[Article] Tinted car windows not a risk, judge decrees

Tinted car windows not a risk, judge decrees
From:The Irish Independent
Wednesday, 26th July, 2006

A JUDGE who threw out charges yesterday against a young man summonsed for driving a car with tinted windows said that the rich and famous drive around with similar blackened windows.

"It's cool to have these things on a car," Judge Tim Lucey told Nenagh District Court. "That's the whole point of it, really."

But last night there was a call for clear regulations on tinted car windows, which are increasingly popular among so-called boy racers, to be introduced as soon as possible.

"We can't comment on an individual case but it's obviously common sense that if the tinting on your window is such that it's obscuring your vision, then that's not safe," Brian Farrell of the Road Safety Authority said.

The motorist involved questioned why he was summonsed, given the huge number of cars on the roads with tinted windows.

Darren Killackey (21), of Boher Mhuire, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, was stopped by Garda Louis Moloney in Nenagh last October while driving his 1996 Mitsubishi Colt.

In court yesterday, Gda Moloney contended that the tinted windows hindered the defendant's proper view of the roadway.

Judge Lucey said this was not necessarily the case. "It depends on how dark the glass is or how deep the tint," he said.

Judge Lucey dismissed the charge, which had been brought under the Road Traffic Construction Equipment and Use of Vehicles Regulations 1963.

"You have all kinds of VIPs driving around with dark glass in stretch limos," the judge said. "Do they get prosecuted?"

However, he did fine Mr Killackey €100 for having a sun visor across the windscreen, which Gda Moloney said hindered the driver's view of the road.

Speaking last night, Mr Killackey said he was not happy with the case, despite having one of the charges thrown out.

"No, I didn't want to pulled by the guards at all," he said. "I felt hard done by. I suppose it could have been worse but they can't just be pulling in one lad here and there and not stopping all that have the tinted windows. Every second car in north Tipperary has them.

"I bought the car like that. It certainly wasn't affecting my vision."

The judge's decision brought a reaction from the Opposition parties.

"Whether it's cool or whether it's not, if you can't see out of it then you can't see out of it, and an independent source should be got to clarify that one," Fine Gael's transport spokesperson Shane McEntee said.

"At the end of the day there has to be clarity from some source. It's very hard to go against a judge but there should be clarity. There has to be an EU standard."

Labour transport spokesperson Roisin Shortall said: "That's the judge's own personal opinion, but there should be regulations in place, a clear guide in relation to this thing."

Jason O'Brien and Peter Gleeson