Vehicle window tinting a serious safety issue

The News EMC (Ottawa West Edition)

October 12, 2006, page 7

The report by Ottawa Police Services on the “Integrated Road Safety Initiative” contains numerous useful facts (The News, Sept.28). Further, many readers will no doubt be encouraged by the police focus on vehicle operators who commit school bus safety and red-light violations.

However, the suggestion that citizens can assist the police by providing descriptions of law-breaking drivers is easier said than done: tinted windshields and side windows in some vehicles make it difficult to see the drivers, much less achieve a level of identification that will stand up in court.

To deal with eye contact as well as driver and passenger visibility issues, it was proposed two years ago to the Ontario Ministry of Transport that window tinting be restricted for public safety reasons. Ottawa Police Services supported that proposal. The Ministry of Transport apparently undertook studies and held consultations with industry, but at present it is not clear whether or when the Ontario government will act on this matter.

In the meantime, while the Ontario government tries to figure out what to do next, there are numerous vehicles on the road that do not satisfy even the current tinted window standards. For safety reasons, I suggest that windshields and side windows that do not allow a clear view of the vehicle operator be an ongoing target of the Integrated Road Safety Initiative, especially in school zones, beginning immediately.

Barry Wellar

(Barry Wellar, Professor of Geography (ret.), University of Ottawa, was Principal Investigator, Walking Security Index Project, and received the 2006 Ullman Award for his research in the field of transportation.)