Car Tinted Glass law In Nigeria

Recently, the Nigeria Police Authority announced their proposed
clampdown on Tinted glass law. Tinted glass law is a global issue
which however needs to be rightly addressed in Nigeria before the
planned clampdown by the Police.

Without doubt, it is necessary to wage war against the tinting
of car windows, particularly, black tint. It hinders the driver
from having a clear view of his blind spots, covers, drivers making
phone calls and shields criminals among others. However, there are
many essential things the Nigeria Police has left unaddressed
before talking about the clampdown.

There are different types of tinted glasses. There are factory
tinted glasses and there are film tinted glasses. Tinted glasses
are further distinguished by the percentage of the window tint to
the visible light transmission. As at today in Nigeria, I have
never seen any Police Officer or other traffic management Officers
using an equipment to measure the degree of tint as it obtains in
several other countries.

Many of the tinted glasses targeted by the Nigeria Police will
pass international test even in developed Countries. The acceptable
rate of the glass Visible Light Transmission (VLT) must be made
public by the Nigeria Police before the planned clampdown. We are
in the age of technology and not the dark age when measurements are
done by personal judgement. Having announced the acceptable rate of
VLT, the Police Officers and other traffic management Officers must
be equipped with the state of the art instruments for measring the
VLT which must be used on the glasses before apprehending the
violators.

It is not difficult for some influential criminals and very
important personalities to obtain the tint permit from the Nigeria
police Authority even without seen assessing the level of tint. 100
per cent black tint is illegal anywhere all over the world. But
many of such vehicles are on Nigeria roads. Visibility for safety
and Security should be the guiding principle, not how influential
the vehicle owner is. In my own opinion, all film tint should be
disallowed on Nigeria roads. Any tint that comes from the
automobile Manufacturers above 30 percent tinted and 70 per cent
VLT should be disallowed except proper permit is obtained. The
categories of people that can obtain such permit should be
published. The background checks and security documentations of
such people should be done without bias.

Concerning the security issue, whether tinted glass permit is
obtained or not, Drivers approaching Police or allied check points
must be made to wind down the glasses for routine security checks
except well-known VIP,s with high integrity. Safety and Security,
not revenue generation should be the driving force for the
implementation of tinted glass law in Nigeria. Public enlightenment
and technology must also be adequately employed towards the
implementation of the law.

We must always do things right to avoid punishing innocent
Citizens and painting the Country black among the comity of
Nations. It is time to move to the next level in policy formulation
and implementation in Nigeria.

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