Importance Of Windshield Integrity in Collisions And Rollover Accidents

Your vehicle's windshield plays many roles. Some of these roles are just helpful, such as keeping wind, insects, and debris from entering the passenger compartment as you drive, as well as keeping in cold or warm air and providing a temperate environment within your vehicle. However, there are other, much more important and beneficial roles that your windshield plays.

Your windshield is a major part of your vehicle's Safety Restraint System (SRS) which is found in all vehicles to provide protection from serious injury and death in the event of an accident. The windshield of all vehicles provides a substantial portion of the structural integrity of the passenger compartment. Over the years, proper installation (as well as replacement) has become an extremely important aspect of the manufacturing of vehicles. It has become a precise science, as windshield safety and structural engineering has seen dramatic increases in expectations among manufacturers.

This may come as somewhat of a surprise to some consumers. While windshield integrity has come under intense analysis and study by vehicle manufacturers, most car consumers really never even address this fact. When most drivers have to consider repair or replacement, it is normally do to aesthetic reasons, while the structural aspects of having an uncompromised windshield tend to go relatively unheard of or even ignored.

So how important exactly is it to have a structurally sound windshield? According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 30% of the 40,000 Americans killed in highway fatalities annually, die after either being ejected from the vehicle or critically injured during rollovers. Needless to say, the integrity of the windshield is a critical factor in both of these conditions.

The National Glass Association (NGA) has reviewed these figures, and has made it clear that a "measurable percentage of those fatalities occur when an improperly replaced windshield does not remain firmly bonded to the vehicle during a crash."

These figures are even more telling when applied to rollover crashes. According to the NHTSA, rollover crashes account for a mere 3% of all collisions, while that same small percentage is responsible for 31% of total vehicular fatalities. The administration also explains how, in 2000, almost 10,000 vehicles were involved in fatal rollover crashes and that 84% of those accidents involved only one vehicle. In 2001, 54% of all single vehicle crash deaths occurred as a result of rollovers.

It is for these reasons that, when having your windshield repaired or replaced, you should use the services of a reputable and competent auto glass service technician. Replacing a windshield is actually a very exact science and not as simple of a service as you may have first considered. Proper installation is crucial to the performance of your vehicle's safety systems and is the best way to ensure your vehicle is as safe as it can be.