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Automotive Kuwait

Why are car window tints illegal?

A friend of mine had his car impounded last week because his car was tinted. Another person in the forum also posted about how his car also got impounded because it had tint… a colorless invisible tint. I am pro-tints since in our weather they play a very important role. But why are the authorities making such a big deal out of tints to the extent of impounding the cars?

The weather in the summer gets extremely hot and car tints help reduce the temperature of the interior considerably. My FJ is tinted and because of the tint I no longer have to worry about parking the car in the sun or about having my thighs burn from the sun while parked at a traffic light. The tint makes a HUGE difference and I really can’t imagine my car without one. Other than the major benefit of reducing the interior temperature, car tints also offer privacy.

If you’re a girl and you’ve ever been on the Gulf Road at night you obviously know how irritating it can be having guys hovering around you in their cars trying to hit on you. Car tints offers the girls privacy which keeps them safe. If a guy can’t see the girl inside clearly he’s very unlikely going to try and harass her.

Of course I am against those complete black out tints that degrades visibility but not everyone does that and those who do should probably have their car impounded. But what about us regular people who just want some protection from the blistering heat or a bit of privacy? Why are car tints illegal in Kuwait?

91 replies on “Why are car window tints illegal?”

Thank you at least I have some witnesses and I was red like a Lobster when I went to the MOI and he said … ” You look fine ” .. and i have 5 Doctors Reporting I have Severe Sun Allergy from UV-A and B

Your question implies that there is a logic behind the decision to ban tints. There is no logic, there rarely ever is. Its banned because I said so… that’s the fucking mentality!

I Tinted my wife car from V-Kool, and after 3 years, we had to remove it so we can proceed the car registration with Ministry of interior,

By the way Most of the guys who works in the Ministry of interior they tint their cars! so dark also.

Wasta Plays!

of course it pays… i went to ahmadi and parked outside watching those sorry asses pass the cars with tint because of the wasta business!

Tint is only allowed by 50% on back doors and the rear 2 side panels of an SUV. Not sedans or coupes, SUV only.

That’s it. Not more not less.

Why? It’s pretty obvious that it’s for protecting the ‘female occupants’ sitting in those seats (with a driver or family).

There is no other way to explain it. Why would they allow tint on back window when the driver is sitting in the front where he is not allowed to tint either the windshield or driver/passenger window?

Law is made that way to protect the woman. Not keeping the heat in mind.

If I remember correctly it’s a security concern from way back when the Amir was targeted, if anyone else does it they want to be able to see his face.

Well if a girl has her car tinted, but not completely blacked, then losers will harass her even more when they see her shade behind the tint, better remove it completely !

How about those freaks with trucks who have Kuwait flags 1-way vision stickers all over? Authorities won’t remove them ! they get the same result of a tint, only protected under the cause of “patriotism” .. while all they do is chase up girls..

not sure where you got that idea? I go up and down the Gulf Road on average 4 times a day and from my experience if a girl has tinted windows where you can see a silhouette but not actual facial features she gets ignored.

The guys want some kind of facial reaction from the girls and they don’t get that when cars are tinted.

i agree and that what am doing in my wife car, but i know for a fact that they cant impound your car for colorless tints !!!! the only one who seems to know the law is yikez and its 48% not 50%

“If you’re a girl and you’ve ever been on the Gulf Road at night you obviously know how irritating it can be having guys hovering around you in their cars trying to hit on you. Car tints offers the girls privacy which keeps them safe. If a guy can’t see the girl inside clearly he’s very unlikely going to try and harass her.”

Oh boy! I can’t believe Mark wrote this. First of all, it is not your type of thinking. I expect Mark to ask for guy’s punishment or bigger police involvement instead of asking for hiding girls in cars!! Second, weak support for the case (car window tints). Streets are public places, why should people ask for privacy. If someoene violates the freedom of others, this person should be punished by law. If someone seeks for privacy in streets, he/she should stay at home in the first place.

You’re right and I agree. I have even posted about that before and asked for better police involvement. I would love for Nat to be able to drive down the gulf road (or any other road) without having to be chased by men. But, until that problem is sorted out tints offer a temporary solution to the problem.

I picked up those removable fitted window shades from Fahaheel for my hummer! There a little too dark but I at least take the front seat screens down for the night driving!

Hi Langhorn. Can you please let me know where you picked up those window shades from and for how much. I need those too. Thanks.

Most of the auto accessory shops have them. I picked mine up at the first shop turning into the Fahaheel auto shop area. The right hand turn that is across the street from the firstation/ bus station. The shop is located on the right hand side of the stree you turn on. they charged me KD20 for all 7 windows though, I guess because I’m American huh? LOL!

For some reason, the tint makes them even more curious to see her, and they’ll end up chasing her and causing her accidents. trust me.

And true that they want facial reaction… a girl driving on gulf road must maintain a neutral look to a point it hurts 😛

Aslan you should be given a manual before driving in this country with the above instructions and many other things.. it’s absolute insanity.

Tints don’t make them more curious. I can tell you based from what I’ve seen and Nat’s experience with and without tint, I can tell you that tints deter harassers.

Police harass me more than anything about my wife being Asian! But what I think irritates them when they do get us pulled over is when she hands over her U.S. passport…. hahahhaha they flip it open to see if it is her in the picture and hands it right back.

Hello,

Yes mark i agree with you i am a girl and I really suffer a lot of scatty people around me and when I tinted my car 50% my car was impounded that day and when I told him (it’s 50%) he didn’t care about it it was really not fair and few months ago a police man asked me to park my car in the safety side line and he parked Infront of me and I made sure that I wasn’t speeding and every thing was okay when I asked him is every thing alright he started looking around my car trying to find anything and he actually didn’t see any thing wrong so he started flirting I was really angry because I was late for my class if my car was tinted at that day I wouldn’t have to suffer from maniacs

They just want to increase their numbers and statistics that they did something during the summer so they impound and fine everyone! Too bad the law isn’t clear as to who and how they can impound because impound for tint is extreme!! Its complete abuse!!!

The lady made the car tinted

“ Don’t look at me” was hinted

The boys thought something alluring was intended

In their shiny new cars, on the Gulf Road they sprinted

Who cares if the rash driving makes some feel fainted

Neutral look is the remedy to avoid getting tainted

But will the boys ever listen when they act so demented

I’ve tint my FJ 30% , that means u can see what kind of drink am holding at the middle of night ! But i got harassed by cops and had a ticket , and it concederd as mo5alafa jaseema ! That means u get scrued even if u pay the fine.

I’ve complained to a high ranked person at the MOI that I know , he said that they dont have a problem with visible tint, but some people take this too far and he assured me that they encountered many problems. Totally dark tinted cars in co-ops / malls / residential buildings parking lot doing suspicious stuff ! Yep they turned their cars into a mobile hooker house !

He said there is No black &white in this matter , we tried to make it legal to tint less than 30% as the most important matter for MOI is to see who is in the car. But still many people break the rules and tint 70%+ and it’s impossible to make every cop argue with every single tinted car driver about his tint legal percentage.

“it’s impossible to make every cop argue with every single tinted car driver about his tint legal percentage”.

As with all laws in Kuwait the actual law isn’t the problem. The problem is with implementation and execution. Iv spent a good amount of time living outside of Kuwait and had vehicles with tints on them.

In said places the police have to have proof to ticket you for something or to impound your car.

How can they do it? A simple little electronic device, essentially a light meter that they attach to the inside and outside of your car window and it shows how much (what %) your window is tinted.

The reason you cant let every cop on the streets ticket at will for tinting violations is because every tint looks different. Even when its the same exact tint on two different cars. A car with a dark interior will cause the tint to appear darker. A car with small widows will let in less light over all making the tint look darker and vice versa.

Because we are more advanced that America and the World.
I park my car under the sun, and I sweat after less than 1 minute being in the car.
The people that ban it have there cars with Super-Dark Tints and No registration and Drivers License (I personally know many of them).
Messed mentality.

Mine was at 30% and I was requested to remove them at inspection, when I told the dude its 30%, the answer was you are a guest remember that…thanks SOB!

well the law did not change since the 1960’s. It was very simple, all vans, wagons and SUVs can tint the rear side up to 50%. All other windows should be transparent allowing the driver to see clearly through them. Pick ups are allowed to tint the back glass up to 50%.

It is very clear, i mean if i use a clear tint why they are bothered?
and why they are bothered if you tint your suv or van side windows?
And why on earth they impound the cars? They should only give u a ticket! Am i right or not ?!

You are right Kuwaity.
But it’s a good way to humiliate people and make them suffer.
They keep people busy with this crap and they feel good on the other side.
when Kuwait will become advanced like UAE?
Not like America or Europe! Just UAE.

Same thing happened to my dads pajero a couple years back ,
only the back seats were slightly tinted and heck ,ive seen loads of vehicles which have the amirs faace tinted to the back of their cars ,a nd notin happens to them!! :/

Unless you’re from Al-S***h, you can’t tint your windows. They hand these tint permits to everyone in that family like cigarettes.

Not really, my cousin is from Al-Sabah family, he was fined multiple times even once from a family member police officer..

We wouldn’t need tinted windows if *some* people learned to treat women with a little shred of respect and not as sex objects. And Arab Times would have a tough time reporting which egyptian expat was found seeking pleasure with a filipino in his car 🙂

You are lame dude.. tints are not just to save women you Moron!!!… its to save yourself an others from the heat while you are in your car…

I believe what the UAE has as a rule applies VERY well.

They allow all private vehicles to have a 30% tint all round except the front windshield. The windshield can have a 1/4th or 1/5th top part tinted too.

During extremely hot summers, people with 50% sometimes pass if cops stop them, not more than 50%. During the rest of the year anything above 30% gets people in trouble.

What ever the case may be, 30% is enough to provide a bit of privacy (not too much that the cops cant see inside if they have to, seat-belt inspection, decency checks, etc) and it is dark enough to keep out a good amount of heat and direct sunlight.

I always had my car(s) tinted, and I’ve been fined twice in the 9 years I’ve been driving but that’s about it. I don’t care about the fine it is well worth the 15 KD, I cannot imagine driving in this sun and heat without tinted windows.

The problem isn’t just about privacy, there is tint’s that reduces infra red and ultra violet,
and they are not more than 25% but moi says tint is tint even if it only reduces transparency by 1%

From what i heard from my police friend the tint is not allowed on the drivers windows so they can see the driver incase they do anything illegal. If thats the case how come its legal to have those window plug on that are completely black and you will not see the driver!

its really random, my brother got fined for having his back window tinted, the car comes tinted from the dealership so it had to pass some form of registration before it hit the streets… he got fined for 10 KD, was for obscuring vision… but the fine was only for the back and not the sides

Heat is the main reason, but for some people like me, my eyes are so sensitive to light, I submitted 3 times my doctors report for a permission from MOI and they refused it to get it tinted only up to 25% (anything that can break/soften the light beams), Now sometimes at night I get used to wear my sunglasses in order to avoid the highbeams and especially the idiots who doesn’t care for others and have xenon highbeam bulbs switched on all the time, I’m wondering why they don’t set a law to allow it only up to 30%, like most of the states in the US.. if over 30% then they may impound the car. prohibition doesn’t make any sense! Its really disappointing!

Marzouq: If they only want to collect money, then they might think of making a yearly fine law and I’m ready to pay upto 50 KD per year to get the permission.

Kuwaiti Window Tinting Law
https://www.moi.gov.kw/portal/vArabic/ShowPage.aspx?objectID={D9F91B1F-B994-48D0-95EB-82BECAD2BA3C}

State Window Tinting Laws
https://www.tintcenter.com/laws/
https://www.tintdude.com/laws.html

I have Lumar tint on my window, the one that is invisible and I cannot imagie my life without it. But I was told its ok.

The way I know it you can tint the two back windows as dark as you want, but the driver’s shouldn’t be tinted. nor the front and back. But the tinit that is not allowed is the one that makes you not see the driver, not the invisible or barely visible ones for the Sun protection.

GUYS ITS SIMPLE. BUY THOSE REMOVABLE COVERS YOU CAN PLACE ON YOUR CAR WINDOWS. I USE TWO EACH SIDE AND IT BLOCKS OUT ALL THE SUN.

Then when its night time just remove them. Also if a police officer stops you, just remove them before he can issue a ticket. It works wonders and they cost 500 fils each!

regards,
TK

It blocks out the sun but doesn’t reduce the interior temperature of the car as much as a proper tint and also greatly effects visibility. They are actually dangerous and those should be illegal not tints.

Actually Mark they arent dangerous if you place them correctly. You need to put some space clear so you can see your side mirrors clearly. Also they have tiny holes which you can see through easily even with two layers.

Just be smart about it and they relatively safe driving with. Better than nothing.

They are dangerous. The fact you’re creating a small opening just so you can see your side mirrors and the fact you can only see outside via tiny holes means your visibility is degraded a lot more than a very dark tint and so its more dangerous.

I just began using them only on my window (driver’s window). I use double covers so they can block the sun completely. Since I had them, I’ve been very careful while driving…

And yes, I did notice guys backing off because of them. At least they’re legal. I mean it’s better than being stopped by the police every now and then because of tinted windows ;s It’s really a waste of time… especially when you’re in a hurry

When tinting windows becomes legal please let me know ;p

Lol… it’s not about the tints… i think the cops get a bonus when they issue issue citations for a said target…

so they impose fines on whoever…:p

my frnd has a 10cm sticker on his Tahoe.. it wasn’t even stuck on the glass… but the cops fined him 15kd… why? :p

stop trying to make sense out of these stuff…

They have no reason. They just want to seem like they’re doing something I guess. There are people with PITCH BLACK windows who are not penalized though.

The weather is HORRIBLE. And this year ramadan is during the summer. You think they’d have some compassion, but no. Stubborn and stupid as ever.

This law is utterly ridiculous… kilish mala ma3na

If we had sensible people in kuwait then I would think tints would be aloud but we have messed up dirty ppl in kuwait from all nationalities spoiling kuwait.

If tints were aloud everyone would be drink driving and having bjs, sniffing cock while driving seriously wtf is wrong with you ppl its already happening without tints.

My car is tinted for 7 years now never been stopped or got a ticket and its fairly dark but driver side is not as dark and as the rear full black. It still stops the sun and its not really dark.

Drink, drugs, sex at home not on the streets.

Don’t you think its time we tried to make a difference? Our voices might be heard. However we need someone that’s got connections too to ensure our voices are heard.. Who’s in?

I think we should start using the #q8tint hash in twitter and everywhere in order our voice can be heard, plus this issue is important for all of us. Who’s in? we just want them to allow us only upto 30% guys

hello , its illegal because sheikh jaber alah yer7uma one had an incident with ppl on the road and their cars are tinted id3amaw mawkib il amir alah yer7uma fa ba3dain imna3o ;p but if u really have medical reasons u can tint them by getting a papper from the dr what i think kuwait should do is to make it legal to tint but the tinting should be not too much ya3ne y7i6oon percenting mo3ayan for the tints nafs dubai ;p

Tint is illegal bc it makes the lazy state more money for doing nothing, like 99% of the stupid traffic laws here such as the useless speed cams and no vehicle striping etc. No security reasons, no female protection no visibility issues etc. it’s all BULLSHIT.
This is the simple and honest, LOGICAL truth.

Can we not do something about getting the lawmakers to realize that tint is essential in q8. most of the people here want to legalize it. Can’t we start an online petition or something..

man, what is it with these arab guys? every other day i get kids harassing me cause i’m a male asian american.

they are starting to spoil my time here…..

I heard that its illegal cuz cops (and other people) should be able to see who’s driving the car and what’s happening in it. It kinda makes sense but I still think the benefits of tinting outweigh the so called “risks”. Especially in a country where the temperature in the summer barely goes under 50

Maybe they “ASSUME” were doing soomthing in the car!! Soo thinking thts the reason for the black tints! :/ when some people actually put them to reduse the heatness in the car or for atleast sooome privacy.

:):)

The good question is…
Now i bought my car brand new from the showroom.. It comes with tinted windows back and side. Not stickers like normal cars but my actual glass is tinted… And its not even 50% yet its illegal to have a car that came that way from the dealer…

Can any1 in there rite mind explain this to me? I got fined just 10kd but inorder to change my back window it would cost 120+ coz u dnt find them outside only at the dealer. The side r ok coz its a suv…

Am a student in the States, and u can easily tint the sedan vehicle there!! which in kuwait u shouldn’t touch any windows.

also, the weather in the states is not hotter than Q8 ! and yet it’s legal to tint.

I wonder when the ministry understands this.

I had my own way of tinting that wouldn’t cause any kind of problems with ‘thee MOI’, it’s amazing! you will have a devilish smile on your face after leaving the police checkpoints! and the policeman standing there couldn’t do shit.

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