There are many theories bandied around about the importance of windscreens relative to vehicle safety.

Based on my own experience, your windscreen has an enormous impact on potentially protecting you in an accident. According to the Victorian Motor Vehicle Chamber of Commerce (VACC), your windscreen provides up to 47% of your vehicle’s structural integrity.

What does this mean?

Your vehicle’s structural integrity refers to the strength of your vehicle – particularly when

involved in an accident. Imagine reducing the strength of your vehicle by almost half and how that would reduce your vehicle’s ability to protect you.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen many vehicles literally crushed as the result of a serious accident. In the event of an accident, a damaged windscreen can significantly diminish your level of protection and unfortunately, his often results in serious injury or death.

Apart from the level of devastation caused in these situations, the truly sad thing is that a significant proportion of these injuries and/or deaths could most likely have been prevented – only if the driver had realised the significance of his or her windscreen.

The other important thing to note here is that a chipped or cracked windscreen can impair your vision and for obvious reasons, this is a major cause of accidents.

It’s extremely important that you understand when your vehicle’s windscreen can be repaired and when it must be replaced. This depends on the type and extent of damage and while there are generally accepted standards that dictate what action is required, unfortunately many windscreen fitters are not sufficiently experienced or skilled to know the difference.

When do you need to replace your windscreen?

Generally speaking, a severely cracked, chipped, scratched (or otherwise damaged) windscreen MUST be replaced.

Based on NSW Vehicle Standards Information, the area of the windscreen in front of the driver extending across to the centre line of the vehicle is only allowed to have two of the following defects:

• A hairline crack up to 30mm long
• A crack from the edge up to 75mm long
• A ‘bullseye’ crack up to 16mm diameter

The ‘bottom’ line’ here is that in the interests of your safety, you MUST inspect your windscreen AND if you have any doubts, give us a call and we’ll inspect it FREE of charge and give you the very best advice…based on my 26 years’ experience. We service the Gold Coast and Yatala region, and specialize in repair and replacement of windscreens for your cars, vans & trucks.

Don’t wait until you have reason to regret inaction. When it comes to your safety, I can tell you from many years of personal experience, prevention is definitely better than cure!

If you believe your windscreen is damaged or needs replacing I can perform a free of charge inspections on the Gold Coast or Yatala as well as carry out a ‘7 Point Safety Check’ to give you the peace of mind that you have done everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones.

A broken or damaged windscreen is dangerous to you, your family, and the general public.

Unfortunately, far too many drivers on the Gold Coast and Yatala give little thought to the overall safety of the vehicle they drive AND rarely (if ever) do they give even a moment’s thought to the serious impact a damaged windscreen can have on their safety and the safety of their families.

As a panel beater with twenty years’ experience, I’ve seen the results of this lack of attention to safety AND…it’s not pretty! I’ve lost count of the number of ‘mang24led’ – almost unrecognisable vehicles I’ve seen – the outcome of tragic and serious motor vehicle accidents.  I’ve witnessed first-hand, families torn apart in an instant through serious trauma and (unfortunately) death.

My understanding of motor vehicles both as a Panel Beater – having built vehicles from the ground up – and six years as a Windscreen Technician, give me the essential and rare knowledge required to truly understand how critical a ‘perfectly’ fitted and/or repaired windscreen is to your road safety.

My focus is your safety.

When you’re having, your windscreen repaired or replaced, unless your windscreen repairer/fitter has had the type of experience I’ve had, they can’t possibly be expected to understand the critical impact a faulty windscreen has on your driving safety.

In some ways, it’s a shame that you can’t see what I’ve seen – families torn apart, innocent people seriously injured and/or killed. In other ways, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone because I can tell you…it impacts your life forever.

Remember to think about your safety and the safety of others. While it’s not always possible to prevent accidents, there are many things you can do to protect yourself and your family & being aware of the potential dangers goes a long way towards prevention.

There is no doubt that a defective windscreen can have serious consequences for you and your family including serious injury or death.

Your windscreen is an integral part of your vehicle’s safety restraint system and when it’s defective, your safety is endangered.

However, there is a simple solution. Contact a professional and highly skilled Windscreen Technician to arrange a safety inspection.

I conduct these inspections free of charge & I’ll also carry out a ‘7 Point Safety Check’ to give you the peace of mind that you have done everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones. Whether it’s your car or truck that requires its windscreen repaired or replaced on the Gold Coast or Yatala, we can help!

I’m sure you’re aware that your motor vehicle has air bags and that their main job is to protect you, particularly your head. In the unfortunate event of an accident.

However, I’m just as certain that the majority of drivers are not aware of the impact of a damaged windscreen on their air bags.

Airbags form part of the safety restraint system of your vehicle and are designed to deploy against the windscreen, guiding it into the correct position thus protecting you.

If your windscreen is damaged, your safety restraint system may not operate as it should…or at all.

Some US based statistics describe how more than 30 percent of fatalities occur as a result of occupants being either ejected from their vehicle or injured during roll-overs. A damaged windscreen can be the direct cause of this.

Your windscreen supports the roof of your vehicle and when your windscreen is damaged, the support system of your vehicle is compromised…this is when serious injury or death occurs – as a result of ‘crushing’.

While the main method of restraint is your seat belt, your airbag is just as important, given that its focus is to protect you from head-related injury.

One of the most common injuries resulting from airbag failure is traumatic brain injury. This makes sense when you consider the severe impact on your head when it collides with your windscreen without the intervention of an air bag.

Your airbag is designed to inflate toward you. However, when the windscreen is cracked or chipped, it is significantly weakened and when the air bag inflates, it may push the windscreen out thus inflating away from you. It’s not difficult to imagine the implications on your safety when this occurs.

Your windscreen, seat belts and airbags are designed to work together to protect you from injury.  If any one of them is damaged, it reduces your overall safety and increases the likelihood of serious injury.

Prevention is always better than cure! Have your motor vehicle’s windscreen checked by an experienced and professional Windscreen Technician. I accept that we can’t eliminate the possibility of an accident, however, a safety check will give you peace of mind that you’ve done all you can to protect yourself and your family.

Don’t Mess with your Insurance

Are you aware that vehicle defects potentially affect your comprehensive insurance? In the event of an accident – particularly serious accident, insurance companies often investigate the cause. If your vehicle is found to have been defective AND that defect caused the accident, you may not be covered.

This not only affects your health and financial well-being, if other people are involved in the accident, it may also affect their health and financial well-being.

The moral of this story is… don’t mess around with your insurance by neglecting your vehicle’s safety. It could cost you big time – impacting your entire life and the lives of others.

Your windscreen is an integral part of your vehicle’s safety restraint system and when it’s defective, your safety is endangered.

However, on the positive side, the solution is simple. Contact a professional and highly skilled Windscreen Technician to arrange a safety inspection. I conduct these inspections free of charge AND I’ll also carry out a ‘7 Point Safety Check’ to give you the peace of mind that you have done everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Whether it’s your car, van or truck, we offer windscreen repair and replacement throughout the Gold Coast and Yatala region.

Damaged Windscreens Can Incur on The Spot Fines of Up To $300 PLUS The Loss of One Point

Every state of Australia has different laws related to the level of fines and loss of points.

Based on Queensland state law, if your windscreen does not meet required safety standards, there is an ‘on-the-spot’ fine of up to $300 PLUS the loss of one point from your driver’s license.

This in itself should be enough to encourage you to have your windscreen checked by a professional. However, money and loss of points is not a death sentence and therefore is relatively minor in comparison to the consequences resulting from road accidents.

Just consider for a moment…the cost of replacing your windscreen is (on a car & depending on the model you drive), around $300! The same amount as the potential fine & you don’t lose points from your driver’s license. Additionally, you may be covered under your comprehensive insurance policy, so it may well cost you nothing.

So, if you have any doubts about the structural integrity of your windscreen, it makes sense to have your windscreen professionally inspected. All you need to do is call me and I’ll inspect your windscreen free of charge, no obligation; no ‘hard-sell’. My slogan is “Your Safety Is Our Vision” and having seen what I have over the past 26 years, I’m very serious about motor vehicle safety.

The other way to look at it is, the potential devastation caused by a motor vehicle accident and not just major accidents… I’ve seen serious injuries resulting from minor accidents.

If you or your family drive a motor vehicle, I encourage you to make a quick and simple phone call to arrange your professional inspection.  Whether you choose to call me or someone else, PLEASE DO IT! It could save your life or the life of someone you love.

Whoever you choose, just make sure they have the skills and experience necessary to give you well informed and professional advice.

I’ll be upfront with you here…I am keen to get your business & I have the necessary experience to ensure your auto-glass is safe and will ‘do its job’ in the unfortunate event of a motor vehicle accident.

Don’t leave the safety of you and your family to ‘chance’.

Give me a call and take advantage of my FREE ‘7 Point Safety Check’. We offer windscreen repair and replacement for cars throughout the Gold Coast and Yatala, We also repair and replace windscreens on trucks as well.