Paphos People

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

THE HOUSE Communications Committee yesterday examined two bills regarding tinted car windows and windscreen stickers.

If the new bill is passed, drivers may soon no longer need to stick their MOT and Road Tax stickers on the windscreen.

“There is no need, as today computer systems are so advanced that police can find the data they need in no time,” Committee Chairman Zacharias Koulias of DIKO explained. “You don’t need to turn your windscreen into a notice board. Anyway, no one has gone to court for failing to stick their road tax on the windscreen, which is why lots of people who fail to pay their road tax get away with it.”

The paradox of current laws, Koulias added, was that drivers are obliged by law to have their MOT and road tax stickers on the windscreen, yet it is illegal to stick anything on the windscreen as it can obstruct a driver’s visibility.

He said it went without saying that stickers for disabled people, the press or medics would remain legal with the new bill. “It is useful, for example, to know there is a doctor around in an emergency situation.”

Regarding blacked out windows, Koulias said the law needed to be amended in order to clarify that they are illegal.

“This is a critical issue,” he said after the meeting. “It is strictly prohibited to have blacked out windows – or tinted in any other colour. The driver and front passenger at least should be clearly visible.”

He explained that blacked out windows prevented police from spotting traffic violations, such as wearing no seatbelts or talking on mobile phones while driving.

“Laws surrounding the issue are contradictory and this bill aims to clear it up.”


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