2 Things You Didn’t Know About The Importance of Your Car’s Windscreen
It’s the one part of our car that we look at the most, but think about the least. Your windscreen is your window to the outside world — when it’s functioning properly and in good working order, you don’t notice it at all, but when it’s dirty or has a chip or scratch, it can completely alter your motoring experience.
But most people don’t know that their windscreen provides a vital role in the structure and safety of the car and the people travelling inside it.
- The windscreen of your car is integral to the strength of the body of the car (the chassis) in the event of a crash. For head-on collisions the windscreen provides up to 30% of the integrity of the car’s structure, and in the event of a rollover, the windscreen offers up to 60% of the reinforcement of the cabin in order to stop it caving in on the passengers.
- For most modern vehicles equipped with passenger airbags, the airbag will actually deploy up toward the windscreen before inflating toward the passenger, so a huge amount of force is applied to the glass from the inside-out.
Given the extreme forces and pressure that the windscreen goes through in these situations, it’s paramount that your glass be installed properly and kept in optimal condition. A poorly installed windscreen may result in an inconsistent bond between the glue and the glass, or there may be gaps in the glue if it isn’t applied correctly.
Even the smallest chip or crack in the glass can compromise its ability to withstand impact by up to 30%.
We know you don’t think about your windscreen very much, and nor should you (that’s our job). So if your windscreen leaks when it rains or you can hear air whistling through to the inside, or if it has a chip or crack that could be compromising its strength, take it down to your nearest windscreen repair shop for a look.
That way you can get back to looking through your windscreen, rather than at it.
