Screen tints on car windoes.

[GarethB]

In response to those who have asked about the tints I have recomended, here is an update.

Firstly I have been told the tint on my cras is actually Illegal! Shocked me but the tint is so light the fitter told me that the only way to tell would be to take the window out of the car and seperate the layers! He wears glasses and says the tint is no darker than the anti-glare you get on prescription glasses.

There is a legal film for front screens that cuts out all UV light and is Dermatology film and is used for people who have skin condistions agrevated by UV light. This would set you back about £800 for the windscreen only.

Normal window tinting in a 5 door hatchback is around £500.

Choices are;

1) To persuade the fitters to use a very light anti-glare tint all round which WILL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

2) Fit the dermatology film at a high price.

3) Get a pair of glasses with zero correction power but with the anti-glare coating.

Option 3 is the cheapest, effective and legal.

Option 1 is illegal for the same reasons you could well be prosecuted for dangerous driving if you had an accident at night wearing sunglasses even if they were very lightly tinted.

Hope this helps.

Gareth

[Amarpal]

Thanks for that. I have been tempted to try the non-corrective lenses with anti glare coating, but both my practitioner at the hospital and an optician I was speaking to believe that they won't really have any effect with me. Also, I'm not too convinced that the anti-glare coatings are really that effective. I don't know myself, I would need to try it firstly, but I have read some articles about the efficiency of anti glare coatings wih mixed views.

I would love to get something that would help reduce glare while driving in the night, but I'm still undecided with the anti-glare glasses.

[Andrew MacLean]

Gareth

You are a star. But, does this mean that all the people driving around with tinted windscreens, and windscreens with anty glare strips are breaking the law?

Andrew

[GarethB]

Andrew

As long as the tints and sunshade bands are as the car was manufactured then they are perfectly legal.

A sun strip across the windscreen can come down something like 20% of the screen height.

The tints I was speaking about are where they would be in your direct line of vision which is where most of the problems are.

Amarpal; when I used to wear prescription glasses I can hand on heart say that the anti reflective coatings made a huge difference. I was sceptical at first, but once I took the plunge and tried, I've insisted all glasses thereafter have the same coating applied.

My sunglasses I got from the optometrist are plain tinted lenses and they too have an anti reflective/glare coating on too.

[Amarpal]

Thanks for that Gareth. I have been thinking about it all evening, and I think I am going to try it out. I never knew that the coating could be put onto sunglasses too. Do you think opticians would be able to coat my polarised sunglasses

[GarethB]

My sunglassers only have a tint.

Polarising glasses only allow light through in one plane so a coating would be useless. Polarising glasses should not be used for night driving either because of this.