Why You Should Look After Your Windscreen

Most drivers overlook the importance of their windscreen, considering it to merely be an object through which they can view the road ahead. However, the windscreen plays a vital - if largely unnoticed - role in a vehicle's operation and drivers should ensure they exercise care for their windscreens.

While a windscreen does indeed provide the driver with a means to view the road ahead, its primary function is to protect a vehicle's occupants from extremes of weather, such as wind, rain or snow and flying debris such as dust, grit or rocks. The windscreen also forms parts of a vehicle's aerodynamics by forcing air upwards as the vehicle travels along at speed and so reduce drag.

A windscreen also forms part of a vehicle's structural rigidity as modern windscreens are bonded with glue to the vehicle's body and roof, and so provide additional protection to a vehicle's occupants in the case of a roll-over accident.

Despite playing such a crucial part in a vehicle's role, windscreens can be prone to damage, with chips and cracks a common occurrence. As such, drivers should ensure they take care of their vehicle's windscreen and have any windscreen defects repaired as soon as possible, as to do otherwise could compromise the safety of not only the driver but also any other occupants of the vehicle.

Windscreen damage can occur at any time, and from a variety of sources. Worn wiper blades can, for instance, scratch the surface of the windscreen, while scraping snow and ice can do likewise. When driving, debris thrown up by other vehicles, or grit spread by gritters during the winter months can impact on the windscreen and cause chips to appear on the glass.

Although usually minor, chips can become a major headache to drivers and can often turn into large cracks if left unattended. Chips weaken the strength of the windscreen, and shocks and vibrations such as driving over a pothole or sunken drain cover, or extremes of temperature can turn a relatively small chip into a large crack.

Bear in mind that depending on their size and position on the windscreen, chips and cracks could also cause a vehicle to fail an MOT test. Chips which are within the driver's viewing zone must be no more than 10mm in diameter, while chips which exist within the windscreen wipers' sweep cannot be more than 40mm in diameter in total area so it's important to ensure windscreens meet these requirements prior to presenting a vehicle at the MOT testing station.

In the UK, most major insurance companies offer windscreen cover as part of their comprehensive vehicle insurance policies, which cover the vehicle owner against the cost of windscreen repair or windscreen replacements if performed by an authorised operator. In many cases, these specialist windscreen repair companies can repair windscreen chips without the need to replace the entire screen by injecting a specially-formulated resin into the chip.

The good news for comprehensive insurance policy holders is that windscreen chip repair is typically free of charge, whereas windscreen replacement is usually subject to a policy excess being paid although neither instance will compromise any no-claims bonus.

So, be safe rather than sorry and ensure your windscreen is in the best possible condition - not only for the sake of your wallet, but for the sake of your safety!