Looking At Car Window Tinting? Here’s What You Need to Know

Perhaps you have always fancied having tinted windows on your vehicle, but never taken the plunge. This is a service we offer at 1-2-1 Windscreen Services Ltd, so we thought it would be helpful if we outline the benefits of tinted windows and how to make sure you’re not falling foul of the law when you get it done. Read on for more details.

The Advantages to Tinted Windows

We’ve all seen famous or important people being driven around in cars with privacy glass, so there is a certain amount of prestige in having tinted windows. But alongside offering privacy and security, car window tinting can offer some useful benefits:

• Reducing sun damage: tinted windows help prevent plastic and fabrics on the interior of your car fading in direct sunlight. That can help preserve your car’s value when it comes to resale.
• Blocking UV rays: on a related note, tinted windows can block up to 99.9% of the sun’s harmful UV rays, protecting you and your passengers from skin damage from sunlight.
• Preventing glare: tinted windows also reduce the amount of glare from bright sunlight or full beam headlights, making it easier to drive safely in day and night time conditions.
• Keeping you cool: the shading from direct sunlight offered by tinted windows will also help keep the car’s interior cooler, and lessen your reliance on your air conditioning, saving you money too!
• Shatter protection: the film applied can help prevent chips and cracks to your windscreen caused by loose stones. That can reduce the need for car stone chips repairs or even car window replacements.

What the Law Says and Why

There are rules and regulations about car window tinting, and that’s for very good reasons. If your windows are too dark, then it can detract from your night-time vision, which is obviously dangerous. Excessively tinted glass can also stop the driver making eye contact with pedestrians and other road users, which makes it difficult to signal intent to proceed or acknowledging other road users’ manoeuvres. Again, this can cause accidents. And finally, it’s important for police and other law enforcement officers to be able to view the car’s interior and its occupants.

For these reasons, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) have enacted the following requirements for car window tinting:

• If your vehicle was first used before 1 April 1985, your windscreen and front side windows must let 70% or more of light through them.

• If your vehicle was first used on 1 April 1985 or later, then the front windscreen must admit 75% or more of light through, while your front side windows must allow 70%+ of light through them.

While it’s not tested at MOT, the police and VOSA vehicle examiners use specialist equipment to test the opacity of the glass. If you fail these tests, a prohibition notice could stop you using your vehicle until the tint is removed. You may even receive a penalty notice or court summons and your insurance will additionally be invalidated.

So if you’re looking for car window tinting, it pays to consult reliable and trusted experts. This is just what we are at 1-2-1 Windscreen Services Ltd, and we offer legal tinting at our garage in Wrexham. We serve the whole of North Wales and the North West, including Whitchurch, Chester, Shrewsbury and the Wirral.