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Blindsided by the Tint Law

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The following was posted as a comment to the Wiretapping in this new republic blog by long time BU family member Bush Tea – Blogmaster

… As ALWAYS, this is a problem of LAPSE, piss poor, GOVERNANCE.

This tint issue has been around for EONS… we even have a shiite law that is supposed to regulate it…
Can you believe our mock lawyers passed a USELESS law that failed to set OBJECTIVE standards – actually talking shiite about the ‘ability to see….’
They then sat back and let THOUSANDS of BBs set their OWN tint standards for YEARS… until the Empress raised the issue when pressed to address raising murder rates.
Tint was fingered – for lack of raising the REAL ‘CRIME issue’ of DRUGS – which they unleashed via their ill-conceived ganja legislation.

Now that everyone is accustomed to doing as they like with tint, they suddenly found meters to measure opacity…. and standards to apply AFTER the fact.
Who checks the meters for accuracy?
When different readings are obtained from different meters – which will be used?

If police don’t even have the time to investigate traffic accidents… where will they get the time to peep into car windows and measure light?

How many LAW-ABIDING citizens will now become law-breakers as a result of this incompetence of leadership…?

If this was a movie, Bushie would have turned off the damn TV long ago – and dismissed the plot as unbelievable jobby – scripted by jackasses…
But alas, it is life in Brassbados of 2025.

What a place!!

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21 responses to “Blindsided by the Tint Law”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @ Bush Tea

    You would agree that when the law was crafted there was little reason to factor the considerations of today in changing the law read crime? Do not answer, the blogmaster anticipates your answer.

  2. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Boss
    BASIC COMMON SENSE dictates that when you create a LAW, it should be clear, specific, implementable, rational and developmental.
    Our aversion to the adoption of STANDARDS (so that favorites can then be allowed to do as they like) underlies this idiocy with lawmaking.

    There is always some hidden agenda …with built-in loopholes.

    If CLEAR standards were provided UP FRONT, then how would the big-ups justify THEIR BLACKED OUT tints?
    EVERYONE would have conformed FROM THE START…. and thus the end of the issue.

    What makes dark tint OK for judges – but not for John Doe?
    How will we prosecute Tom and Dick – but not Harry?
    …because Harry is a Bee..?
    …or from Highgate?
    …or the PM’s buddy?
    …and we DON’T have the resources to prosecute EVERYONE…
    Shiite, we can’t even get MURDERERS prosecuted.

    This is how you CREATE chaos where NONE existed….

    Meanwhile, the drug lords grow in boldness and impose THEIR OWN laws and penalties…

    What idiots!!
    What a place!!

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    Isn’t it unreasonable to expect tint % would have been included in Barbados Road Traffic Act way back when?

    What can be fairly criticized is that the UK, which we model many of our laws, had tint %, included in its Road Vehicles Act 1986. Therefore we have no excuse for the mass confusion and ignorance being visited on the Barbados community at the moment.

  4. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    They could even have SPECIFIED particular tint PRODUCTS (or their equivalent as confirmed by BNSI) as allowable.
    But their OBJECTIVE is ALWAYS to reserve to themselves the opportunity to DISCRIMINATE for friends, family, and especially for ‘political contributors’….

    ALL of our politicians and lawyers operate like this…
    Even Jeff C was reluctant to rock that boat…

  5. David Avatar
    David

    It is no secret that Barbados has suffered from an ‘implementation deficit’ from time immemorial.

  6. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @ Bush Tea at 8:34 AM “Meanwhile, the drug lords grow in boldness”

    What? Drug LORDS.

    Not drug ladies?

  7. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2025/08/16/citizens-march-against-proposed-wiretap-legislation/

  8. Ian Bourne Avatar
    Ian Bourne

    Where do AK 47’s and 3D “ghost” guns come from? Why don’t Customs want cameras inside the Port and for us the customers who through duties provide THEIR salaries only expect people to use CASH this day and age of instant app payments? https://is.gd/246WhatsAppBim

  9. David Avatar
    David

    There is no rational reason the Customs Unit should be resisting the placement of cameras at the Port. Especially in the current environment.

  10. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    There is no rational reason why there should be any choice in the matter…

    It is probably only natural for ANYONE to prefer NOT to have their every action recorded every day…. even law abiding citizens.

    The IRRATIONALITY therefore lies with those IN CHARGE….
    …especially at the VERY TOP, would you not think?

    What is the ‘rational reason’ that this was not in place from the time cameras were invented…?

    INCOMPETENCE!

    What a place!!

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    The matter has to be corrected. It is that simple. The tail cannot wag the dog. There is a problem of contraband entering the Port. Former Commissioner Griffith said as much. Time to get serious.

  12. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Ian Bourne August 16, 2025 at 8:29 pm “…only expect people to use CASH this day and age of instant app payments?”

    What? customs accepting ONLY cash payments?

    Why Oh! why???

    Just this morning a young man trimmed a tree for me and I paid him $600 online. Because after I’d paid the ZR men for taking me to and from church I have exactly $.60 cents cash left in my house, and 20 cents of that belongs to one of the grands.

  13. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @David August 16, 2025 at 11:21 pm “There is no rational reason the Customs Unit should be resisting the placement of cameras at the Port.”

    Dear David: Would it be rational if there is steal in dey?

    I mean I take it that nobody wants to be charged, convicted, and jailed for stealing.

    Seems rational enough to me.

  14. John A Avatar
    John A

    Customs accepts credit cards and debit cards as well as company cheques and cash as payment. Not sure if they take personal cheques though.

  15. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Tinting

  16. Disgusting Lies and Propaganda TV Avatar
    Disgusting Lies and Propaganda TV

    DavidBU
    August 15, 2025 at 9:22 am

    “Isn’t it unreasonable to expect tint % would have been included in Barbados Road Traffic Act way back when?

    What can be fairly criticized is that the UK, which we model many of our laws, had tint %, included in its Road Vehicles Act 1986. Therefore we have no excuse for the mass confusion and ignorance being visited on the Barbados community at the moment.”

    I agree with this statement. I think too much effort and too much focus is being placed on “Tint Laws” in relation to what effect they would have on fighting major crime. “Tint Laws” are really Licensing Authority regulations
    I think its application should be suspended at least for a year to straighten out the vagaries in the Tint Laws.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    TINT APPEAL
    CALL TO DELAY NEW TINT LEGISLATION AMID CONCERNS OVER TECHNICAL ISSUES, ENFORCEMENT
    By Jenique Belgrave
    A former transport minister stepped up his call to postpone the implementation of new vehicle window tint regulations, set to take effect on September 1, after a magistrate threw out a charge against a motorist for breaching the original rule governing tints.
    “I understand what the government is trying to do, but I believe with the inconvenience and the issues from other stakeholders, I think that it wouldn’t defeat the government if they delay the matter so that all things can be met,” said Michael Lashley who held the transport and works portfolio under the Freundel Stuart administration from 2013 to 2018.
    Lashley, a senior counsel, was speaking to Barbados TODAY moments after the prosecution withdrew a tint charge in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court before Magistrate Alison Burke.
    Jason ‘DJ Indian’ Maloney of Green Hill, St Michael had been accused that on January 9, while driving along Constitution Road, he was in breach of Regulation 20 (7) in Part III of the Road Traffic Regulation 1984, by permitting the glass to be “tinted to such a degree as to make the driver of the vehicle unidentifiable from a reasonable distance by a person outside of the vehicle”.
    Informing Maloney that he was free to go, the magistrate said: “Because the new law is soon upon us, we cannot go far with this, given the position that we will not be able to deal with this before September.”
    Insisting that he did not have an issue with the legislation, Lashley said that with technical issues also arising, including different percentage readings from the tint meters, the authorities “need to delay it to have these issues looked at properly”.
    He said: “Pushing back the matter will not hurt the attempt or the implementation of the amendment to the Road Traffic Act. I also must say this, that we’ve seen it with the breathalyser legislation, where they pushed it back. There’s no harm in pushing back this amendment. Parliament is supreme, so I cannot tell Parliament what to do, but I can tell you that given what has happened out there, I think that a push back will not harm motorists or the government.
    Lashley declared the island already has a comprehensive Road Traffic Act compared to other jurisdictions, but acknowledged that issues arose from its policing.
    He highlighted that the Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system is a step in the right direction, but noted that more personnel within The Barbados Police Service’s Traffic Department would also be required.
    “The EVR is one step in terms of moving towards using technology to deal with road traffic breaches and violations,” Lashley said. “Further, I also want to say that we might have to really improve and put more personnel within the Traffic Department of the police force. I think that is where we’re lacking, in that the Traffic Department needs to be beefed up.”
    jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

  18. David Avatar
    David

    No surprise.

    PSVs subject to the same rules

    By Colville Mounsey

    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com

    The Ministry of Transport and Works has announced a three-month moratorium on the enforcement of new tint legislation, which was to take effect tomorrow.

    In a statement yesterday, the Ministry confirmed that Cabinet last Thursday agreed to delay enforcement until early December after recommendations made during a meeting the previous day of key public and private sector stakeholders, including The Barbados Police Service, the Barbados Licensing Authority and vehicle tint suppliers and installers.

    “During this meeting of stakeholders, senior officers of The Barbados Police Service provided graphic accounts of crimes, including fatal gun attacks, committed by perpetrators travelling in heavily tinted vehicles. They also explained the extreme risk officers are exposed to when approaching heavily tinted vehicles, even during routine traffic stops.

    Won’t stop crime

    “The stakeholders attending the meeting agreed that while the enforcement of the tint law will not stop crime, it goes a long way in aiding The Barbados Police Service in the execution of their job safely. It was agreed by all that the safety of police officers who work each day to protect us all should be the paramount consideration. They also felt that, since many motorists have been unable to comply with the deadline due to the inability of tint installers to meet the heavy demand, enforcement should be further deferred in order to give motorists additional time to become compliant”.

    In addition to the three-month moratorium, there will also be an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations to change the visible light transmission of the rear windscreen from 70 per cent to 20 per cent,with a three-point margin of error during tint testing.

    The statement noted that public service vehicles (PSVs) such as route taxis and minibuses would be subject to the same tint regulations as other motor vehicles.

    The release stated that individuals with medical conditions who applied for exemptions from compliance would be required to provide a letter from a specialist medical doctor.

    Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport Operators (AOPT), Roy Raphael, welcomed the moratorium.

    “On behalf of the association, we welcome this move. I think it’s a step in the right direction. Before the implementation, we would like to have a special meeting with the authorities, along with the Attorney General, the police and all of those persons, so that we can see how best we can look at the legislation, how best the legislation could be enforced, or if we need to tweak it some more, to go back to Parliament.”

    He added that the PSV sector wanted to use the extra time to encourage public education.

    “We are ready, willing and able to sit with the relevant authorities to ensure that we have a clear understanding of where the legislation is going. I think that’s the real issue here – at least, we’re not clear, the legislation is not clear,” he added.

    Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has called for the measure to be withdrawn altogether.

    “The Government began this debate on violent crime with a very terse, callous, intemperate and contemptuous statement by the Prime Minister that she wanted money. It is clear that the Government is now trying to retreat from that dismissive stance, although they went ahead with the ill-advised legislation.”

    “This trend, by which Government retreats from its legislation, has become a very worrying characteristic of governance in Barbados. We seem to be under government of uncertainty.”

    Thorne questioned whether the timing of the moratorium was linked to financial pressures faced by the public.

    “Many people in Barbados are experiencing financial hardship, especially at this time where school resumes in a few days. We wonder whether this moratorium is more about financial considerations and less about the justice of the matter.”

    Thorne said further consultations were necessary before any implementation.

    “Until these consultations take place, it is unreasonable to merely postpone the implementation of unreasonable proposals. We have previously asked the Government to withdraw the legislation and now ask the Government to restart the process and to satisfy Barbadians that tint legislation is at the heart of the fight against violent crime.”

    Collecting money

    “Since the Prime Minister admitted that the legislation was more about collecting money and less about preventing violent crime, we must defend innocent vehicle owners against the additional financial hardship that the legislation will impose on them,” he said.

    The debate over tint laws has been ongoing for several weeks and owners of tint shops reported being inundated with requests in the lead-up to the September 1 deadline, leaving many vehicle owners unable to comply in time.

    The release noted that installers stressed during the stakeholders meeting that, given the advances in technology, it was now possible to install lighter tints that offered vehicle operators the same level of protection against sunlight intrusion as darker tints of the past.

    It added that the ministry would continue to offer free tint testing at various locations to be announced for motorists who wanted to ascertain their degree of compliance.

    Source: Nation

  19. David Avatar
    David

    The Mottley government is becoming known as the clawback government.

    Tint delays unacceptable

    THIS LATEST DELAY in the enforcement of tint regulation indicates the authorities started before they were ready even though some may be relieved at the Cabinet’s decision to again make a shift following the changing of the Road Traffic Act by Parliament in June to empower the Minister of Transport and Works to institute such a measure.

    Government’s constant revision of the deadline for motorists to comply with the new vehicle tint legislation has become tiresome.

    Cabinet may claim that it is acceding to the will of the people with this once again delayed implementation, however, this month is a year since Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley made the announcement that tint of vehicles would be regularised in October 2024, ostensibly for the protection of police when approaching vehicles. The reasons have since widened to include the prevention of serious crimes within communities and the obvious protection of residents, which were not made explicitly clear from the beginning.

    In announcing the three-month moratorium on Saturday – this time pushing back the September 1, 2025 enforcement – a statement from the Ministry of Transport and Works disclosed that the Cabinet, after a meeting days before the deadline, took note of the recommendations from “key public and private sector stakeholders, including The Barbados Police Service, the Barbados Licensing Authority and vehicle tint suppliers and installers”.

    In the announcement, the MTW stated: “During this meeting of stakeholders, senior officers of The Barbados Police Service provided graphic accounts of crimes, including fatal gun attacks, committed by perpetrators travelling in heavily tinted vehicles.

    They also explained the extreme risk officers are exposed to when approaching heavily tinted vehicles, even during routine traffic stops.” This “new” information by the police must have been there all along but was not part of the original explanation provided when the tint crackdown was first announced by the Prime Minister. The other excuses provided since were to give time for the regulations to be drafted and that the tint meters were not in hand. Small wonder that with these constant pushbacks there is a measure of ambivalence among some drivers and passengers about the tint measures going into effect. Cabinet must take full responsibility for the foul-ups, bleeps and blunders of getting this regulation enforced after a year, no matter what explanation it offers. The onus rested with the executing ministry to ensure that once the implementation was announced and started, that there would be minimal interruption or disruption to the public.

    This is a Government that is constantly declaring Barbados is open for business to the world and routinely urging Barbadians to provide proper customer service.

    It must then practise what it preaches and operate professionally.

    By now, those executing this change should have taken into account how many vehicles are on the road, the degree of tint that some vehicles arrived with from the manufacturer, the number of tint removers, installers operating here and having the appropriate tint meters along with trained inspectors.

    The latest reasons advanced for the delay are weak and unacceptable as they should have been anticipated from the time the notion of standardising tint was considered.

    Cabinet must take full responsibility for the foul-ups, bleeps and blunders of getting this regulation enforced after a year.

    Source: Nation

  20. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Ours is CLEARLY a BS government – full of bluff and false promises,
    but EMPTY on performance.

    BS may baffle brass bowls for YEARS
    But it only baffles brains – until the rubber hits the road

    Making elaborate promises WITHOUT proper thought and planning is not about ‘walking back’, it is about doing shiite with taxpayers money.

  21. David Avatar
    David

    Tint rush off

    Operators say drivers no longer pushing to get it removed

    by JOSUÉ RAMIRÉZ NELSON josuenelson@nationnews.com

    THE PUSHING BACK of the tint deadline seems to have caused some drivers to delay getting their vehicles retinted as they have cancelled previous appointments to do so.

    Some operators, who said they previously faced tremendous pressure from the rush of clients, have seen many of those customers either cancel or delay their appointment closer to the new December 1 date.

    The enforcement of the regulations was meant to take effect on September 1 but a three-month extension was announced by Government in the wake of widespread concern that many motorists wouldn’t be able to comply due to tint installers being overwhelmed by demand.

    While the extension was meant to afford the public more time to make the changes, some tint operators believed that the repeated extensions may have downplayed the sense of urgency with customers.

    “It’s a huge drop-off,” said manager of A&H Distribution, Hamzah Suleman.

    “Obviously, cars are still being tinted every day as per usual, but definitely nowhere close to what it was before. There’s no panic, there’s no hassle, and it’s just slowed down completely,” he said.

    Suleman, who previously spoke with the MIDWEEK NATION ahead of the September 1 date, cautioned about any other extensions.

    “Announcing an extension is not going to really help the situation because what that does is just gives everyone an excuse not to have their vehicles rectified. It also puts a question mark in people’s heads, because then they begin to doubt the legitimacy of what is actually happening. So they become even more sceptical to go and spend money and to change things which they really don’t want to change.

    “It begins to look like if the Government is kind of hemming and hawing and half-stepping when it comes to implementing. So, instead of giving people a chance to get things in order in time, it has just caused people to basically go sit and wait.

    Should that happen then the required number of vehicles will not be tinted in time, said Suleman, who added “that’s the situation currently”.

    Managing director of Thermal Tint Studio, Jonathan Brown, said that their booking app showed clients postponing their appointments and that customers were “thinking that the Government follows through with nothing”.

    Get things sorted

    “The whole objective behind this was to be able to give people the opportunity to get things sorted out before the date as much as possible, and if it is that they’re all pushing back, then what was the point? We were expecting that if you were rushing before you would come in and start it up before then. But people are not taking it seriously and we’re not the first people to be saying that,” he said.

    Several customers, he said, were still making appointments and rectifying their vehicles.

    Under the regulations, front and rear wind shields must allow at least 70 per cent of visible light, front side windows, 25 per cent, and rear side windows, 20 per cent. There are exemptions for top officials, ambulances, hearses and vehicles operated by the Barbados Defence.

    Along with the extensions announced late August, it was revealed that an amendment had been made to the Road Traffic Regulations, reducing the required visible light transmission of the rear windscreen from 70 per cent to 20 per cent. The law will now allow for a margin of error of three percentage points when a tint is tested.

    Owner of Sunshine Studio, Deighton Henry, said that some customers cancelled, believing they had time, but he tried to discourage procrastination.

    “So far, it’s a small number and it’s a small number because I try to explain to customers to not wait until last minute to get your tint changed, checked or removed and do it as soon as possible. Right now, we’re still getting a flow of traffic coming in because we know a lot of people still try to avoid the last-minute rush,” he said. ( JRN)

    Source: Nation

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