Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Transport the laws regarding cars that are literally blacked out with tinted glass; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35914/05]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a requirement for the registration and entry-into-service of new cars in the EU that they have EU whole vehicle type approval, EU-WVTA. In order to receive EU-WVTA, a car must meet the technical specifications for a range of items, including the glazing and the field of vision of drivers, which are set down in a series of separate directives. It is not open to a member state to prohibit the sale or entry-into-service of a car which has EU-WVTA. Under the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 1963, which specify vehicle in-service standards, a vehicle must be constructed so that the driver can at all times have such a view of the road and of other traffic on the road as is necessary to enable the vehicle to be driven safely. It is a requirement under these regulations for a windscreen to be fully transparent so as not to distort the driver's view. Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for the Garda Síochána. I have concerns about modifications to windscreens and side-windows which result in excessively blacked-out windows and I am considering making such modifications, subject to the NCT. To do so would require amendments to the existing NCT regulations and the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations.