Windscreens are One of the Most Important Safety Devices on Your Vehicle
Your car has many safety devices like seatbelts, brakes, headlights, windscreen wipers, and an emergency brake. However, did you know that your windscreen is a safety device too? In fact, it is one of the most important safety devices on your vehicle. This safety device is vitally important to you and all of your passengers in the event of an accident, especially if the car rolls over. The glass from the windscreen is tempered and layered so that it is strong enough to hold your roof up to keep you and your passengers from being crushed. It also stops you and your passengers from being thrown out of the vehicle in an accident.
A Safety Net With Holes?
You now know that your windscreen is a safety net of sorts, but what if it gets a hole? Just like a safety net, if the hole is big enough or in a spot where it affects the integrity of the glass (net), it will be greatly weakened. This means it may not hold up in the event of an accident. If a crack or hole in the windscreen makes it weak and there is an accident, it may not be strong enough to hold you in the car and hold the roof up so it does not crush anyone.
Air Bag Deployment
The windscreen is also essential to the working of the passenger side air bag in an accident. When the air bag deploys it needs some kind of backdrop behind it to stop it. If it is weakened by damage like a crack or chip, the air bag may not work, which will cause more injury to your passenger. On the other hand, it may blow the windscreen out if the damage makes it too weak to withstand the pressure of the air bag.
How Does Windscreen Damage Occur?
Most often, a crack or chip in your automobile’s windscreen is caused by a piece of debris flying off the vehicle in front of you or from a car tire kicking up rocks. Driving too close to someone on a rocky road is like asking for a damaged windscreen. Something can also damage your windscreen while your vehicle is parked, either at home or in a parking lot. Using hot water on a cold windscreen to melt snow is a big NO-NO! That will definitely crack the windscreen! You should also never use a metal ice scraper or anything other than a plastic ice scraper specifically designed for windscreens. It is even better to just let your windscreen defogger melt the ice slowly. It may take longer but it will not damage the windscreen.
Fix It When You See It
If you see, some kind of damage give LONDON CAR WINDSCREEN in London a call at 0751 245 8701 or 0800 242 5740 anytime 24/7/365 and we will come to you anywhere in the London area for a free quote. Do not wait until it gets worse because then you may have to get a new windscreen, which costs more and takes longer. Here at LONDON CAR WINDSCREEN, we can fix that crack or chip in less than a half an hour in most cases.