Cracked Windshield Safety: How Cracks Affect Airbags and Structural Integrity
It’s easy to understand the importance of cracked windshield repair — in an abstract sense, at least. If you don’t fix windshield damage, it could get worse over time, increasing the odds that you’ll need windshield replacement instead of auto glass repair. Even so, working on your windshield might still be low on your list of auto maintenance priorities.
However, damaged windshields can’t function as they should in a collision — meaning that driving with a cracked or chipped windshield can actively put you in danger. Keep reading for a full explanation of the risks associated with windshield damage and a look at how windshield chip repair can help set things right.
Windshield Damage and Your Safety
If you drive a modern vehicle, it almost certainly has airbags installed; in the event of a crash, these devices are deployed to keep you and your passengers safe. Your windshield is intended to act as a backstop for your airbags, but damaged auto glass can have serious trouble coping with the impact of these safety devices. As a result, your airbags might not deploy as intended if your windshield is cracked.
Your windshield also plays an integral role in protecting your vehicle as a whole in emergencies. Windshields are responsible for nearly half of a car’s structural integrity in a front-end collision — and more than half its integrity in a rollover accident. As you might expect, damage can make it harder for your windshield to do this vital job.
No matter how carefully you drive in and around Tucson, there’s no way to eliminate the risk of getting in an accident. Because of that, it’s best to schedule windshield repair or replacement as soon as you notice auto glass damage, even if the damage in question is just a tiny chip.
Other Benefits of Windshield Repair
The safety benefits associated with windshield repair should be all the motivation you need to visit an auto glass shop, but there are other reasons to take auto glass repair and replacement seriously. When you make sure not to neglect windshield damage, you’re able to:
Preserve Visibility
Any type of windshield damage must be dealt with right away, and that’s especially true for driver’s-side windshield cracks. These cracks can affect your ability to see the road ahead, making it all but impossible to drive safely.
Comply With Federal Regulations
In Arizona, drivers must have adequate windshields, but there aren’t any specific laws against chips and other minor forms of windshield damage. Of course, you’ll still need to keep federal windshield regulations in mind. To that end, you should never drive a car when its windshield is suffering from:
- Discoloration or damage in its center
- Multiple interconnected damage zones or cracks
- Cracks or chips that are longer than three-quarters of an inch
- A damaged area located within three inches of another damage zone
Keep Damage Under Control
If your windshield is only suffering from a small chip, you might think you can get away with continuing to drive your vehicle. But even if your auto glass is in okay shape for now, that might not be the case indefinitely. Instead, the damage could get much worse before you know it.
Factors that can exacerbate windshield damage include:
- Vibrations while driving: Windshield chips near the edge of a windshield can be affected by vibrations in your frame — even the normal vibrations associated with driving.
- Debris on the road: A stray rock or another foreign object could result in damage if it hits your auto glass. An impact with such an object can also aggravate existing problems with your windshield.
- Hitting something on the road: Whether you hit another vehicle or simply drive over a pothole, a collision, and other impacts are never good for your car. But if you have windshield damage, these jolts can turn a chip into a crack.
- Temperature changes: Temperature changes are a fact of life, and your auto glass expands and contracts during the average day due to these changing conditions. That isn’t usually a problem, but it can make your car’s windshield damage worse than it was initially.
Windshield Chip Repair: What To Expect
Even if you know why cracked windshield repair is essential, you might wonder how this process works. When your windshield needs to be fixed, the technicians at Max Auto Glass will:
- Inspect your windshield: Depending on the type and severity of your windshield damage, a repair may or may not be enough. Because of that, the technicians will start by ensuring that any repair work won’t be a waste of your time and money.
- Clean the damaged section of your auto glass: If your windshield is repairable, the technicians will remove debris and dirt from the affected area.
- Create a vacuum: After cleaning your windshield, Max Auto Glass technicians will seal your windshield and create a vacuum beneath that seal.
- Fill the affected area with resin: Next, our technicians will inject resin into your windshield’s crack or chip. This resin flows into the damaged area and integrates seamlessly with your existing glass.
- Let the resin cure: As a final step, the technicians handling your repair will cure the injected resin with UV light and smooth it out to make it as level as possible.
Get the Best Windshield Repair in Tucson
If you’re dealing with any type of windshield damage in Tucson, you’ll need to find a reputable auto glass shop for cracked windshield repair or replacement service. Fortunately, one local business in this field stands above the rest — and that business is Max Auto Glass.
At Max Auto Glass, our mechanics have auto glass technician accreditations from the Dow and Auto Glass Safety Council, employ the best components available today, and offer any other auto glass-related services you need. We also provide unmatched convenience. Getting a windshield repair from us is as simple as visiting your local BRAKEmax Tire & Service Centers shop or scheduling complimentary mobile service.
