Hello, my name is David. Welcome to my blog. There is nothing I like more than hitting the open road and going for a drive in my car. I have always loved everything to do with automobiles. When I was a boy, I had a collection of 208 different toy cars which I would play with all day long. As soon as I was old enough, I began taking driving lessons and the day I passed was the best day of my life. Although I am not a mechanic, my dad taught me lots of neat tricks so I can keep my car in top condition. I hope you enjoy my blog.
Many people cite impaired vision as the most risky consequence of a damaged windscreen, but this is purely for starters. A crack or chip in your windscreen will not only make it difficult to see the road, it can turn each drive into a death-defying outing. This is because your windscreen is essentially responsible for your safety and protection within the car.
Even if a broken windscreen doesn't obstruct your vision, continuing to drive with any kind of chip or scratch will eventually weaken the screen and in turn, weaken your car's structure - potentially proving fatal in crash situations. The following lists a few ways in which your car's safety can be affected by a damaged windscreen.
Ineffective Airbags
In most cars, whenever an airbag is deployed, it will often strike the windshield. For cars with a compromised windscreen, the sudden impact of an airbag may be too much to take and the windshield could break, resulting in a punctured airbag and a badly injured driver. Some might assume that this could only happen in windshields with large 'star break' cracks and multiple fractures, but this isn't the case. The smallest dent in a windscreen can quickly spread and worsen due to weather elements, and considering that airbags inflate at average speeds of 144 mph, a small weak spot may be all it takes to break the windscreen out of its frame.
For the safety of themselves and others, those continuing to drive with broken windscreens should automatically view their airbags as non-working, and therefore, view the car as unsafe to drive until the windscreen is suitably repaired. No rational person would drive without the security of airbags, so why risk driving with a weakened windscreen?
An Unsupported Structure
The windscreen helps to stabilise the roof and provides the car's central structure. Compromise the integrity of said middle structure and the car can become doubly vulnerable during a crash. If a crash should force the car onto its roof, for example, a weak windscreen may cause the roof to give in to the weight of the car and cave in. Particularly bad fractures may even cause the windscreen to blow out during minor accidents since vibrations can cause cracks to multiply - needlessly risking the lives of passengers and other drivers.
Inferior Crash Response
In a crash situation, your seat belt acts as your main straining device. If, however, a seat belt fails to work properly at the crucial moment, a cracked windscreen will not prove to be an effective barrier. When you consider that an abrupt stop or minor collision is enough to make passengers lurch forward, a cracked windscreen coupled with a faulty seat belt could result in serious injuries. The chances of surviving a crash are significantly lowered if someone is thrown from the car.
Dents in the windscreen may start out as small annoyances, but as demonstrated, they can grow to pose a severe safety threat. This is why you should immediately contact a windscreen repair specialist at the first sign of a flaw. For more major cracks and fractures, a windscreen replacement may be the most sensible option for the sake of yours and of other's safety.
For more information, contact a business such as Premier Windscreens.
Share3 November 2014
