Minister of Transport, Melvin Hulse, has signed into law a statutory instrument that will outlaw heavy tinting of vehicles that came into effect on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. A press release from the Department of Transport indicates that vehicles with heavy tinting won’t even be allowed to be parked on public roads, much less to be driven on them.
Minister Hulse stated that a reasonable degree of tint will be allowed, but heavy tinting, which he said is unsafe for drivers in rainy conditions and at night, and which can be used to conceal illegal weapons from security forces, will no longer be permitted and there will be no exemptions.
Mr. Chris Nuñez, chairman of the San Pedro Transport Department, informed Ambergris Today that even though the law is in effect, motorists are being given a grace period until the end of this month and they are being advised to whether their tints are legal or not. If their car tints are illegal, motorists will have 30 days to remove the tint before they face any penalty.
Motorists that are not in compliance with the law will be given a summons in which they will have to appear at the Magistrates court and pay a court fine. The San Pedro Traffic Department should be receiving their tint inspector meters by the end of June.
Notice from transport authorities indicates:
(1) There must be NOT LESS than 50% Visible Light Transmission (VLT) through the front windshield, and the tint cannot extend more than 4 inches from the top of the vehicle. It cannot be reflective. [This level of tinting allows clear visibility of objects inside the vehicle, but blocks out some light.]
(2) Side windows at the front should, likewise, have no less than 50% VLT.
(3) Side windows in the rear and the rear glass are permitted to have a tint with 20% VLT, which is darker than the tint required for front windows and windshields.
Anonymous (not verified) –
NO EXEMPTIONS ACCORDING TO THE LAW, so it is not true that factory tinted glasses are okay as was rumored in the morning radio show. A suggestion is that those that are factory tinted be obliged to be driven with their glasses rolled down. No Exemptions.
Anonymous (not verified) –
GRACE PERIOD??? This is why laws in Belize are never enforced. The local traffic department has to do a random check on all vehicles that have tint right now and send them to the nearest mechanic so that it is COMPLETELY REMOVED. NO EXCEPTIONS. I don't care if you are rich or poor, black or white, thin or fat, man or woman. The traffic officers need to start doing this as of today.
P.A.
Anonymous (not verified) –
Grace period? What a joke! The law is the law period.
Your grace period expired 31st May 2011. The DOT has been announcing this for at least two months, maybe more.
Anonymous (not verified) –
Will heavy tinting also be removed from government vehicles? They are the ones who are supposed to show the example, right?
Dorian Nuñez –