Experiencing a windshield crack is both frustrating and hazardous. There are many situations that can lead to this unpleasant outcome. The good news is there are many ways to prevent the headache of dealing with a cracked windshield. If your windshield becomes an unlucky casualty, a reputable body shop can restore it properly via repair or replacement and get you back on the road in a jiffy.
Experiencing a windshield crack is both frustrating and hazardous. There are many situations that can lead to this unpleasant outcome. The good news is there are many ways to prevent the headache of dealing with a cracked windshield. If your windshield becomes an unlucky casualty, a reputable body shop can restore it properly via repair or replacement and get you back on the road in a jiffy.
Tell Me Why?
There is a plethora of conditions that may lead to your windshield cracking, ranging from human error to nature.
If the technician who installed your windshield did shoddy work, it may not be properly secured. When this happens, everyday errands could result in a crack as vibrations, bumps in the highway, and other normal driving movements, may create additional stress and subsequent cracking.
Nature is often the biggest culprit of windshield failure. During times of the year where temperature extremes occur, your windshield may expand and contract more quickly than normal leading to potential cracking. A similar situation may occur on extremely hot days when the metal surrounding the windshield gets scorching hot, causing the areas of the windshield closest to the metal to expand more quickly than the other areas.
Flying objects are a surefire way to end up with a crack in your windshield. Whether it is a falling tree, snow mound flying off another vehicle, ice sickle, stone, or rock, the result is the same a substantial crack in your windshield.
Hailstorms are another common, yet damaging occurrence. Hail stones vary in size, with larger stones being much more likely to create damage. If you are unfortunate enough to be caught in a hailstorm while driving, the combination of the falling stones impacting your vehicle while in motion is a likely way to sustain significant cracking to your windshield.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
It is likely you would prefer to avoid the cost and hassle associated with repairing a windshield crack. While there is no way prevent every scenario that might lead to a crack in your windshield, there are many steps you can take to make it much less likely.
Changing your driving habits to include taking the back road is a great way to reduce your risk of windshield cracks. There is less traffic on these roads; thus, it is less likely another motorist’s vehicle will throw debris, snow, or other objects in the trajectory of your vehicle.
Your mama likely told you it is dangerous to tailgate. It turns out she told you this for a good reason. Staying back from other drivers gives you extra time to avoid any debris generated by their vehicle.
When driving, stay the speed limit. Simply put, the faster you are driving, the harder flying debris will connect with your windshield, increasing the likelihood of severe damage exponentially.
Take care to park your vehicle inside a shelter like a parking garage or personal garage whenever possible. This will protect it from unexpected hailstorms and expansion from temperature extremes.
If your windshield meets an unfortunate demise, be sure to have it repaired promptly to avoid more extensive damage from developing. Allow a skilled technician to evaluate whether repair or replacement is the best option for you.
