[no_boundaries]

So, any idea what seems to be the situation in Hyderabad?
As far as what I have seen on some of the busiest roads in Hyderabad, most cars (Say, 90%) have sun film (relatively dark) installed and that is including the front wind shield. This, I see is also for brand new cars (Not the ones with T/R stickers), so do I have to be worried about getting the sun film removed or wait for some sort of announcement in the local news papers ?

O.T - Right now, the RTA's focus seems to be on checking non AP registration vehicles, especially on Gachibowli, Madhapur roads.

[StarrySky]

Now I'm not really sure if the ban on sunfilms would make it less safe for women drivers in any way.

My car (Punto) has tinted glass which is marked with min 75% VLT for the front windshield and min 70% VLT on the side glasses. With this VLT %, the glass looks very much transparent and the interiors of the car can be seen clearly from outside. I never get asked by security guards at my office gate or at malls to lower the glass to have a look inside.

Given that the legally allowed VLT % earlier were close to the values above, I'm pretty sure that most legal (fully compliant) sunfilms available earlier would've provided similar amount of transparency and visibility towards the interiors of the car.

Which means that for privacy/safety, car owners would have to have sunfilms with much lower VLT % than above. Such sunfilms were illegal anyway before the latest judgement from the SC. And it will almost certainly be illegal even if the blanket ban is withdrawn at some point in future.

[shankar.balan]

Yes it does. But the tint is very little even in the Elegance, so the AC efficiency and overall feeling of security is somewhat better with film on the glass.
Plus leaving things inside the vehicle with transparent glass windows is not an option anywhere in India because of temptation to break in and steal.
Additionally, my wife likes the film because it reduces UV especially when we are travelling long distance on the highways.
I dont agree with these draconian fiats that the government sees fit to put out, without either adequate notice nor preparation.
I agree with you that they should clearly define what sort of films are acceptable and what are not - this would be better for us consumers who in most cases have paid for the film installation in the first place!

Originally Posted by vb-san

I guess the Yeti already have tinted windows. Is there any mention on the VLT – on the glass, or in the manual?

[BuBooMan]

Update from Pune - My dads car got pulled over. Market Yard road, toady 1245hrs. Apparently the cops have a machine that he sticks between the glass window and it give a transparency readout. Above 50 % VLT is permissible he said. Dads turned out to be 35%. Fine with challan - Rs.100/-
And trust me when I say, those films are NOT dark.

[faithless_1984]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

. However for any of us travelling out of city / other states will have to follow the rule since wasting time on a drive pleading with cops regarding sun films is not going to help anything.
Even though this ban came in few weeks back I have seen few cities where police used to stop vehicles with sun film and fine / get it removed. During a trip to Guwahati in 2005 start I remember vehicles stopped at a police check post and sun films been torn out. Same way my friend who was on a Kerala -Manali drive in 2007 was stopped somewhere on a highway in UP and asked to peel off sun film after paying a fine of 500 rs or so.

Well i went to Lansdowne last weekend and nobody stopped me anywhere.
Am still driving in Delhi with tints and mine are fairly dark ,i guess the cops have relaxed a bit or maybe i`ve just been lucky.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by vb-san

A reasonable amendment would be nice – to define permissible VLT, irrespective of whether the vehicle have sun-film installed or not.

The problem with adding a permissible VLT clause is providing loopholes to both offenders and the enforcers. Instead, the VLT can be applied at the manufacturer level - on the glass supplied with the car (built-in to the glass, not via film). That way we can be sure that manufacturers will stick to the legal limit, instead of laying the onus on the neighborhood sticker shop guy who goes about deciding what the permissible VLT is and with many of us not sure about whether he is right or talking through his hat.

[mukeshgoel]

Update from Delhi:

Saw cops catching people with sunfilms.

They were removing the films and challaning at Dhaula Kuan (if you coming from Gurgaon, immediately after turning left on Ring Road towards Naraina) at 11:15 AM.

[RAC]

I got my sunfilm removed over the weekend. I had dark tints from day one. The car suddenly feels more spacious with the tints off and I feel more relaxed now driving in the evening/night due to increase in visibility. Hate the increased and direct heat/sun though.

I am now really worried about my amp and woofer in the boot which are now completely visible and become an easy prey.

Any idea how to take care of this. Thinking of putting up a parcel trey in the rear to take care of this. Any other suggestions?

[racer_m]

A lot of people have come up to me asking if their 70% or 50%VLT tints are valid or whether to remove them.
I give them this tip.

1. Find out your car windows factory VLT% (usually at the lowermost left/right side of the glasses) - V1
2. Identify the VLT% of the sunfilm stuck on it - V2
3. Find the effective VLT% of the whole glass with sunfilm with the simple formula V3=V1*V2

eg. V1=70% and V2=50% then Final VLT% V3=70 * 50 = 35% VLT (expressed as a percentage)
Source:How to Calculate Window Tint Visible Light Transmission (VLT)

So technically speaking, for majority people who are sticking RTO approved 70% in the front and back + 50% for the sides, they are already in the illegal range as normally most cars come with tints ranging upto 30%.

A guy sticking even the so called transparent 70% VLT film on a 70%VLT side windows will have to remove them according to the rulebook(49%VLT<50%VLT).

Many are cribbing that police should use the Tintmeter to see the readings and then only challan them.
I would say if they dare do that then most of cars would actually have their sunfilms removed on the spot.
In a way they using only their eyes to guage the darkness is leting a few of us escape with lighter shades of sunfilm. The Supreme court may be right for instructions to remove all sorts of dark tinted sunfilms from all vehicles

P.S - I got mine removed as has 20% VLT on my sides and back! and in the same way got 2 of my colleagues 50% VLT sunfilms removed too(looked dark as well)

Originally Posted by RAC

I am now really worried about my amp and woofer in the boot which are now completely visible and become an easy prey.

Any idea how to take care of this. Thinking of putting up a parcel trey in the rear to take care of this. Any other suggestions?

Yes rear parcel tray is the way to go for now. Have done the same to hide my Sub in the boot.
On a lighter note, if you do not want to go for the parcel tray, suggest you to put the oldest, worn out house rags on the amp and Sub.
Nobody would bother to look at them then

[PatchyBoy]

So, that brings us back to the question of how could the RTO approve such films? A source in 3M tells me that the VLT of the film is determined after applying it to 3 mm glass. The problem seems to be that Laminated glass and tempered glass, as used in the automotive industry have a lesser VLT as compared to regular annealed glass. My source was not sure if the test was done with annealed glass or with tempered glass.

There also seem to be variances in the automobiles themselves - some Punto owners have posted that their OEM VLT is 70%. My Palio is the same too. However one Ford Figo owner has posted that his is 90% VLT. This would mean that a 70% VLT film on the side windows would be legal (as per CMV rule 100(2)) in a Ford Figo, but illegal in a Punto.

Don't we have standards for such things?

Rajan

[panky12345]

Whats the fine in Delhi? 100 or 1000? Can somebody confirm??

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by BuBooMan

Update from Pune - My dads car got pulled over. Market Yard road, toady 1245hrs. Apparently the cops have a machine that he sticks between the glass window and it give a transparency readout. Above 50 % VLT is permissible he said. Dads turned out to be 35%. Fine with challan - Rs.100/-
And trust me when I say, those films are NOT dark.

Oh.. so Pune police is now taking action. Time to be more careful now.
I have not spotted any cops so far in Eastern Pune.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by BuBooMan

Update from Pune - My dads car got pulled over. Market Yard road, toady 1245hrs. Apparently the cops have a machine that he sticks between the glass window and it give a transparency readout. Above 50 % VLT is permissible he said. Dads turned out to be 35%. Fine with challan - Rs.100/-
And trust me when I say, those films are NOT dark.

There are 2 kinds of VLT meters

This


and this


The first one has a built in light source and should read 100% with no glass in the slot. When you put the side window in the slot, the light passes through the glass and gives the VLT reading of the glass. The problem is, this cannot be used for windsheild measurement, as there is no open edge.

The second one uses an external light source and is suitable for both windows and windshields.

Which of these were used by the cops in Pune? Not sure if we can convince or argue with the cops, but both meters have to be calibrated each time, before use and reading taken in atleast 3 different spots on the glass, to get an accurate VLT%. This is because foreign matter like, dust, oil stains, moisture, etc on the glass can give incorrect readings

Rajan

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by panky12345

Whats the fine in Delhi? 100 or 1000? Can somebody confirm??

It is Rs.100/-. See #39 in the link below:

http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in...-penalties.htm

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Which of these were used by the cops in Pune? Not sure if we can convince or argue with the cops, but both meters have to be calibrated each time, before use and reading taken in atleast 3 different spots on the glass, to get an accurate VLT%. This is because foreign matter like, dust, oil stains, moisture, etc on the galss can give incorrect readings

Rajan

Shouldn't it be the first one? For the second one, you need to make two measurements?