[Chhanda Das]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

And thus, high quality sun film on windshield, windows and rear - highly, highly recommended and I can't say enough on what a great investment they are in your car!

I am sorry but I am absolutely unwilling to break the law and go against the judgment of the honorable Supreme Court of India irrespective of whether I like the judgment or not. As you can see in the Point 23 in the judgment in the link below, the honorable Court has clearly mentioned and I quote "we have no hesitation in holding that use of black films or any other material upon safety glass, windscreen and side windows is impermissible". The keywords "any other material" are clearly applicable in your case. Hence, please consider removing these films from your car as soon as possible.

If I remember correctly, I seem to recall hearing something about Volkswagen issuing a software update to improve the air conditioner's performance in some of their latest vehicles in India. So you can consider that instead of the sun films in your car.

If we want others to follow the laws/rules on the road, we have to start following the laws/rules ourselves first.

http://jowaipolice.gov.in/Laws_and_R...ss_in_cars.pdf

[SLK]

Well, I see multiple 0% visibility cars every day in Gurgaon and I was stopped for checking by the cops at T3 IGI, just this weekend for owning top end trim of the car, which has a slight tint (anyways, they tried to find the film and let me go in 15 secs).

The criminals who drove full black glasses, still do at large. That was always banned and still is. It takes zero effort to identify cars with full black tints, but the cops went to court and said we can't assess films (or criminals), so the court banned it for us instead!

BTW, in Delhi they would eventually catch hold of this car, I haven't seen them tear off lately. In Chandigarh though, they would surely catch this car in first visit!.

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

I am sorry but I am absolutely unwilling to break the law and go against the judgment of the honorable Supreme Court of India irrespective of whether I like the judgment or not

As GTO has pointed out earlier in this thread, this is not the place to debate on the legality or the lack thereof of sun films.

I am glad to know you personally follow the law. I’ve chosen to break it keeping my comfort in mind, however wrong and will deal with the penalties if and when they are slapped on to me!

[Dead_Pedal]

Looks good and hope it serves you well in the long run considering the expenses involved. You are not likely to get into any trouble in BLR at least unless you're caught for a different reason and the cop is in all out attack mode. It doesn't really look dark to be stopped for and charged. How I wish this bizarre rule is scrapped and has it helped reduce the crime rate, I'm not sure. Good luck.

[rajivr1612]

Looks good to me. I have CR70 on my front and rear glass since like 5+ years. I drive in Chennai and Kerala, have not been caught anywhere.
Anyways I consider it a bizarre law, and something which even if NOT adhered to (within limits), doesn't cause harm to other road users.

[Chhanda Das]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

As GTO has pointed out earlier in this thread, this is not the place to debate on the legality or the lack thereof of sun films.
I am glad to know you personally follow the law. I’ve chosen to break it keeping my comfort in mind, however wrong and will deal with the penalties if and when they are slapped on to me!

I think that there is a misunderstanding going on here. Please let me clarify my stand. I am absolutely not questioning or arguing about the legal aspects since the honorable Supreme Court of India has made that amply clear. My comment was against your unbridled and glowing recommendation for this illegal modification toward other law-abiding car owners. Now it would be pertinent to note that I have absolutely no right to dictate what you can or cannot do to/with your car. I hope that I was able to clarify myself. Wish you happy and safe drives ahead

[Torq]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

I’ve chosen to break it keeping my comfort in mind, however wrong and will deal with the penalties if and when they are slapped on to me!

I echo your sentiments. I've had sunfilm on Tiago for six years and just today got 70% VLT sunfilms installed on my new Sonet.

I may be breaking the law by word, but following the sentiments in that, it's 70% VLT and the view from outside to inside isn't blocked. That was the original argument of this diktat right?

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by Dead_Pedal

You are not likely to get into any trouble in BLR at least unless you're caught for a different reason and the cop is in all out attack mode. It doesn't really look dark to be stopped for and charged. How I wish this bizarre rule is scrapped and has it helped reduce the crime rate, I'm not sure. Good luck.

Thing is cops in Bangalore and Mysore are always on attack mode when it comes to TN registered cars! They really hound us! I’ve learnt it best not to talk to them in Tamil, but in Telugu as I can’t speak Kannada and they’ll let me go a little bit easier. They catch us for the most bizarre things! In fact I recently got checked on the highway, just after Hoskote deep in KA and had two bottles of alcohol and the cops tried to fine me saying I can’t take Karnataka booze into TN! I told them I was going to go 1 km before KA - AP border and I planned to drink there and camp overnight in my car and asked them to follow me or inform a patrol team to come check!

Anyway, I am increasingly avoiding Bangalore for this and the traffic , but have fallen in love with Coorg, so still have to come to KA often! It’s crazy that we in India are always outsiders - we either are from a different state, or different caste and are perennially preyed upon!

And true, it’s really not dark at all and offers good insight into what’s happening inside the car! I really shouldn’t be stopped if sense is to prevail!

I really would have liked to go with a slightly darker tint on windows - 40 or 50, but didn’t hoping I won’t get as badly hounded as I did when I had 40 tints on my WRVs windows!

That said, I’d think that crime has gone down with dark tints no longer being allowed. With cars like Omnis with a dark tint, considering the sliding doors as well, you can really be up to no good. End of the day, I’d think if the law has stopped even ONE rape or ONE kidnap, it’s a win!

Did you guys know that Sri Lanka had banned full helmets - because the LTTE and JVP people would done helmets and perpetrate drive by shootings? They were once so strict about it that the army would shoot you if you were on a bike with a full helmet and approach a picket!

[RaviCar]

In NCR I think it's the most common reason to be pulled out for. Films are a strict no no. Even the cops at my colony gate keep stopping and stripping(?) them. At least every week I see someone being Haggled.

[neo_narender]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

You don't know what you are missing unless you know what you are missing!

How I wish I could install sun film on my Rapid 1.0 TSI's windows. The summer in Hyderabad with the weaker AC will be a headache to drive. But I do have the accessories of rear window sun blinds provided by Škoda, never had an issue in 2 years driving in Hyderabad, hope the cops don't find a fault with it going forward.

Neo

[JoaTMoN]

I've had Garware sun films on my previous cars Chevy Spark and Duster, 70% for the windshield and 50% for the rest. I've been to many parts of Kerala, TN, and a few times to Bangalore in them. I've never been stopped for the sun films, except for once(some 10 years ago), when some lady cops stopped my Chevy and though the Inspector noticed the films, she said they were very light, and so it wasn't a problem. They eventually fined me for having the front licence plate in two rows(although the Jeep they were in, had a two row licence plate), but I was glad they were sensible enough about the sun films despite their quest to achieve target.

I haven't fixed any on my new car yet, because I lost the contact number of the distributor. The cost is cheaper when we get from the distributor. They brought a technician with them and fixed the films at my home.

[thirdmainroad]

Planning an audio upgrade and of course, won’t go anywhere else than Speedfreaks. When I was there to talk about this, Karthik mentioned that 4 people had mentioned they had seen this post and got the exact films installed for their vehicles. He also said that the distributor of SolarShield from Mumbai had called him, and said that there has been a spike in this particular series being installed over the last week and that outlets were calling them and letting them know that many had mentioned they had come across this thread.

Could some of you who have got the SolarShields installed share their experiences here please? I am keen to see if our experiences are aligned.

[HereticHermit]

So there are two kind of road users. One set is willing to use sun film for nearly 40 c, irrespective of cost and law of the land because they feel a/c in any 1200 car is inadequate for their liking, just because..... they can?
Another set of citizens are happy to abide by law even when driving compact cars. Even if the a/c blower barely cools their shirt front when the mercury just hangs at 43c for weeks?
Choices.......

[JoaTMoN]

Originally Posted by HereticHermit

So there are two kind of road users. One set is willing to use sun film for nearly 40 c, irrespective of cost and law of the land because they feel a/c in any 1200 car is inadequate for their liking, just because..... they can?
Another set of citizens are happy to abide by law even when driving compact cars. Even if the a/c blower barely cools their shirt front when the mercury just hangs at 43c for weeks?
Choices.......

Everyone is a saint until they have the opportunity and resources!

If fixing a sun film is breaking the law, what about upgrading headlight bulbs? Why is no law abiding citizen talking about that? In fact, a blinding light would cause accidents, while sun films aren't dangerous to other road users. By the way, the outside temperatures don't increase when the sun notices a compact car. 43°C is 43°C around a fortuner or a maruti 800.

[krishnakumar]

Lot of discussion has happened on the legality of the film and as GTO mentioned, let’s put an end to that debate. Also OP has made their point very clear on this which I respect!

For a change, I have a completely different and pertinent question on this and wanted the inputs from others:

1. What are the sun films really banned for? What is the exact scientific reason for it?

2. If visibility is the issue, why is something like 80% or 90% banned? Shouldn’t there be a lower cut off?

3. Adding to the above, if visibility really is the concern, even those factory fitted sun blinds or magnetic sun blinds etc should be banned? Why isn’t anyone getting pulled over for that? (Sorry, my intention is not to plan new sinister ideas )

4. Wouldn’t sun films prevent the tempered glass (like side windows) from shattering in the event of an accident, which they are required to do so for safety reasons? Is it really why this is banned?

I have tried to search the answers for the above on this forum and Google but can’t find a straight answer to it. Though I recall one news interview of an MVD official from Kerala who clarified that the possibility of glass not shattering is the reason why it is banned.

Can someone please clarify?