If your car windscreen has been chipped or cracked you will need to get to a garage as soon as possible.
What causes windscreen cracks and windscreen chips?
During the winter months, a lot of chips and cracks can appear on windows. If your windows have iced over, people tend to pour boiling water over the windscreen. The sudden change in temperature from cold to hot causes the glass to rapidly expand and crack, although you need hot water, ensure the water isn’t boiling and this will be prevented.
More common ways of chipped windscreens all year round are caused by stones, they kick up off the road and hit the glass at a high velocity. The most common type of road for this to happen on is motorways due to the high speed the car travels at.
A crack tends to appear after a chip, if you’ve not treated the chip early enough then it will expand into a crack.
What happens during a crack or windscreen chip repair?
There are some regulations in place which you will want to know before getting your windscreen repaired. The chip or crack must be smaller than a £2 pound piece if it is to be filled, if the chip or crack is larger then a replacement windscreen will be required. In order for the repair to be carried out, the chip or crack must be a minimum of 3cm away from the edge of the windscreen to be repaired. The damage cannot occupy an area bigger than 10mm if the chip or crack is within the line of sight for the driver, this is an area of 30cm.
If your windscreen requires a replacement you will have to go to a local car garage that offer this service, it is essential you get this checked out immediately as it could cause risk on the roads. If the chip or crack is causing you to become unsighted you are putting yourself and other road users at risk.