Gardaí in Co. Cavan have issued a fine and penalty points to a tractor driver as they were found to have tinted windows that breached legal limits.

Members of the Cavan Roads Policing Unit were in the Kingscourt area of the county yesterday (Tuesday, July 8) when they stopped a tractor due to the level of tinting on the windows on the vehicle.

According to gardaí: "all mechanically propelled vehicles, including tractors, are required to have 65% light through the front and driver side windows".

However, gardaí said that this tractor had window tints that allowed just 30% light through.

In a post on social media, gardaí confirmed that the tints were removed from the windows of the tractor.

A fixed charge penalty was issued to the driver of the tractor "resulting in a fine and penalty points", the post added.

Separately, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said that heavily tinted windows "present a significant safety hazard for vehicle drivers and their occupants".

"Visibility is greatly reduced particularly at night-time or times of low light and may prevent drivers from seeing other road users or pedestrians," the authority added.

Under roadworthiness testing laws, a vehicle’s windscreen and front side windows must have a light transmission or transparency level of at least 65% to pass the test.

"An Garda Síochána currently have equipment to test the transparency level of windows at roadside checks.

"If a vehicle is found to have excessively tinted windows, both the owner and driver can be charged," the authority said.