Better Safe Now Than Sorry Later

Most people don’t give a second thought to the crucial role that an automotive windshield plays in the ability to drive safely.  The conventional thinking is “if I can see through it, everything is fine.”  However, a windshield is every bit as imperative to overall safety as seat belts, anti-lock brakes, air bags and other devices that we automatically associate with safety on the road.

Another thing that most people don’t realize is that serious and sometimes deadly mishaps can occur if the right measures are not taken to maximize a windshield’s ability to perform to its optimal safety level.  Among the potential dangers are: road debris hitting the windshield; rain, ice and snow limiting sight distance and slowing braking time; and faulty installations of replacement windshields which can compromise the structural integrity of a vehicle and pose severe and possibly catastrophic danger to drivers, passengers and surrounding traffic.

Road Debris – Trouble Just Waiting To Happen

25,000 crashes annually and up to 90 deaths

As its names implies, a windshield provides protection from winds that increase dramatically as speed increases.  But more than that, a windshield must be able to withstand the ever-present possibility of stones, pebbles and other debris being instantaneously thrown like rocketing projectiles against the glass.

In a recent research study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it was reported that debris on roadways causes 25,000 crashes each year and up to 90 deaths in the United States and Canada alone.  Furthermore, the Federal Highway Administration reports that accidents resulting from debris on road surfaces occur at an alarming average of 68 per day.  Included among the more dangerous kinds of road debris identified in a survey of government transportation officials were pieces of gravel, which when kicked in the air by vehicles traveling at highway speeds can become flying missiles of destruction that could smash against a windshield with phenomenal force and cause cracks in the glass that might eventually spread or perhaps shatter the windshield unpredictably.

One of the ways to help prevent that possibility is for car buyers to ask for newly developed high-tech automotive aftersale products that have been engineered to strengthen glass and prevent damage to windshields caused by road debris.  One such product is Diamon-Fusion®, a patented, innovative and award-winning scientific advancement in glass treatment technology that deflects small road debris and is guaranteed against small cracks and chips.

Limited Visibility, Increased Stopping Time In Rain and Snow – The Cold Facts

On wet pavement stopping time increases 35%;In snow the increase is 136%

According to Edmunds.com, a leading online resource for automotive information, a vehicle traveling at 60 MPH will cover a distance of approximately 88 feet per second.  More important, stopping that vehicle, under normal and dry road conditions, takes in excess of 4.5 seconds and covers a distance of approximately 271 feet (nearly the length of a football field).  Add wet conditions like rain, snow and ice, and the numbers change radically.  On wet pavement, the stopping time expands to 6.1 seconds (an increase of 35%) and the distance needed to stop increases to 333 feet, while on snowy roads, total stopping time climbs to 10.6 seconds (an increase of 136%) and the distance jumps to 533 feet.

Of course, all these numbers are based on a driver’s ability to react to a braking situation in the first place, something that depends directly on visibility.  Researchers have estimated that it takes the average driver three-quarters of a second just to perceive a braking event then another three-quarters of a second to initiate braking, for a total of 1.5 seconds, provided the driver sees the event clearly through their windshield.  The good news is, certain glass treatment products have been shown to significantly enhance visibility, as demonstrated in a study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute – an independent group which found that a glass treatment applied to the windshield improves visual awareness nearly 34% over an untreated windshield.

Once again, car and truck drivers can give themselves a considerable safety advantage by asking their automotive dealership to treat the windshield with Diamon-Fusion®, a unique process that molecularly fuses with glass to form a hydrophobic barrier so that water beads up and rolls away.  Diamon-Fusion® has been shown in certified testing to improve windshield clarity, increase driver visibility and enhance safety.

Replacement Windshield Installations – A Life or Death Situation?

Up to 70% of installations may be unsafe

ABC television network’s 20/20 news magazine recently reported that replacement windshields could be of grave danger to motorists, mainly because those windshields may not be installed correctly.  According to the program, “the difference between a properly affixed windshield and a poor job can be the difference between life and death.”

Scary as it may seem, industry watchdogs have said that literally millions of replacement windshields might not be installed in the right way, a number that may involve as many as 7 out of 10 installations.  Large percentages of faulty installations are likely unintentional however – attributed to the fact that car owners and insurance companies routinely place unreasonable and sometimes unachievable time constraints on installers, which in turn can lead to oversights in the installation process.  For example, in some instances the windshield is not sealed adequately, thus creating a greater risk of the windshield falling out under the pressure of a crash or becoming dislodged due to the wind forces of high-speed freeway driving.  Experts also say that failure to wear rubber gloves when handling the windshield could be a contributor to faulty installations because oil from the installers’ hands can reduce the bonding strength of adhesives that hold windshields securely in place.  Other problems may occur when a secondary primer that aids in completing the bonding process is not used, or, when a dirty rag is utilized to clean the windshield...inadvertently contaminating the bonding surface.

The fact is, federal regulators do not monitor windshields that are not installed as original equipment, something that seems unbelievable when you consider that the structural integrity of a vehicle’s roof is dependent to a large extent on the windshield.  The best advice from safety experts?  Consumers should do whatever they can to preserve the factory’s original windshield installation.

Again, one of the best ways to strengthen, protect and preserve a windshield is to insist on products specifically designed to enhance glass performance.  Diamon-Fusion® glass treatment is patented and available in more than 30 countries, tested and shown to extend the durability of glass.  By getting their windshield treated with Diamon-Fusion®, a vehicle owner can avoid the dangerous prospect of having a replacement windshield installed.

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Diamon-Fusion® is available at car dealerships and through automotive aftermarket suppliers across the United States .For the Diamon-Fusion® dealer or supplier nearest them, consumers can call 1-866-Diamon-1 (1-800-342-6661) or visit www.diamon-fusionUSA.com.    back

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