Ads by Google Ads by Google

Be Advised: OMV enforcing tinting regulation, re-locating license sticker

Several motorists are disappointed with two new changes the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) has in place when renewing registration for private vehicles this year.

One man who wished not to be named said, he was not aware the stickers that used to be placed on license plates are now to be affixed on the windshield of the vehicle; while a couple said they were not aware the tint on the windshield of any vehicle is limited to a certain size.

The woman said they just had their vehicle tinted before it was taken in for registration, only to find out the tint has to be stripped off, before the sticker is placed on the windshield.

Office of Motor Vehicle’s Acting Manager David Pereira told Samoa News, the modification to switch where the sticker is located came after a lot of consultation.

“There are a lot of cases where motorists lose their license plate or someone had stolen or ripped off the sticker of another vehicle, but it’s a difficult predicament because there are no duplicates for the stickers”.

Pereira said with no duplicates for the sticker, the office has to deal with those many issues, so a decision was made to have the stickers affixed on the windshield instead of the license plate.

Pereira said another issue they are facing is the public is not aware that the tint on the windshield is limited; this is according to law that has been effect for a very long time.

“The tint from the top of the windshield can only go six inches so once the sticker is placed on the windshield it can be viewable by the police officers that are patrolling the traffic highway, because there are still vehicles on the road that are not registered”, he said.

The Acting manager said it should not be a surprise to anyone, because the changes were announced on television.

Samoa News reported on a tinting statute when it was passed in 2009 for commercial vehicles, and began to be enforced on January 01, 2010. However, Samoa News understands  the tinting of private vehicles is a local regulation and has been in effect for several years, but was rarely enforced.