What to Do If Your Windshield Cracks on the Road

The damage to a car window glass can happen anywhere, anytime. While you are on the road, your windshield remains exposed to a wide range of external elements. A piece of stray rock can fly out of nowhere and crash into your automotive glass. Before you can figure out what exactly happened, your windshield glass has already got a crack in it. Since you are driving, you may feel shocked to see the damage and may not know what actually you should do. Automotive glass damage can happen in multiple forms including one or more chips, small or large cracks and many other types of damages that could interrupt the clarity of vision. If you are unable to see the road with full clarity, it will increase the likelihood of accidents.

So, what are you going to do if your windshield glass sustains a crack or chip while you are driving on the road? We’ll discuss this in detail, so that you are fully prepared to deal with this emergency in a proper manner.

Windshield cracks can appear simply anywhere. Even when you have parked your car by the side of the road, something unfortunate can happen and it can leave a chip or crack on your automotive glass.

While driving on the road, debris or pieces of rock can come from anywhere and hit your windscreen. Often, stones get caught up in the tyre of the surrounding vehicles and then propelled straight to a car’s windshield. This is one of the most common reasons for auto glass damages that happen on the road.

Just imagine the impact of even a small piece of rock while you are driving at high speed on the road or on a highway. It happens so fast that you hardly have any time to think and prevent the stone from hitting the window glass. The next moment you find your auto glass has a crack in it. There can be many other reasons such as bad weather or sudden fluctuations in the temperature level that can cause damage to your car’s windshield glass. Poorly repaired cracks can also grow into large cracks due to vibrations from driving. Whatever is the reason for damage, having a broken auto glass on the road can lead to dangerous consequences, if you don’t take the necessary precautions in such an emergency.

So, first you need to follow some safety guidelines to protect yourself and then you need to schedule an immediate inspection of the damage so that an auto glass repair or auto glass installation can be performed.

So, the big question is what safety tips you should follow in order to avoid a potentially dangerous situation of having a broken windshield glass while on the road. If you have some prior knowledge in this regard, you will be able to keep yourself protected in such a life-threatening situation. Read on to know how you can avoid danger and keep yourself and others safe on the road.

Pull Over to the Side of the Road

Stop driving as soon as you find out you have a broken windshield glass. However, you should not panic. If you panic, you might apply the brakes immediately without looking around. This can again lead to accidents or collisions. So, you need to pull over but in a calm and careful manner.

After having a cracked auto glass, the first thing you should do is to bring yourself, others and the vehicle itself to a safe spot. Find a safe spot or place where you can park the vehicle and then pull over. You can’t continue driving with a damaged windshield glass, as it can be extremely dangerous. If you keep on driving, you will only give the damage a good chance to spread further and expose yourself and others to more danger on the road or highway. You never know if the broken windshield will shatter while you are still driving.

The point here is to bring yourself and other occupants to safety as quickly as possible after having a cracked windshield.

Assess the Damage

Now, it is time to look at the crack or the chip and find out how severe the damage to the automotive glass is. This is not a professional assessment and the only purpose of doing this is to have a general idea.

Taking a closer look at the windshield damage will help you understand what to expect from the insurance provider when you give them a phone call. Plus, you will understand what to expect when you reach out to auto glass services for an auto window repair or auto windshield replacement. Typically, small chips such as surface chip, star chip, half moon, straight line or angle wings can be repaired whereas large cracks will require an auto glass installation.

But the actual inspection will be conducted by a trained technician. A professional will inspect the severity of damage and tell exactly what will be the ideal solution in order to restore vehicular structural integrity. For more tips in this regard, get in touch with SIR Auto Glass in the Portland Metro Area.

Don’t Touch the Broken Windshield

You will feel tempted to touch the site of damage, but beware and brace yourself! No matter how much you want to touch the crack or the chip, you can easily injure yourself while doing so. What appears like a tiny chip or small crack could have sharp edges and touching them is not advisable.

Never ever try to touch a crack in the windshield glass. You may cut your finger or cause the auto glass to shatter.

Resist the temptation and wait for the automotive glass technician from your chosen auto window repair service to arrive, if you opt for mobile glass service. It is for experts to accurately evaluate the extent of the damage by looking at it from various angles and finding out its length, width and depth.

If you are stuck with a broken windshield in places such as Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Portland, Gresham or Wilsonville, reach out to SIR Auto Glass for top quality auto glass repair services.

Call Your Insurance Company

You may have some idea that insurance companies cover some or full cost of auto window replacements. But you should know where to start when you have broken your windshield glass. You need to inform your insurer about the damaged window glass as quickly as possible and then submit a claim for the same. As per auto insurance policies, it is essential to explain the situation over the phone. In many cases, the insurer will arrange for some help so that the car can be towed. Therefore, it is important to stay aware of the terms and regulations of the auto insurance policy you have purchased so that you know what to expect.

Avoid Repairing the Windshield Yourself

In any case, you should never try to fix a windshield damage yourself. You may feel that the job is too small and you can do it yourself. But beware, no windscreen repair or window crack repair is a small task.

Whether it is a small chip or a crack, it will always require an expert hand. If you try to fix auto glass damages yourself, you will only increase risk to your safety on the road. You may come across DIY windshield repair kits, but these kits will not actually help you much. No matter how small or big the damage is, you should either take your vehicle to an auto glass services center or reach out to a company that provides mobile auto glass repair and mobile windshield replacement services. You should always rely on highly trained and experienced technicians to carry out the entire repair or installation procedure with utmost precision.

You should schedule an inspection of your cracked windshield without wasting any time after you have parked your vehicle to a safe place. Whether it is a small damage or a severe one, a trained technician will be able to evaluate it upon thorough inspection. It is only after a detailed inspection that the professional can tell where the damage will be fixed through a repair. If the damage is serious and repair will not fix it, then the obvious route is a new auto glass installation.

If you are anywhere in the Portland Metro Area, get in touch with SIR Auto Glass to schedule a windshield inspection.

Just because you have a broken car window glass on the road doesn’t mean you can hire anyone to do the job. Most of all, you should be extremely cautious about service providers that indulge in a hack job.

Since there are no hard and fast rules or laws to enter the auto window repair industry, anyone can buy the tools and claim to be a technician. There are several dubious and unreliable services that majorly focus on making some quick bucks without actually focusing on the quality of the job done. Repairing or replacing a damaged windshield is a procedure that involves multiple technical details, which require expert attention. A hack job refers to those companies that simply complete the process without paying attention to the details of the task. This leads to poor quality windshield repair and installation, putting your life at risk.

Therefore, don’t just fall for a cheap price and find out exactly who you are hiring for fixing your windshield glass. You should never ever rely on an amateur or an unskilled guy for such a technical job. The company you choose to work with should have a solid reputation and several years of experience.

Instead of hiring someone who indulges in a hack job, you should always hire an auto glass repair specialist. Professionals will evaluate the extent of damage with a high level of accuracy and then advise you on the most ideal options for fixing the damage. A specialist will tell you whether getting a repair is the best option for the long term or whether you should go for an auto glass installation. Most of all, a specialist will perform the entire procedure with utmost attention and dedication, so that you can get back on the road and drive safely again. Hiring an amateur will lead to low quality work or a hack job, putting your life at risk on the road.

Windshield repair specialists such as SIR Auto Glass in the Portland Metro Area offer mobile services for people who are unable to drive their car or SUV to an automotive glass shop, at no additional charge.

Using mobile windshield repair services, you will be able to get the job done right where you are. Whether you have the car at your home or office, mobile technicians will reach your location and carry out the repair or new glass installation there with the same level of professionalism delivered at the shop. This means you can continue with what you are doing while the job is being done.

Hopefully, you have now understood what steps you should follow if the windshield glass of your car or SUV breaks while driving. Keep all these tips in mind, so that you don’t expose yourself to any kind of safety hazard. If you want more details or have a question on this topic, feel free to talk to one of our experts at SIR Auto Glass in the Portland Metro Area. Our services include windshield repair, auto glass installation and free mobile glass services.

To schedule your windshield inspection, you can give us a phone call or write to us using the email given on our website.