Proper repairs restore the windshield’s structural integrity
The most important reason to repair a windshield chip or crack is to restore the structural integrity of the windshield. This ensures the driver and passengers remain safe inside the vehicle in the event of an accident. Properly repaired chips and cracks return the structural integrity of your windshield to its original strength. This keeps you and your passengers safe.
A damaged or chipped windshield can compromise the vehicle’s structural integrity, putting the driver and passengers at risk. The windshield keeps items outside the vehicle out and items inside the vehicle in. To do this, it needs to be structurally sound.
In an accident when the airbags activate, the windshield acts as a backboard for them to deploy against. This backboard enables the airbags to safely absorb the force of the driver and passengers hitting them. This reduces the chance of serious injuries. If a rock chip or crack has weakened the windshield, it may not be able to perform its critical safety function as effectively. This can potentially expose the driver and passenger to greater chance of serious injury.
Also, in a rollover accident, the windshield can provide anywhere from 30 to 70% of the structural strength needed to support the roof when the vehicle rolls. Once again, if the windshield has been weakened from a rock chip or crack it may not be able to perform its critical safety function as effectively.
Repairing chips and cracks prevents the damage from spreading
The second reason to repair a windshield chip or crack is to keep the damage from spreading. A small chip or crack can quickly grow into a long, spidering, unsightly crack running all the way across your windshield. Repairing the damage quickly and correctly will prevent this. When windshield damage spreads, it compromises the structural integrity of your windshield to the point where the only real option is to replace the entire windshield. For busy folks this can be an inconvenient, time-consuming, and costly proposition. It’s much simpler to schedule a windshield repair to fix the damage correctly rather than waiting until the entire windshield cracks out and must be replaced.
A properly repaired windshield is not distracting
Finally, repairing windshield chips and cracks makes the damage look better so it isn’t as annoying or distracting as unrepaired damage. The damage will not magically “disappear”. It will be much less noticeable after it is repaired. Typically, when you have a chip or crack in the windshield it has a bright shiny appearance, and you can get flashes of light from the refraction in the break that can cause your eyes to look at the damage on the windshield instead of focusing on the road. Having a chip or crack properly repaired eliminates most of the refraction. Reduced refraction makes the damage is much less noticeable and distracting.
So first and foremost, windshield repair is about safety. Keeping your vehicle, including the windshield, in good repair keeps you and your passengers safe. It can also save you money in the long run. Windshields are getting more expensive every day. So, keeping them in the best condition possible – for as long as possible, is a smart decision. Don’t put off having a windshield chip or crack repaired. Just give us a call or schedule an appointment online for a fast, convenient mobile windshield repair.
