Love your windshield! It’s key for your car’s structural integrity and protects you. Besides keeping your windshield clean, your windshield wipers in good condition and your washer fluid always filled, here are 5 useful and easy tips to prevent damage:
Take the back roads and avoid busy roads to avoid the likelihood of chips
Freeways and interstates have a high volume of cars that want to get to their destination as soon as possible. The likelihood of getting a windshield chip or crack while traveling on a busy road is higher, due to the dirt and debris from other vehicles. If time allows, choose the less trafficked route to minimize the chance of your windshield getting damaged. Also, as a plus, enjoy the views and unique experiences that these back roads can offer.
Slow down and drive carefully
When your car’s forward movement meets with a rock, pebble, or other piece of debris, damage can happen. So, the less speed your car has, the less likely your windshield will get damaged. What we recommend is mainly observing speed limits and driving carefully according to the weather.
Keep your distance
Along with observing speed limits, keeping your distance is key. When driving on busy roads, maintain a good distance between you and all the surrounding cars- This is especially valid with large trucks and construction vehicles. So, what is a good distance? Try to maintain a 3-second following distance[1] or more whenever possible. Calculating this rule is fairly simple. Basically, you should allow three full seconds between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. You can do this by using a specific point ahead such as a sign that you see on the side of the road, and then count “one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three.”
Park indoors or in the shade
Temperature fluctuations can cause both your glass and metal to expand and contract, over time this can lead to a pressure crack. So, parking indoors or in the shade allows you to protect your windshield from being damaged.
Avoid gravel when possible
A leading cause of windshield damage is debris and other small materials such as gravel or other small rocks. Our recommendation is to first avoid gravel roads and if not possible, then drive slowly and keep your distance.
Call Us Today
As a leader in windshield repair, we guarantee that our repair to your chipped or cracked windshield will be perfect and permanent! If it can’t be repaired, we can replace it using only high-quality glass and adhesives produced in the U.S. When you need expert advice, contact SuperGlass321 at 321.223.4106
[1] https://www.drivesafeonline.org/defensive-driving/safe-following-distance-and-the-3-second-rule/