market. The prices range from Rs
200 to Rs 15,000. Car accessory shop owners say that a majority of car-owners want just a
30% tint, which is within the permissible legal limit. ‘‘More than 95% of car owners just
want a natural tint. This is enough to increase the efficiency of the car’s air conditioner,
making the car more fuel efficient. Only one per cent people ask for very dark films,’’ said an
accessory dealer in Khan Market.
The films available in the market broadly fall in four categories — local ones which range
between Rs 400-1,000 and provide just 10% sun and UV-resistance, metal coated films
available between Rs 1,500-Rs 2,500 which provide up to 40% resistance, high resistance
films for Rs 6,000 upwards with 50-70% resistance and top end brands available for over Rs
15,000 which offer more than 70% resistance.
As per the law, the front and back windscreens of a car should have at least 70%
transparency while the range for side windows is at least 50%. All the brands have films
with the legally prescribed limits.
The traffic police say that the crackdown on dark films is already on. ‘‘This year, we have
already prosecuted over 3,000 vehicles for tinted glasses till April 30 as against just 428 last
year. The action will continue through the season,’’ said SN Shrivastava, joint commissioner
of police (traffic).
But even as the figures mark an increase, the ground situation remains dismal. One can still
spot several vehicles with tinted glasses at any busy intersection in the city. Officials say
there are many reasons for this, one of them being that most such cars are owned by
influential people, who manage to evade prosecution.

WITHIN LIMITS: Dealers claim that only 1% of their customers seek very dark films.