THE ROAD Transport Department has advised motorists to remove tints from their windows if they want to ensure they can obtain an MOT certificate.
Stephen Hughes said he had the windows of his Mini Cooper tinted four years ago at a cost of more than £200, but this week encountered a problem when he took his car for an MOT inspection.
“The rear windscreen and windows have an 85 per cent tint, while the front side windows have a 50 per cent tint,” he explained, adding that the Mini now stays cooler in the searing summer temperatures, while also enjoying added security provided by the windows.
“On Monday, two Limassol garages told me the car is in perfect mechanical condition, but unless all tinting is removed, an MOT certificate cannot be issued.”
Hughes then visited Pentagon Glass-Tech, the Larnaca firm that had installed the tints and they removed them from the front windows. “Because they were so busy tinting other vehicles, that there wasn’t enough time to do my back windows too, so I still can’t get an MOT,” he said.
He was also not very pleased at having to remove his tints, “as I will now be forced to run the air-conditioning much harder in order to stay cool.”
When contacted Pentagon Cyprus Director Stavros Frangoudes explained there was “no law in Cyprus governing the prohibition of window tinting”.
However, he said that the Road Transport Department a few months back issued a directive, telling all garages issuing MOT certificates that most tinting was illegal.
“They sent glass samples to the garages, informing them that anything darker than the sample should not be passed. But you cannot base this using eyesight alone, which is what they are doing. In the industry, we have what is called a visible light transmission level, which is a scientific way of governing the amount of light allowed to pass through glass, and this is what should be used.”
He called on the authorities to introduce clear regulations stating, “how dark we can go so everybody knows where they stand.”
According to their website, “Pentagon as a group have always sought to ensure that the tints we supply are both safe for road use and acceptable within the law.
Throughout our history we have regularly consulted the police, road safety groups and other authorities for guidance on this matter.”
Pentagon are regarded as the finest car window tinting specialists in the world and are endorsed by premium marques such as Bentley, Aston Martin and Range Rover.
Frangoudes said they use a, “metallised film, which is installed using professional equipment”.
Yiannis Nicolaides of the Road Transport Department explained that, “the regulations are not so clear on the subject.
“The directive states that the front windows must be within a light transmission limit of 60 per cent, while for the rear windows, less light transmission levels can be accepted,” meaning darker glass is allowed.
“This is provided that windows meet manufacturers’ specifications,” he said, adding that no window films are accepted.
Nicolaides admitted that eyesight may not be the best way for MOT stations to determine legality, but said that it is the only way at present, “until we can introduce machinery that can provide technical specifications which can stand up in court.”
According to the police, section 50 (21) of the traffic and motor vehicle regulations states that, “good visibility must be provided at all times, with laminated glass used so it cannot break into dangerous pieces.”
