Sunstrips legal size for Cars. Advice please?

[David Rogers]

The LEGAL requirement is:

Must NOT be into the area swept by the wiper – fitting smaller wipers is a no-no!
Generally speaking, this is ignored – 5 or 6" strips are the norm and nobody gets pulled for them.

I have seen Boy & Girl racers with strips about a third of the way down the screen, but not there for very long though as the Police do not take kindly to them.

Dave

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Peter Normington]

The legal requirement for an M.O.T. is that the only thing that may be affixed to a windscreen is the tax disc or a disabled badge. so anything else is a no-no. But as most trivial laws are not enforced, I wouldn’t worry about it

Peter

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Micheal Donnellan]

thanks for the replies.
Not being swept by the windscreen wipers means very narrow strips on a lot of cars

Does anyone know if sun strips are allowed by the NCT? which is known as the Irish M.O.T.

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Peter Normington]

I doubt it, Micheal.
Just fit them after the M.O.T. has been done.
As long as you tell the customer!
And if it fails the next year, you get a return job from it!

Peter

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Garrie]

Hi all…

Slightly incorrect info about the sun strip and M.O.T.

If you drew a line up from the middle of the steering wheel, the windscreen wipers must not travel into the sunstrip by any more than 10mm. Anywhere else on the screen the wipers must not travel into the strip by any more than 40mm

Good for repeat business though.
I had one the other week on a Celica.

Info from my girlfriend’s Dad who works at VOSA doing SVAs.

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Guidance
View to the front and windscreen obscuration

GOV.UK
General requirements

Regulation 30 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986 No. 1078 as amended) requires that:

(1) Every motor vehicle shall be so designed and constructed that the driver thereof while controlling the vehicle can at all times have a full view of the road and traffic ahead of the motor vehicle.
(2) Instead of complying with the requirement of paragraph (1) a vehicle may comply with Community Directive 77/649, 81/643, 88/366, 90/630 or, in the case of an agricultural motor vehicle, 79/1073.
(3) All glass or other transparent material fitted to a motor vehicle shall be maintained in such condition that it does not obscure the vision of the driver while the vehicle is being driven on a road.

In practice, the annual test will check that items placed in or stuck to the windscreen or surface damage, cracks or discolouration in the windscreen do not seriously obscure the vision of the driver. In order to better define what maybe permissible the windscreen is divided into zones:

Zone A is a vertical area 290mm wide, centred on the steering wheel and contained within the swept area of the windscreen (this area is 350mm wide on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes);Zone B is the remainder of the swept area of the windscreen

For simplicity, surface damage, cracks or discolouration, are simply referred to as damage.

In Zone A, a single damaged area shall be contained within a 10mm diameter circle. A combination of minor damage areas shall not seriously restrict the drivers view. Windscreen stickers, or other obstructions, shall not encroach more than 10mm.

In Zone B, a single damaged area shall be contained within a 40mm diameter circle. Windscreen stickers, or other obstructions, shall not encroach more than 40mm.

Windscreen repairs shall be assessed the same as unrepaired damage and shall not restrict the driver’s vision.

Cracks passing through the swept area of the windscreen and reaching two points at the edge shall be deemed to render the windscreen insecure.

Items placed in, or stuck to, the windscreen could be stickers, pennants, satellite navigation monitors or decorations.

Original vehicle design features and drivers aids, such as sun visors, are allowed.

Vehicles that do not comply with the above could be construed to be in contravention of the legislation.

Additionally, Regulation 100 of The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986 No. 1078 as amended) requires:

a motor vehicle, and all its parts and accessories;the number of passengers carried, and the manner in which any passengers are carried in or on a vehicle; andthe weight, distribution, packing and adjustment of the load of a vehicle

to be at all times such that no danger is caused, or is likely to be caused, to any person in or on a vehicle or on a road.

Further to this, Section 40a of The Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended by Section 8 of the Road Traffic Act 1991)Part II, Using a Vehicle in a Dangerous Condition, states that:

A person is guilty of an offence if he uses, or causes or permits another to use, a motor vehicle or trailer on the road when:

(a) the condition of the motor vehicle or trailer, or of its accessories or equipment, or
(b) the purpose for which it is used, or
(c) the number of passengers carried by it, or the manner in which they are carried, or
(d) the weight, position or distribution of its load, or the manner in which it is secured, is such that the use of the motor vehicle or trailer involves a danger of injury to any person.

Consolidated versions of national regulations can be found in Sweet and Maxwell’s ‘Encyclopaedia of road traffic law and practice (construction and use)’ which should be available at most main reference libraries.

Copies of national regulations can also be purchased from:

TSO Orders/Post Cash Department
PO Box 29
Norwich
NR3 1GN

Telephone: 0870 600 5522
Fax: 0870 600 5533
Email: customer.services@tso.co.uk
Website: http://www.tso.co.uk

____________________________________________________________________________

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[David Rogers]

Good info Garrie.

My information came from an MOT tester, he was probably just playing it safe.

Dave

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Ivan Morley]

You can read the requirements in the Government M.O.T. Testers Manual:

https://www.gov.uk/topic/mot/manuals

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Adam McGuire]

I usually do the sunstrip in a medium window tint film, on the inside, or use external film. This way, you can still see through.

I have been told that 6 inches at the centre are OK, so usually, the extreme edges are about 8 inches deep.

Adam

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Garrie]

Great link the MOT manual (will save in my favorites), confirms my post above..

Reason for rejection

1. A Windscreen sticker or other
obstruction encroaching more than 10mm

2. A Windscreen sticker or other
obstruction encroaching more than 40mm

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Gwaredd Steele]

I fitted this one last Thursday and my golden rule is:
If it obstructs the driver’s vision, then it’s too big. I got the owner to sit in the car whilst I offered it up and when he gave me the thumbs up, I taped it into place.

Note: This one was 4.5" in the centre, about 7.5" at the outer edges.

Bottom line is, I don’t want the Police knocking on my door claiming the sun strip I fitted was partly the cause of an accident. Call me cynical, but for a £40 job?

Cheers,
Gwaredd.

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Garrie]

quote Steele Signs:

I fitted this one last Thursday and my golden rule is:
If it obstructs the driver’s vision, then it’s too big. I got the owner to sit in the car whilst I offered it up and when he gave me the thumbs up, I taped it into place.
Note: This one was 4.5″ in the centre, about 7.5″ at the outer edges.
Bottom line is, I don’t want the Police knocking on my door claiming the sun strip I fitted was partly the cause of an accident. Call me cynical, but for a £40 job?
Cheers,
Gwaredd.

it is still illegal…
I make my customer sign a disclaimer, just in case.

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Peter Normington]

Sorry folks, Disclaimers don’t mean a thing!
Law of the land and consumer rights always prevail, It is like Sainsbury’s putting a notice up saying they aren’t responsible for food poisoning if they sell you an out of date product.

Peter

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Phill Fenton]

I just do not do sun strips, there is no point.
They are not signs and I do not think that they are worth the bother.
If someone comes to me and asks for a sun strip I offer to sell them a piece of vinyl to fit themselves.

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Peter Normington]

quote Steele Signs:

I fitted this one last Thursday, & my golden rule is: If it obstructs the drivers vision, then it’s too big. I got the owner to sit in the car whilst I offered it up, & when he gave me the thumbs up, I taped it into place. Edit: This one was 4.5″ in the centre, about 7.5″ at the outer edges.

Bottom line is, I don’t want a copper knocking on my door claiming the sun strip I fitted was partly the cause of an accident. Call me cynical, but for a £40 job…?

Cheers,

Gwaredd.

What happens when you have a short driver? can you lower the strip?
People who want a sunstrip on their Porsche must be a sandwich short of a picnic anyway, so £40 is far too cheap.
Give it to them large, it has got to be worth at least a £100.

Peter

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Peter Normington]

quote Peter Normington:

Sorry folks, Disclaimers don’t mean squat, law of the land and consumer rights always prevail, Its like Sainsbury’s putting a notice up saying they aren’t responsible for food poisoning if they sell you an out of date product.
Peter

I feel I must elaborate.
Disclaimers are often talked about on the boards, but under UK law, are very rarely a legal defence.
As a supplier, you have a duty of care to supply goods fit for the purpose. So if boy racer asks for a sunstrip, and you supply one that subsequently causes an M.O.T. failure, or god forbid, an accident, then under current law, you could be held culpable. It is simply not good enough to get the customer to sign a disclaimer.

In fact, in some cases, asking for a signed disclaimer is in itself an admission that you are aware that the law is being broken.

Sorry to sound like a righteous scaremonger, but that’s how I see it.

Peter

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Gwaredd Steele]

I feel I must defend the Porsche owner by saying that it was not his idea to fit the sunstrip, but the Tuning firm that has just squeezed 520-odd bhp out of the said car & was going on an 8-day jaunt around Europe with other like-minded petrol heads, so it was a clever bit of advertising.

The tuning firm is having a load of gerber’d stickers off me too, hence the price Peter. I’m not normally that cheap 😉 But for the record, I hate doing sun-strips too, especially on £90k’s worth of the car, makes me nervous, but give me a £250k coach to letter, and I’m fine.

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip

[Adam McGuire]

I only sell sunstrips, I do not usually fit them.
It is the same story with my mates number plates. They are "for show and offroad use only".

They fit them, so as far as I am concerned, it is their problem.
If I went into a gun shop to buy a gun, I could take it home and put it on the wall or own it for perfectly legitimate reasons. But then I could also go out on a mad rampage through town. does that mean the bloke in the Gunshop could be prosecuted?
I’m not so sure it does. At the end of the day, it is legal to sell something for a particular purpose.
i.e. the "show plate" or "sunstrip for offroad and show use"
but what the customer does with it, we have no control!

Just my thoughts on this.

Adam

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Sunstrips, sunstrip, sun strips, windscreen, Car, #sunstrip #sunstrips @sunstrips @sunstrip