Police plan drive to check sun films in private vehicles

The City traffic police plan to launch a special drive against private buses which sun films on their windows and windshields.

“Sun films, which come in-built from the company, are not touched because they fall within the permissible limit of 0.5mm to 0.7mm thickness. But if it is more than the permissible limit, we ask drivers to immediately pay a fine and direct them to remove the sun film on the spot,” a senior traffic police officer said.

As part of the drive, the police, according to the officer, will visit major pick-up points of private buses and impose hefty fines. “We have already booked more than 200 private buses in this regard. Curtains inside the bus have also been removed as part of the initiative,” he said.

Though the ban on sun films or tints on windows and windshields of vehicles were implemented in May 2012 to curb criminal activities, several vehicles are yet to comply with the stipulation.

Cases booked

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B Dayanand said, “In 2012, as many as 77,163 vehicles were booked for violating the ban and fines to the tune of Rs 77 lakh were collected.

 Similarly, in 2013, as many as 57,506 vehicles were booked and a fine amount of Rs 57 lakh was collected. Till date, around 80 per cent of vehicles in the City have got sun films removed. Our aim is to ensure 100 per cent compliance.”

Checking vehicles coming into the City from others parts of the State and the country is a major task. “The rule might not be implemented strictly in other states, but as soon as vehicles with tinted windows and windshields enter Bangalore, we make sure the sun films are removed,” he said.

Government vehicles, too, are not spared. “We carry out random checks at the Vidhana Soudha, the Kumara Krupa guesthouse and other places where the government vehicles are parked, and check them for sun films. We visit these places because we do not want to embarrass them by stopping them in the middle of road. Around 90 per cent of government vehicles have removed sun films,” said Assistant Commissioner of Traffic (Central) Syed Nizamuddin.

Sunray protection guards, which are sold at traffic signals and on pavements, are on high demand and most drivers prefer them, Mohammed Shoaib, an automobile spare parts dealer, said.

“The demand for sunray protection guard shot up when the ban on sun films was implemented. Most cars have these guard stuck on the windows and windshields, but the police have not done anything about it. I feel sale of such guards should be banned because they are as good as sun films. The traffic police should be stringent in banning such guards,” he said.