Public Service Vehicles (PSV) and taxi operators are calling for clarity from Government on the tint regulations set to take effect from September 1.
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport, Roy Raphael, is warning of possible “chaos” if this is not resolved.
“We have close to 1 200 public service vehicles such as ZRs and minibuses. So, if that regulation can take effect from the 1st, it will have a significant impact on the travelling public, especially heading into the new school term.”
Asking for an extension of the deadline, Raphael said they wanted Minister of Transport and Works (MTW) Santia Bradshaw to say whether PSVs would also be exempt.
Under the regulations, front and rear windshields must allow at least 70
per cent of visible light, front side windows 25 per cent, and rear side windows 20 per cent.
Exemptions will apply for top officials, ambulances, hearses and vehicles operated by the Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Police Service.
When contacted yesterday, Attorney General Dale Marshall said the regulations would soon be published and should clear up any queries, while adding that the details were under the purview of the MTW.
Several drivers
On Saturday, several taxi drivers in Bridgetown weighed in on the issue.
One frustrated operator in Lower Broad Street told the DAILY NATION: “As [many] cars as there are on the island, I think the September 1 deadline is going to be an issue . . . . These people in Government operate so lacklustre because you brought up this new legislation last year but now weeks before the law is to be enforced, now is when tint testing is being carried out. It’s too
short a space of time. Even the tint they recommend is barely tinted. It makes no sense.”
He added: “My vehicle is not actually tinted but arrived from Japan with a special kind of glass which is dark. So I would have to take out the whole glass and I don’t know where I would get a glass replacement.”
Same results
The operator also said that though he had been tested consistently with the same results, he was unsure of his next move and wanted the Government to rethink the legislation.
Another driver, who also declined to be identified, said customers preferred a level of discretion when they chose the service.
“People like to be discreet and people want security when they’re moving around . . . . They say the judges are keeping the tint but that taxi drivers are exempt from tint. But I think tint has saved a lot of lives, because if someone is being targeted and there is tint on the vehicle, they cannot be seen and won’t be shot at,” he reasoned.
High temperatures
A third taximan offered an alternative measure.
“I believe the procedure for stopping vehicles is where the law should be actually focused. For example, making it mandatory for persons being pulled over to lower all windows during the stop or allow the police the authority to issue that command to lower windows over a loud speaker. Because tint affects too many instances of our lives: the high temperatures and sun exposure, carrying sensitive items like money or laptops, et cetera, and simply having to leave vehicles unattended for long periods, sometimes.
“More so, a lot of Barbadians do not have a garage, so low tint levels that enable the police to view without a challenge into a vehicle also means that thieves and criminals also have that same ability,” he said. (CS)
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