Nobody looks forward to spending time and money on repairs to their vehicle's windshield. Unfortunately, the road is not a perfectly safe place and cracks and chips are often inevitable. Since your vehicle's windshield is an important safety and structural component, ignoring this damage is not an option and glass that has suffered serious impacts generally needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. While some damage may be completely out of your control, there are steps you can take to minimize the amount of abuse that your windshield will take.
Increase Your Following Distance
One of the most common causes of chips and cracks are debris flung up by the tires of other vehicles. This sort of damage can happen at any time and rocks can easily be chucked in your direction by vehicles that are passing by in other lanes, but you can reduce the likelihood of this type of damage simply by putting more distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. While this doesn't guarantee that you won't still take a hit from time to time, the extra distance will reduce the force of the impact and make it less likely that your glass will be chipped or cracked.
As an added bonus, increased following distance will keep your car's paint in better shape as well. Front bumpers and hoods tend to pick up a large amount of chips and dents from highway debris, and by staying a little bit farther back, you will help to reduce this particular type of paint wear.
Watch Where You Park
Believe it or not, glass is often damaged by things falling out of trees. This may include acorns or nuts, or even large branches. This type of damage can happen at any time, so it's generally wise to avoid parking directly under large trees. This is especially true if you expect the weather to be bad! If high winds or heavy rain are in the forecast, park your car in a covered area whenever possible and avoid parking near or directly under trees when a garage isn't available.
Avoid Unpaved Roads and Parking Lots
Debris can show up anywhere, but unpaved driving surfaces present the greatest hazard. It's not always possible to avoid gravel driveways and parking lots, but if you have to drive through these areas, then special care should be taken. Go slowly and give other vehicles a wide berth. If you follow close behind other cars on gravel roads, especially at higher speeds, you are almost guaranteed to have a few rocks flung in your direction.
Take Special Care in Construction Zones
Everyone knows that slowing down is the right thing to do in construction zones, but it's also a good way to keep your windshield safe. Areas that are under construction may have as much debris floating around as an unpaved, gravel road. Even worse, you may be traveling through these areas at fairly high speeds if they are on highways. If you know that a construction zone is coming up, do your best to put more distance between yourself and other cars. Because debris is being moved around and kicked up by other cars, there may be a significant amount of it both before the construction begins and after the construction zone has ended.
Of course, not even the most careful drivers can avoid everything and sometimes windshield damage is simply luck of the draw. If your windshield has developed a chip or a crack, even a minor one, it is important to have it fixed as soon as possible. For more information, reach out to an auto glass repair service.
Share15 May 2019
After trying in vain to fix my car for a few months, I realized that I needed to hire a professional. I was tired of dealing with repairs that I was unfamiliar with, and I knew that I needed to get some help. I started looking around for a great auto mechanic, and even though one business was more expensive than others, I decided to work with them. They worked hard to fix my car, and I was really pleased with how great of a job they did. This blog is all about investing in proper auto service so that you don't have to deal with problems in the future.
