[nda992]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

The Government authorities and the Judiciary - ARE STUPID. Period. There is no justification for this insane ban on sunfilms.

1. The criminals / criminals masquerading as leaders - are still running around freely with nearly 100% black dark films all around including front windshields. There is no way a criminal is going to stop crime due to this ban on films. Its bringing safety to nobody, women included.
   
2. Its just the honest tax paying citizen and his / her infant or toddler who is suffering under the burning hot Sun / UV rays, exposing us to potential serious health hazards in future. It is also putting excessive strain on air conditioning, causing extra green house gas emissions in turns.

My child has to suffer under the Sun in traffic jams - because some uneducated person with no common sense, holds an office of authority.

I echo your thoughts. Currently I am posted in Pune & I have lost count of the buffoonery exhibited by the traffic police over & over again.
Besides the points mentioned above, I can list out one more way of bypassing every single authority on the road.. just get hold of an ambulance & you can get away with murder.
I have seen so many ambulances with sirens blaring going the wrong way with the traffic police turning the blind eye. A smart criminal will figure out this loophole as well because of the genetic stupidity of our authorities where application of the mind is as frequent as landing on the South Pole of the moon.
The only way out is regular introspection, taking feedback from the stakeholders & implementing logical policies as & when realisation dawns.
In the military, after any exercise or war gaming, we have a de-briefing where all stakeholders & participants voice their ideas & thoughts on the hits & misses. This needs to be implemented for all state traffic police depts so that accidents, crime & other issues can be brainstormed in advance.

[trailblazer13]

In Delhi where the summers are intense the suncontrol films were very effective. There are a a few films which have high transparency but have effective heat control. Something similar to the green glass provided by suzuki in higher variants of their cars. In my opinion these should be allowed.

The courts in many cases give kneejerk judgements. If they allow say 80% transparency, these will still be better than the curtains of various darkness.

Many of my friends use these magnetic curtains which have a cut out for the ORVM view. But these hamper the overall visibility especially after sunset.

Hope the courts can allow some sort of films which have high transparency but can block the heat.

[raptor_diwan]

Even though this law is enforced, it seems that it's primarily regular citizens who are being asked to comply. I've noticed several police officers in my neighborhood who have fully tinted windows on their personal vehicles, and many VIPs seem to get away with it too. If a car bears the symbol of an advocate, it's almost a guarantee that it's completely tinted. Even local councilors drive around in fully tinted Fortuners and Innovas without anyone asking questions.

As many have pointed out, the ban on window tinting appears to be an ineffective measure. Rapists and criminals are likely to continue using tinted windows because the ban doesn't deter them. It's still prevalent.

Preventing rape and sexual assault requires effective law enforcement and addressing the root causes of such crimes. Tinted windows in vehicles are not a direct cause of sexual violence. If an assault occurred in a closed room, it wouldn't lead to a law requiring doors to be kept open at all times; that's not how it works.

However, it's worth noting that these tinted curtains can be quite dangerous. I once tried using a magnetic shade to completely block out the sun while driving, and I felt like a blindfolded horse, unable to see other vehicles properly. I immediately removed it and now only use it when the vehicle is stationary.

But it seems that the powerful and influential can continue to use such features without consequences, highlighting the disparity in how the law is applied in India, with one set of rules for regular citizens and another for those in positions of authority.

[anjan_c2007]

A matter of real concern! Also blatantly shows the Indian mindsets that works overtime with dubious intentions to circumvent any law, using dangerous ingenuity that is to the users initial liking and maybe advantage. But such circumvention of the law creates a situation that becomes a cause of public concern and endangers public safety in the long run.

When I bought my Scorpio in 2009, the two major, unsafe features I found were its thick "A" pillar that creates blind spots for the driver on either sides. The second issue was regarding its horn button, which needed much extra efforts to engage. The first one about its "A" pillar is more pertinent to be debated here. And now if someone fits sun shades, curtains and so on, the "A" pillar issue is fully eclipsed amidst such an extended "A" pillar by a few feet due to those sunshades or curtains. And a shouting out, "privacy first for its occupants", by the occupants of such a totally unsafe car. Who knows; maybe cootchicooing lovers could soon use moonshades too, on full moon nights, for their privacy.

The Supreme Court judgement needed to have looked into all such future issues that could lead to defying and/or circumventing the sunfilm and dark tint ban. And in turn, such anti-public interest issues for circumvention of its judgment could germinate, grow and proliferate, post the Apex Court's sunfilm ban.

The judgment though still allows tinted glasses within specified norms for visibility inside, and also dark sunfilms/ tinted glasses for the privacy of public figures. The latter case is decided and permitted on merits, by the respective state/UT governments.

The 2012 judgment needed to have covered a much wider spectrum of objects of any description that help to mar visibility of the faces of those seated inside such motor vehicles, whose glasses are either opaque or translucent due to such objects used by the occupants/ owner/s.

[ToothyPetrohead]

Interesting thread Aditya and a valid one.
What is a common man supposed to do if he has to avoid the heat in a tropical country like ours with the mercury rise from year to year when a half-baked decision is made by people who have no real knowledge or perception of reality? (Many of them travel in such dark tinted cars)

Has crime become less? Has rape stopped? Has bootlegging stopped? And many more question… the answer to all is obvious. A decision taken, but till date plenty of tinted glassed cars seen on the road. It makes me wonder the rule applies to who?

In a country like ours “Jugadu” word comes to mind and inventions galore to make the masses comfortable or a least to make a quick buck without the understanding of the problems and safety at large.
Since the day my car was stopped years back I have been using removable magnetic shades. I have been stopped a couple of times on the highway and in the city, took off the shade and showed the cops. (My front glasses I have half size shades i.e the side mirror is clear for visibility.)

The shades definitely gives a relief from the intense heat (triggers migraines), saves the interiors from damage and prevents thefts to some extent.

Cops when questioned they cannot give a clear logical answer. (There are so many who still have the tinted glasses with little or no visibility and nothing happens to them.) These vehicles pass in front of us and the cops and nothing happens they turn a blind eye. Once I did question and the answer was “Sir how can we stop and fine so many people”.

Coming to the CURTAINS, Yes, they cannot be pulled back totally/ zero visibility and careless drivers. Sad no action taken against them either. I guess the coffers need to be filled, a money making racket.

A little research on part of the authorities could have made life a lot easier. The tints nowadays are advanced and give a lot of respite to the masses only an educated person would look at it that way.

[swiftnfurious]

I once had a close shave with a TUV 300 in Mumbai, with a towel hung in the driver window and the drivr couldn't even see the OVRM. The vehicle came so close to me where I had to stand on my horn before the vehicle moved back to its track.

The next thing I see is a lady who swipes the curtain to show me the "universal" symbol for WH-TH-F! And I looked like a fool when she wasn't careful.

All the problems is because of the blanket ban on sunfilms. If the judiciary / government had made a constructive solution, we wouldn't run into this. Every year with the temperatures soaring, driving in a car in the afternoons are becoming a very difficult proposition.

If they had strongly enforced the use of transparent films, the issue would have been sorted to quite an extent.

[E C U]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

1. Films
2. Shades
3. Curtains
4. Towels / scarf hung on the window
5. Advertisement sheets covering entire buses / trains including glass area (This is a huge revenue generator for governments).
6. Ban vehicles like the EECO that are available with windows closed off for cargo usage. Who knows what is actually happening inside?

I rest my case.

Absolutely...
Its been quite long now since the sun film is banned, is there any statistics supporting the crime rate reduction as an outcome of this..?

I differ with you on the EECO parcel vehicles, It is not advisable to have glass windows for material transport vehicles..

[AKSarkar1]

Not just curtains even the so called ‘sunshades’ are horrible when it comes to safety. I really don’t understand how people are drive on highways at 80-90 Km/hr with their rear windows fully blocked and 60% of their front windows blocked as well. It truly is disaster in the making.

I personally don’t really see as huge of a safety hazard for city driving with curtains/sunshades on rear windows but front two windows are a BIG NO NO. Cops have to take note of this and act accordingly. Funnily enough, tints are a much safer and useful option as compared to this.

[ZenMaster]

Most of the vehicles I have seen with Curtains are the Officials vehicles of high ranking govt. Officials, Police Officers and Ministers. Not common people

[kaushalswarup]

Interesting thread. My recent extended travel in the Middle East got me thinking on this very topic. With the kind of heat and sun intensity they have there, sun film is a given. The temperature differences between the outside and inside, especially for parked cars, is staggering. Sun film being used in places where the heat and intensity is high, should be the norm.

The concept of blanket bans to achieve a specific single objective is something our governance is sadly good at.

What I’ve seen after the ban, albeit with a very slow adoption rate, is that tinted glass is being provided by manufacturers straight from the factory itself. If what I think is right, a lot more manufacturers are providing it now. That’s a good sign.

The VLT percentages as per the rules should be followed and the manufacturers should widely adopt this, atleast as a factory upgrade, if not standard.

If done, there wouldn’t be a need for additional sun film, and the VLT would be regulated.

A crackdown on pseudo-official vehicles is required. Almost Every white fortuner I see has sun film on it, the darkest possible tint, on all glass surfaces. Same goes goes for quite a lot of vehicles that brazenly display some government position or department. The darker the tint, the more reckless and audacious the driver and occupants.
Just last evening, I witnessed a recklessly driven fortuner with ‘Government of Karnataka’ stickered on, and a pair of bright flashing lights, going about in Bengaluru.

[Aritra]

Curtains block the vision and anything that hampers visibility hampers decision making on the road, aka, creator of a disaster. It's time the loopholes in the laws are plugged and crackdown happens on this.

The green glasses used by Maruti and semi-transparent pull up blinds by reputed manufacturers are far more safer than curtains or dark glasses.

[trippytragopan]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Its just the honest tax paying citizen and his / her infant or toddler who is suffering under the burning hot Sun / UV rays, exposing us to potential serious health hazards in future.

On does don't have to buy tinted windows to block UV rays. Some transparent glasses can also block it.

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by trippytragopan

On does don't have to buy tinted windows to block UV rays. Some transparent glasses can also block it.

I don't think all transparent glasses can block UV rays. Special UV-blocking glasses can achieve this, but they may not be a cost-effective option when compared to tinted film. Additionally, transparent UV-blocking films may not offer the same level of performance as tinted films, and feedback on transparent options is generally less positive. Not to mention the added privacy provided by the tinted film.

[IamNikhil]

And then there are people like this who use what appears to be a relatively dark sunfilm and to add to that, heavily dark black curtains. These curtains have been fitted across all windows, including the rear windshield! Appalled especially at the fact that the curtain on the rear windshield has been drawn; severely hampering any chance of rear visibility!

P.s. Couldn’t click a photo of the rear windshield because the security around the vehicle was getting suspicious of me staring inside the car.

[IamNikhil]

Found another “regular” car with curtains all around. This malaise is not restricted to VIPs anymore.