Tuesday April 19, 2011

JPJ: Tints not given approval

KOTA KINABALU: The state Road Transport Department (JPJ) has not given any approval for car accessory shops to install tinted windscreens and windows on vehicles.

Sabah JPJ director Mohd Shuhaili Mohd Tawfik said having tinted windscreens and windows was not an offence as long as the shops complied with the department's regulations.

The tint for front windscreen is allowed at 70% light penetration while it should be 50% for the rest.

Shuhaili said his department would continue with operations against car owners with overly tinted windows as there was a large number of such vehicles on the roads.

He said so far, the department had recorded 1,129 cases of such violations this year.

Action was also being taken against vehicle owners who fitted high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs in their car headlights.

“It is not an offence for HID bulbs to be fitted. What is wrong is when the owners modify their cars by fitting the bulbs themselves. The offence is altering a vehicle without approval from authority.

“This means that if a sports utility vehicle fitted with HID bulbs is brought into the country, it is all right. For any other vehicle, it has to go through Puspakom for inspection before it can be registered, “ he said, adding that so far, 69 summonses had been issued against owners of vehicles fitted with HID lights this year.

Imported SUVs are usually fitted with HID bulbs by the manufacturer.

Shuhaili also urged the public to work together with the department to catch traffic offenders by e-mailing their complaints to aduantrafik.sabah@jpj.com.my.

He said complainants must give complete details, including the vehicle's registration number, type and colour of the car, the date, location and time of the incident as well as the offences committed.

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