THE Traffic Department has launched a rigid campaign to remove illegal tints from all vehicles, including those of members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).In an interview with this publication acting Traffic Chief Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud said his department will be operating within the confines of the law and relevant stipulations.
OBSTRUCTION

Quoting a section of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, the Traffic Chief noted that “No person shall have fitted to his motor vehicle and glass or safety glass or any material used in the place of such glass or safety glass which is so tinted or otherwise treated or coloured in such a manner or to such extent, as would result in obstructing the identification of the driver of the motor vehicle or any other person travelling in the motor vehicle by any person from outside the motor vehicle.”

However, he explained that where applicable senior government functionaries, military personnel and senior police are exempted. Persaud said during the campaign if a police officer cannot clearly identify the occupants inside a tinted vehicle from the outside, then the tint should be removed.

He said the campaign will be in operation countrywide and if persons are heavily tinted it is best to remove the tint since there is no need to cross paths with law enforcement.
ANTI-CRIME STRATEGY

Police sources also explained that the move is part of the anti-crime strategy since there are persons of interest to the police who often use cars with tinted windows to conceal their identity and to move around undetected.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had noted that government will be moving to review the existing policy regarding tint on motor vehicles as one of the components of the National Crime Fighting Strategy. Tint meters will be used to determine the density of the tint on vehicle windows.
Additionally, as it stands now, only certain vehicles are permitted to have tints without the expressed permission of the Minister of Public Security. These include diplomatic vehicles and those belonging
to senior government and high-ranking military officials.