BEAT the sun film ban: Fully LEGAL tinted glass now available!

The Supreme Court of India banned the usage of tinted glasses and sun films back in 2012. this was done after there were several cases of molestations and other crimes done inside vehicles with heavily tinted glasses. While the move itself was not considered as a solution to the problem by many, it added to the woes car owners face during summers. However, now AIS (Asahi India Glass) has brought a solution for this issue in the form of Dark Green UV Cut Glass. These glasses block the harmful UV rays from the sun and are RTO approved, therefore completely legal.

To let you know, AIS is among the biggest automotive glass manufacturer in India and its products are used by companies like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda, and Toyota among others. Their latest product for India, called the Dark Green UV Cut Glass, has been specially made in order to cater to the needs of the Indian market. They are approved by the RTO and hence there will be no legal hassle upon using them. It is especially a boon for the older cars which do not have a strong AC system and struggle to keep up with the hot temperatures in summers.

According to AIS, they have worked extensively with industry experts in Japan to develop the Dark Green UV Cut Glass for the Indian market, especially for the  Automotive sector. Apart from reducing the temperature inside a vehicle’s cabin, these glasses also eliminate the UV radiation by more than 80 per cent.

This is quite good news and more so for people with skin ailments who found it tough to travel under direct sunlight. The Dark Green UV Cut Glasses perfectly complies with the Indian regulation for light transmission of 50 per cent for sidelights. Further, it is a lifetime solution of this issue as compared to the regular sun-control films, which although have already been banned for use in India.

One of the major gripe people had with the banning of the sun films/ tinted glasses in India was no availability of an alternative to these sun films. Although according to the SC ruling, manufacturers still could equip and sell their vehicles with sun blocking glasses. However, no manufacturer did that.

Among the few who offered such solutions were Maruti Suzuki (Baleno) and Hyundai (older gen Creta) but only on the top end variants. Note that the glasses used by Hyundai weren’t made by AIS but some other OEM. According to the exact verdict by the Supreme court, anything less than the visual light transmission (VLT) limit of 70% for the front and rear windshields and 50% for the side windows is punishable.

The importance of tinted glasses/sun films in India is immense because of the extreme summer temperatures we have here. Also, the harmful UV rays are another reason that tinted glasses were required. Though the security concern could not be ignored, a need for an alternative was being felt for a long time. These UV cut glasses offer a perfect solution for all these issues and as mentioned earlier, are legal too.

To let you know, having such glasses also makes your car a little bit more fuel efficient. this is because the AC has to work less rigorously to maintain the cabin temperature resulting in lower fuel consumption, though the margin is slight. As for the pricing of these glasses, they will depend on the car model and we are in contact with AIS and will update the pricing soon.