The strict rules regarding the tinting of car windows are being openly flouted by unscrupulous garages. Laws state that tinting of up to 30 per cent is only allowed for married UAE nationals for privacy reasons, who must first seek permission from the Police Traffic Department.

The penalties for violating the rules include fines, penalty points on the licence and impounding of the car for a month. Gulf News sent an undercover reporter, who is not legally allowed tinted windows because of her British nationality, to a number of garages and accessory shops where the modifications can be made.

The majority insisted on seeing police paperwork giving authorisation before they would accept the job, but four companies in Satwa said they were willing to do the work with no questions asked.

The process, which takes barely 20 minutes, involves sticking a removable adhesive film to the car's windows. A worker at an accessory shop agreed to darken the windows of the reporter's car for Dh70 and carried out the modifications.

He claimed that he tinted the windows of more than 20 cars daily - usually without official papers. "You don't need any certificates and we never ask for them," he said.

"The police won't give you any trouble because they don't mind ladies having darkened windows. When you go for your registration you may be asked to remove it, but you can always put it back on afterwards.

"I've been doing this work for the past 12 years and have never had any problems. Some garages refuse because they want police papers, but it's really not necessary. I've done windows for all nationalities, including Indian and British people."

The salesman first offered a 30 per cent tint - the maximum grade allowed by law - but then said he could make the windows darkened by 50 or even 100 per cent. When asked if the police were likely to stop a car with such obvious tinting, he said: "If you go for 100 per cent tint they won't like it, but 50 per cent is fine."

The illegal 50 per cent tinting was later removed from the reporter's car. But before it was stripped off it was plain that the tinting restricted visibility and made it hard to see on-coming objects in the vehicle's wing mirrors.

A mechanic at a garage in Al Rashidiya, who does not offer unauthorised tinting, said, "We are only supposed to do the work if documentation from the Dubai Police Traffic Department proves the tinting has been officially approved, otherwise we won't touch it.

"The drivers can get into trouble and we may also be penalised. There are a lot of places that do it though. Naif Road in Deira is one area known for it, as is Satwa and places in Sharjah.

"These places work in broad daylight without any fear of retribution, knowing full well that it is the ill-informed driver who is paying for the work that will carry the can if they are caught."

Dubai Police yesterday warned: "If you change the colour of your windows and permission has not been granted, you could face being pulled over by the police and penalised heavily." The fine for modifying a vehicle without permission is Dh400, plus three black points on the driver's licence.