Why is it prohibited to tint front windows?

Why is front tinting banned?

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Requirements for tinting are specified by GOST 5727-88 “Safety glass for land transport. General technical conditions", according to which light transmission capacity:

• — windshields of vehicles must be at least 75%;
• — glass of the front doors and front side windows (if any) must be at least 70%;
• - other glass, roof glazing of passenger cars, sunroofs, shading strips in the upper part of the windshield are not standardized.

The ban on front tinting is due to modern safety requirements. Firstly, front tinting reduces the driver’s visibility in the side mirrors and windows, which is especially noticeable at night and when the side windows are heavily dirty. Secondly, the inspector who stopped the vehicle must see what is happening inside the car and who exactly is behind the wheel. In the case of heavy front tinting, the inspector has no way to understand what is happening in the car and whether he is in danger. For example, the inspector will not be able to see that the driver is an armed criminal who is dangerous to the life of a traffic police officer, or simply an inadequate person who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In addition, the inspector will not be able to notice a crime that may be occurring in the car, for example, an attack on the driver. Also, in the event of an accident involving a car with front tinting, even from the testimony of witnesses, it will be more difficult to determine who exactly was driving.

The expert explained why rear window tinting should not be prohibited

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Leningrad Region Vladimir Petrov sent a proposal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to completely ban tinting of cars. In his opinion, such a measure will increase the level of anti-terrorism security. Experts do not agree with this interpretation.

Tinted windows, behind which evil terrorists or at least bad people who have something to hide are certainly hiding, is an ancient stereotype that firmly lives in the minds of “particularly law-abiding” citizens. Alas, some people still don’t realize that tinting is a way to protect the body from the scorching rays of the sun, and personal belongings from prying eyes. Where are the boundaries of what is permitted at present and what do ordinary citizens and experts think about the initiative?

What is possible and what is not possible at present

Tinting is regulated by GOST, which allows any degree of darkening of the rear side and rear windows. Moreover, traffic police officers almost never check the hemisphere, since its opacity is not considered something illegal. Front window tinting options are a different story. They are strictly regulated, and the key in GOST is the light transmittance, which should not be lower than 70%. The requirements for light transmission of the windshield are higher - it should not be less than 75%.

Non-compliance with GOST tinting is punishable in accordance with Part 3.1 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: “Driving a vehicle on which glass is installed (including those covered with transparent colored films), the light transmission of which does not meet the requirements of the technical regulations on the safety of wheeled vehicles, entails the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount five hundred rubles."

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It's time to ban ban

The high terrorist threat of tinted cars raises many questions. In fact, we have before us yet another prohibitive initiative that advocates for world peace, but at the same time excludes common sense and forgets about the mass of possible inconveniences for ordinary citizens who do not tint their windows in order to transport terrorists, hostages and explosives.

“The State Duma must finally learn to allow it because all of their bills lately have been prohibitive in nature. In a society of prohibitions and restrictions, even for the sake of some good intentions, there will be depression and a lack of growth in life satisfaction and well-being. In this life, there is not only a stick, but also a carrot, and regulation can be carried out not only through prohibitions, but also through permits and a wiser approach,” says Petr Shkumatov, coordinator of the Blue Buckets motorists movement.

In his opinion, tinting does not affect anti-terrorism security in any way. Terrorism itself contains more myths than numbers—there are orders of magnitude fewer casualties in terrorist attacks than in man-made disasters. “Tinting is a deterrent to thieves who can't see what's in the back seat. It protects from the sun and improperly adjusted headlights. If I didn't have tint on the back of my car, I could have gotten into an accident many times because there was a person in the back with spotlights burning out my eyes. In addition, our country is large and diverse. Try driving in the south without tinting now. There it is a means of driver safety, because without it the sun is so intense in the summer, the brains literally “melt”,” concluded Shkumatov.

Why is it illegal to tint windows on cars?

Today, many people no longer even remember that there were times when the ban on tinting was perceived as a stupid formality. After all, drivers were ready to pay a 500 ruble fine for tinting. It’s hard to imagine how many cars there were on the roads whose windows were completely “black.” But 2012 came - a fatal year for motorists.

A law appears that makes it clear that the old times are coming to an end. After all, the driver now faced punishment not only in the form of 500 rubles, but also the deprivation of his license plate for a period of time until the violation was eliminated. Moreover, it is not always possible to simply remove the tint on the spot, get the license plates and move on calmly. You need to go to the traffic police department and deal with bureaucratic issues. But if you’re lucky, the employees simply ask you to remove the tint on the spot, don’t issue a fine, and let you go.

Naturally, we are not talking about rear windows. There are no prohibitions here. In the case of the front ones, everything is strict. There are even clear standards. The windshield must have at least 75% light transmission. In the case of side front ones, 5% less.

Such standards in any case eliminated tinting. Because with the help of an athermal film with such indicators you cannot hide anything in the cabin. The maximum it will give is that the interior will not get very hot (and that’s not a fact).

A common reason for banning tinting is the high likelihood of getting into an accident due to the film. After all, visibility from the inside is poor. But what really? Tinting the windshield is truly absurd. But tinting the front side windows in most cases does not interfere with the driver in any way. This can easily be confirmed by motorists who have driven tens of thousands of kilometers with such tinting.

The funny thing is that you will not find any confirmed statistics according to which tinting is truly an enemy and a great danger.

In fact, the ban on tinting is really an increase in safety, but not for drivers, but for traffic police officers...

So, the employee slows down the car. Because of the tinting, he cannot see anything at all what is happening in the cabin. And here we add night. Accordingly, what actions the driver performs in the car is unknown. But there are known cases when traffic police officers were wounded with firearms when they approached the side front window. After all, the inspector does not know until the very last moment that a weapon was pointed at him. It sounds like science fiction, but crime on the road is not uncommon. It is important for the traffic police officer to monitor the situation in such cases and be prepared to respond.

Is the ban logical? Really. Another thing is that it would also be logical to simplify the law a little. A slight darkening will not prevent traffic police officers from seeing the driver inside and monitoring his actions. Now such light darkening is allowed that you can’t even call it such.

Why is it prohibited to tint front windows?

Question: Why is it prohibited to tint front windows?

Author: Sasha.

Answer from the traffic police: These are the rules.
Requirements for tinting are specified by GOST 5727-88 “Safety glass for land transport. General technical conditions" (this document is based on the "List of faults and conditions under which the operation of vehicles is prohibited"), according to which the light transmittance of: - windshields of vehicles and trams must be at least 75%;
— glass of the front doors and front side windows (if any) must be at least 70%;
- other glass, roof glazing of passenger cars, sunroofs, shading strips in the upper part of the windshield are not standardized.

Editor's response: the ban on tinting front windows is due to modern safety requirements. Firstly, for the driver of a tinted car, visibility in the side mirrors and windows is reduced (this is especially noticeable at night and when the side windows are heavily dirty). Secondly, the inspector who stopped the vehicle must see what is happening inside the car and who exactly is behind the wheel. In the case of heavily tinted windows, the inspector has no way to understand what is happening in the car and whether he is in danger. For example, the inspector will not be able to see that behind the wheel there is an armed criminal who is ready to encroach on the life of a traffic police officer, or an inadequate person who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The inspector will not be able to notice a crime that may be occurring in the car. An attack on a driver, for example. Also, in the event of an accident involving a car with tinted windows, even from the testimony of witnesses, it will be more difficult to determine who exactly was driving.

Why is window tinting prohibited and will it be allowed in 2018?

Tinting is an easy way to darken the interior and make the exterior of your car more stylish. Currently, tinting car windows is allowed only in accordance with established GOST.

What is the reason for the ban on excessive tinting of car windows and will tinting be allowed in 2018? Many car enthusiasts believe that tinting their car windows makes their stay in the car more comfortable. But what can excessive window tinting lead to? Let's try to understand these issues.

Why is tinting prohibited?

It is worth mentioning right away that there is a ban on tinting a car not in accordance with the currently approved GOST. You can tint car windows, but subject to certain rules. So, the requirements of GOST 32565-2013 for tinting are as follows:

• the car windshield must transmit at least 70% of the light flux;
• at least 70% of light must penetrate through the front side windows;
• The rear and rear side windows can be darkened depending on the car owner's preferences, provided that there is a view of the road behind the car in two rear-view mirrors.

There are no specific instructions regarding tinting the remaining windows of the car. Consequently, they can be tinted with a film of any light transmittance. There is no mention of the ban on tinting with mirror film in GOST 2013, so “everything that is not prohibited is permitted.”

Car enthusiasts should take into account that modern cars are already produced from the factory with windshield tinting, which has a darkening coefficient of about 10%. Therefore, before tinting the windows on a car, you should find out what kind of shading the car has “natively”, and only after that choose the light transmittance of the future tinting. Do not forget that over time, car glass loses its original transparency and becomes cloudy, i.e. its light transmittance decreases by 20 - 30%. And this is not always visible to the naked eye.

An example of calculating the permissible light transmittance coefficient

Let's assume that the windshield of a car has a shading factor of 10%, that is, it transmits 90% of the light flux. The permitted dimming rate is 30% (100% - 70%). Therefore, to stay within the established limits, it is necessary to choose a film with a darkening factor = 30% - 10% = 20%. The choice of tint film in this situation should be limited to a darkening rate of 5 to 20%.

If the glass is already old, then it transmits only 70 - 75% of the light flux. These are the maximum permissible values. Consequently, in this case we can no longer talk about any tinting.

What are the reasons for such strict rules limiting the tinting of car windows? It is logical to assume that with traffic safety and law enforcement measures. Therefore, the grounds for restrictions on tinting include:

• reduced visibility of the situation on the road for the driver, as a result - the creation of an emergency situation not only for his car, but also for other road users;
• the likelihood of any illegal actions being committed in the car.

The listed reasons are a fairly compelling argument, so strict requirements for tinting rules have a right to exist.

Will it be allowed to tint car windows in 2018?

Despite the fact that many car owners are in favor of lifting the tinting ban, no relaxations are expected at the legislative level either in 2017 or 2018. What requirements do advocates of maintaining incognito within the interior of their car put forward? Their ideas are as follows: allow tinting of the windshield up to 60% of the light transmittance, and the front side windows - up to 40%. These requirements are justified by the following reasons:

• reducing the degree of intrusion into the privacy of the driver and passengers;
• reduction of glare from the bright sun during the day and from the headlights of oncoming traffic at night;
• reducing heating of the car interior, as a result – extending the service life and preserving the appearance of the upholstery and instrument panel;
• reducing the cost of operating the air conditioner.

The listed reasons for demands to lift the tinting restrictions are quite logical, but, nevertheless, do not outweigh the importance and seriousness of the reasons for strict regulation of car tinting.

Proposed compensation mechanisms for tinting resolution

If the authorities at the legislative level compromise in 2018 with the advocates of repealing the law on tinting, then, most likely, a certain compensation mechanism will be developed. Let's analyze what it could be, and whether there is a high probability of buying an indulgence for tinting.

It is assumed that one of the types of compensation for permission to tint may be a special tax or state duty. The principle is this: a driver who has paid this tax or duty will have the right to darken the windows of his car as he wants. Car owners who have not paid the required bribe to the state treasury will be forced to adhere to the established rules for tinting permitted by law.

Those who buy off the law will have the right to break it. Such a precedent could become a negative starting point for the creation of other, more dangerous “agreements” with the law. However, if any compromise decisions are made regarding car tinting in 2018, they will be made for all car owners without exception.

Conclusion

Excessive tinting of car windows is prohibited, as such an upgrade may interfere with road safety. According to GOST, all vehicle glass must have a certain percentage of light transmittance, which will allow the driver to have a complete view of what is happening on the road while driving. Talks about lifting the ban on tinting in 2018 remain at the level of initiatives.