A discussion on tinted car windows has resurfaced following the most recent traffic controls this past weekend (see Tuesday paper). Of the 80 vehicles checked, tint had to be removed from 29; well over a third!
Perhaps cars with dark windows were targeted, but mid-October controls had a similar result, when tint was removed from 165 out of 443 vehicles checked. It was argued by some at the time that motorists whose windshields were destroyed by Hurricane Irma had covered such with much-less-transparent materials, creating a more dangerous situation on the public roads.
Be that as it may, tackling the phenomenon of too-dark windows started on January 1. Per that date the French side announced implementation of existing regulations.
There was some subsequent confusion due to a report of March this year that St. Maarten allowed just 15 per cent tint – meaning a minimum 85 per cent transparency – while the Gendarmes had mentioned 70 per cent transparency (maximum 30 per cent tint). The latter turned out to be correct.
The main rules are thus island-wide, although for the Dutch side they regard all except rear windows. North of the open border it involves only the front, driver and front-seat-passenger windows.
In addition to traffic hazards, the issue also concerns security. There is no hard evidence available in terms of figures; however, one can’t help but notice that vehicles mentioned in crime stories have often been identified as having tinted windows.
Mind you, cars with factory-tinted windows are allowed and anyway should already be compliant. The bottom line is that, especially in today’s gun-violence-filled world, police simply must be able to see inside the motor vehicle so they can better protect society.
Otherwise law-abiding citizens occasionally complain that without heavily tinted windows the interior of their car gets way too hot. They could try parking in the shade, using removable sun screens, leaving windows open a small crack to allow for air circulation or opening them a while before getting inside.
Part of the irritation is obviously related to a lack of enforcement in the past. People have hereby once again been warned that those days are long gone, as local authorities now dispose of proper light-measuring equipment.
As stated in an editorial on the same topic early this year, public safety comes first.
