Car windscreen, window tint new ruling on Nov 1

From Nov 1, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will enforce a new regulation on the tint for car windscreens and windows, JPJ director-general Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad said today.

He said the new regulation would set the permitted visible light transmission (VLT) for the rear windscreen and rear passenger windows at 30 per cent, down from the current 50 per cent.

The VLT for the front windscreen and the driver's window remains at 70 per cent and 50 per cent, he added.

"The regulations are in line with the international standard in many other countries," he told reporters after a meeting with enforcement officers and motor vehicle inspectors in the southern zone here.

Ismail said the new regulation was applicable to all vehicles in the country, including imported ones.

Motorists who failed to observe the new regulation would be fined RM300, he said, adding that if the case was brought to court, they could face a fine of up to RM1,000 or two weeks' jail, or both, under the Motor Vehicle (Prohibition of Certain Types of Glass) Rules 1991.

However, he said, an exemption was given to vehicles used by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, sultans, prime minister, deputy prime minister, chief ministers/menteris besar, Chief Justice, as well as those belonging to enforcement bodies such as the police and customs department.

He said the exemption was given for the safety of the individuals as well as for enforcement staff to carry out high-risk crime-prevention operations.

On another matter, Ismail said the number of summonses issued to road users in the country for various offences had risen from 611,000 in 2012 to 1.02 million last year.

The number was expected to increase to 1.2 million by Dec 31 this year due to the increase in the enforcement operations and checks on vehicles and road users, he added.