What To Do If Your Windscreen Breaks While Driving

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Unfortunately, no matter how cautious a driver you are, if a stone hits your windscreen while you’re out on the road, there’s a good chance that it will do some serious damage. If this has just happened to you, don’t panic – the 1st Call Windscreens team are here to walk you through what you need to know and what you need to do!

Step 1: Stop

what to do if your windscreen breaks whilst driving

If your windscreen has taken damage while you’re out on the road, the first thing you need to do is stop and assess it. So start reducing your speed, look for a safe place to pull over and pop your hazards on. If the damage is severe and obscures your view of the road, the best thing to do is to stay calm and reduce your speed slowly; braking sharply will only catch other motorists unaware and potentially cause an accident.

Once you’ve done that and made sure it’s safe to get out, you can start assessing the damage.

Step 2: Note the severity of the damage

During your assessment, the main things that you want to be looking out for are the severity and spread of the damage, as well as the location.

When it comes to the severity of the damage, we can split this up into three different categories: chips, cracks and shatters.

  • Chipped: if your windscreen is chipped, then the spread of the damage is probably no more than a centimeter or two in length. There’s also a good chance that your windscreen isn’t actually split all the way through – just a small chunk has flown off. So long as the chip isn’t obscuring your vision, you should be OK to drive to a garage to get it fixed.
  • Cracked: cracked windscreens can vary hugely in terms of severity and spread of damage, but usually you can expect a crack to be anywhere from 5-50cm in length. If you’re caught driving with a crack in your windscreen that’s obscuring your view, you could be hit with 3 points on your license and a fine.
  • Shattered: if your windscreen has shattered, it should be fairly obvious what you need to do: stay with your vehicle and call for a repair!

If your windscreen is cracked or shattered, then the best course of action is to call a reputable windscreen repair company for mobile windscreen repair.

Step 3: Note the location of the damage

what to do if you windscreen breaks whilst driving

Your windscreen can be split up into four different zones: A, B, C and D. Zones A and B make up what you could call the driver’s field of vision, with A taking up the middle and B taking up both sides. If your windscreen has taken damage anywhere in zones A and B, then we would recommend that you don’t drive any further unless you absolutely have to.

If your windscreen has taken damage in zone C (the passenger’s field of vision) or zone D (the upper perimeter of the windscreen), then assuming that your windscreen hasn’t completely shattered, endangering you and other motorists, then you should be able to drive to a safe location, assuming you feel confident enough to do so.

Remember: if you’re in any doubt at all, it’s better to just remain where you are and call for assistance.

Step 4: Call for a repair

If your windscreen is cracked or shattered, then the best course of action is to call for mobile windscreen repair and get the problem sorted as soon as possible. A reputable company like us here at 1st Call Windscreens will be able to meet you at your location, safely remove any broken glass and fit a new windscreen there and then – allowing you to make your journey home.

1st Call Windscreens offer emergency mobile windscreen repairs to all customers located in the areas of Maidstone, Sittingbourne and the rest of Kent. Our team will be able to meet you at your location as soon as possible and carry out a precision repair, allowing you to be on your way.

If you’ve experienced a damaged windscreen, don’t stress, just call 1st Call Windscreens.

Posted by: 1st Call Windscreens

We are proud to be a leading windscreen company covering our local areas of Maidstone, Sittingbourne and the rest of Kent since 1996. Our 25+ years experience in windscreen services includes windscreen repair and replacement for cars, vans, trucks and more! Our expert technicians hold the relevant qualifications so you can rest easy knowing that your windscreen is in safe hands.

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