It seems like 90% of the vehicles on Anguilla have some degree of tint or film on its windows and windscreens, be it of a manufactured state or applied by someone. Those vehicles that have manufactured tinted glass normally fall between 45-35 % per cent density of light transmission and are usually transparent enough that one can see inside the vehicle from as far as twenty feet away. However, those vehicles that have manually applied film or tint sometimes range from midnight black to metallic yellow and even silver.

These applications can be problematic particularly when the tint creates a distraction. Additionally, a vast majority of these tinted vehicles have large lettering on the windscreens proclaiming “dodge”, “rolling stone”, “lotta drama”, “more drama”, “stop the drama”, “too much drama”, “spare none”, “da flavour”, “F the world”, “thank God for life”, “red whine”, “every dog has its day”, and on and on we are bombarded with these slogans that serves no legitimate purpose other than to distract the oncoming driver.

To put it mildly the symbols and signs constitute a nuisance. The distractions seem to be growing more outrageous to the point that some vehicles have the front windscreen tinted with only a few inches of clear glass. Unfortunately the inconsiderate owners of these vehicles have no idea how distracting the reflection from the sun on their work of art or mobile billboards can be to others, nor do they give consideration to hazardous conditions for the nighttime drivers.

Why has this malady taken over? What is really going on behind these dark glasses? Is there something we are trying to or hiding from? What are the authorities doing about this before some dreadful catastrophe occurs? The response from one individual was that the tint prevents one from having to reupholster the seats in the vehicle. This unlikely explanation leaves much to be desired. A more plausible explanation would be that the tint deflects the direct sunlight from the vehicle thereby causing the vehicle to be cooler (kind of what sunshades does to your eyes), that seems like a viable response. But the question remains has anyone measured the effectiveness of having darker tint on the vehicles. Within this region some countries have outlawed tint completely, while others have allowed tint on a limited scale. Whatever the lawmakers of Anguilla decide, it is time to regulate this tinting phenomenon. For a few years now there has been talk of legislation to regulate the degree of tint on vehicles, those laws need to be enacted and enforced in order to bring some uniformity to a trend that has gone haywire.

In reality and in truth the dark tint hinders law enforcement officers from doing their jobs effectively. The excessively dark tint does not allow an officer to see inside the vehicle. Lack of transparency may cause a crime to go undetected though in the presence of possible observers. Without cause the officer ‘s failure to stop the occupant(s) from committing a crime may be comprised by the lack of light transmission inside. Illegal activity can be progress in a darkly tinted vehicle and those on the outside would be none the wiser.

While the more conservative residents are of the opinion that tint of vehicles in Anguilla should be banned completely, without exception. There are those who would have no objection if the tints were not so opaque. After all, what do we have to hide, what are we hiding from? The resounding answer is nothing…

Zekiaya F. Rogers

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