If you have dings or cracks in your vehicle's windshield, you should repair or replace them as soon as possible. Repairing or replacing a broken windshield is not exclusively an aesthetic issue. Rather, the choice can help you avoid a lot of very serious and potentially even deadly risks. Here is a look at just some of them:
1. Shattering Glass
Most windshields are made of two transparent pieces of glass with a layer of vinyl resin in between them. That layer of vinyl holds the glass in place in the event of a collision, and it stops it from shattering. However, if that layer is not intact, it can no longer perform this essential safety function.
Even a small chip can extend into the resin layer of your glass, and if you crash when that is present, you no longer have this built-in safety feature protecting you. Instead, your windshield may simply shatter, spreading glass and injury throughout your vehicle.
2. Collapsing Roofs
A windshield that has been compromised with cracks or chips doesn't necessarily shatter. In some cases, these windshields just pop out of place. When that happens, your roof may collapse.
When deciding whether or not you want to prioritize your chipped windshield, remember that windshields aren't just for looking out of. They also help to hold up the roof of your car, and in most cases, the newer your car, the larger a role the windshield plays in its structural support.
3. Crashing Due to Sun Glare
In other cases, cracks and chips in your windshield don't just lead to related structural issues, but rather, they make it hard to see. Long cracks can interrupt your field of vision at any time, and chips, depending on their location, can make it hard to see obstructions, pedestrians or other drivers.
However, the biggest risk is when cracks combine with the sun to create a blinding glare. Cracks as well as streaks and dirt can make it hard to see out of a window, but when the sun shines on these things, it can become even harder to see.
In fact, sun glare causes many accidents every year, and if you hit someone due to being blinded by the sun bouncing off a chip in your windshield, you are liable for the accident -- you cannot blame the sun.
4. Spreading Damage
If you have a chip on your windshield that you don't repair, in most cases, it will get worse. As hot and cold weather expands and contracts your vehicle's windshield, the chips are likely to spread and get worse.
That means that what starts as a small chip in the corner of your windshield can turn into a large crack that can lead to any of the issues discussed above.
Small chips or dents can be fixed relatively easily, but if you wait until the damage spreads, you may have to pay for an entire windshield replacement. That can get expensive compared to just taking care of the chip right away.
5. Being Ticketed and Fined
In addition to the safety issues that accompany cracks and chips in your windshield, it is also illegal in many places to have a cracked windshield. You likely won't get pulled over and ticketed from a small chip, but if the officer thinks that the chip or crack has gotten large enough to obscure your view, they may ticket and fine you.
Tickets vary depending on where you live, but they are typically $50 to $100. Additionally, they may also include a directive that you have to fix your windshield or add points to your driving record.
To avoid these risks and tragedies, have your windshield repaired or replaced by contacting a window glass repair shop, like the one at http://www.mrgoglass.com.
Share21 August 2015
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