Car windscreen damage is often no reason to panic at all

During the winter months, there are always many cases of windscreen damage. Consequently, in recent months there have been many cases of car windscreen damage and this has led to a lot of uncertainty. The advertisements are in fact calling for people to book an appointment at a repair shop immediately in case of a chipped windscreen, while numerous specialists (including an extensive research by the ANWB) state that you can drive on just fine with a star in the windscreen.

Lots of windscreen damage in recent months: here's why

A lot more windscreen damage has been reported in recent months and that spike is easy to explain. First of all, November and December are the months when cars are most often broken into. A trend that was greatly inhibited until 2022, as the number of car break-ins systematically decreased. Since 2022, however seen a sharp rise, though, with more car windows being smashed every year because criminals want to gain access to their victim's car.

In addition, the winter months are the least merciful for the Dutch road surface. Even moderate, mild winters leave their mark on the asphalt. When the temperature drops below freezing, parts of the asphalt become loose which causes more frequent splashing pebbles that can hit the windscreen. When this happens, the risk of windscreen damage is considerable, especially when it happens on the motorway at higher speeds and a pebble makes it relatively easy to damage the windscreen.

At the same time, there have been more windscreen damages due to snowfall. Snow weighs down tree branches, which can break off due to the extra weight can break off. If the car is parked just below a tree where a branch breaks off, this can also cause (extensive) windscreen damage. The same obviously applies to strong(er) wind during autumn.

That star should be repaired immediately, according to advertising

It is therefore not surprising that glass repair companies have ramped up the number of advertisements especially in recent months. They let Dutch motorists know that they should go straight to a repair point to get that star or crack in the window repaired, especially 'because the window may crack further'.

As usual, the truth is distorted in these advertisements. Modern car windows do not just crack further. On the contrary, it takes considerable temperature differences are needed for a chip or crack to actually crack further crack. Under normal conditions in the Netherlands, the chance is therefore very small, unless it is extremely hot outside and you put the air conditioning full on the windscreen while driving, although even then the chance is slim.

The difference between laminated and tempered automotive glass

When it comes to car windows, it is good to make the distinction between laminated automotive glass and tempered automotive glass. Most side windows and rear windows are made of tempered automotive glass. This automotive glass is specially developed to disintegrate into thousands of small pieces in the event of window damage, keeping occupants safe as no sharp, larger pieces of glass flying through the car in a collision. When a tempered car window gets damaged, it should therefore always be replaced, as the window will disintegrate.

With windscreens, this is different. The windscreen of the car must meet high safety requirements and therefore nowadays consists of two layers of glass with a layer of PVB film between the panes. This layer of film holds the layers of glass together and that means that the windscreen can get a crack or a star in the glass without the window falling apart. the windscreen falling apart immediately.

Windscreen damage: here's what you need to know

That means that when windscreen damage occurs, a lot more needs to be looked at to see whether the windscreen needs to be repaired or replaced. First of all, it is important to forget about the advertisements for a moment. This is because drive on with a chipped windscreen, especially if it is a smaller star or a single crack. In fact, most Dutch people drive on with a small chip or a crack for quite some time, certainly when it is not in the driver's field of vision.

That is also where an important key concept is hidden: 'driver's field of vision'. This is the part of the windscreen above the steering wheel and just in front of the driver's face. That part of the windscreen is the most important and that is where visibility should be optimal. This is directly also why windscreen damage in this part of the windscreen can be a problem and where the car can be rejected for windscreen damage during the MOT. The latter happens when the damage is a star with a diameter of at least 20 millimetres or it is a branched crack (i.e. in the driver's field of vision).

In all other cases, it is wise to see for yourself how bothersome the windscreen damage is. If the windscreen damage is particularly distracting while driving or if you feel that you have less visibility on the road while driving, then replacing the windscreen is a sensible option. If you opt for a replacement windscreen from Autoglas Concurrent, the biggest price fighter in the Netherlands and Belgium, you will also be cheap without compromising on quality.

Automotive glass that repairs itself: when can we expect it?

Work on innovations within automotive glass has been going on for quite some time, with a particular focus on AR (augmented reality) windscreens and head-up displays. However, there are also plenty of companies working on automotive glass that repairs itself, although it has been quiet around the big names in this field for some time.
The technologies vary widely, from automotive glass with new additives to Ford's patent that incorporates repair parts between layers of automotive glass.

So for now, we can forget about automotive glass that repairs itself in case of damage. Above all, what we should not forget is that car window damage is no cause for panic and that we certainly do not need to immediately look for new windscreens or locations of repair shops, but that with most forms of window damage, we can just keep on driving.