20 Aug Fix chips fast!

A chip in your windscreen may be easy to dismiss – especially when it appears small and doesn’t seem to affect your view of the road. But that little chip may not stay little.

However it happens, a windscreen chip may seem harmless, but leaving it unattended can turn a quick repair job into a full windscreen replacement, costing far more and compromising your safety. The Automobile Association (AA) advises motorists to check their windscreens regularly and warns that a small chip could potentially become a much larger crack and a safety issue.

A damaged windscreen = a major safety risk

Your windscreen is not simply there to keep wind, rain and dust out of the vehicle and to ensure the driver has a clear view of the road. It is an important component of your vehicle that forms part of the vehicle’s safety system. A damaged windscreen can:

• obstruct or distort your view, particularly if the damage is in your line of sight;
• create distracting reflections and glare, especially when driving at night;
• allow a small chip to develop into a much larger crack;
• weaken the integrity of the glass; and
• become a greater problem if the vehicle is involved in a collision.

According to Arrive Alive: “In today’s vehicles, windscreens are an important component of the vehicle’s overall structural integrity – they are designed to add strength to the car (like a door pillar). When designed in compliance with the car manufacturer’s original specifications your windscreen will help prevent the roof from collapsing in a rollover accident. Modern cars fitted with airbags use the windscreen as a support surface against which the passenger airbag inflates. The windscreen helps ensure that the airbag is properly positioned to protect the occupants when it deploys. A badly fitted windscreen may pop out when subjected to airbag pressure, thus rendering both airbag and windscreen useless.”

Don’t wait for the crack

There are two types of chips in a windscreen: those resulting from a sudden impact such as from a stone, and long-term degradation through multiple tiny scratches caused by flying dust and dirt. Even the use of windscreen wipers can be a factor as they may damage the windscreen over time by scratching tiny particles across the surface. This is especially true when:

• the wiper blade rubber is worn, exposing the windscreen to the bare metal of the wiper/s;
• windscreen wipers are used on dry windscreens;
• dirt is allowed to collect on windscreen wiper blades;
• grime and particles are allowed to collect on the windscreen.

One of the biggest mistakes motorists make is assuming that a chip will remain unchanged until it is convenient to deal with it. It may not.

Temperature fluctuations can place stress on damaged glass, while bumps and jarring, vibration and further impacts can cause an existing chip in a windscreen to spread. Even using hot or warm water on a cold windscreen can cause the glass to crack; the AA advises motorists to use a scraper rather than warm water when removing frost.

Once a crack has travelled across the windscreen, you could be looking at a total replacement rather than a repair – meaning more time off the road and potentially a substantially bigger claim.

A benefit for Safire clients

If you’re a Safire client, there’s an added incentive to deal with a windscreen chip promptly. Under Safire’s Domestic Signature cover, eligible windscreen chip repairs are subject to a nil excess, while in the absence of any form of excess waiver, windscreen or window-glass replacement carries a 25% of gross claim excess. So, having a chip repaired before it spreads could not only help keep you safer on the road, but could also save you the cost and inconvenience of a full windscreen replacement.

A small repair can make a big difference

The message is simple: don’t ignore windscreen damage. If you notice a chip in the glass, have it assessed by a qualified, Safire-approved windscreen repairer as soon as possible. Thirty per cent of the time a chipped windscreen can be easily and effectively repaired before the damage worsens. However, not every chip can be repaired – the size, position, depth and type of damage will determine whether repair is appropriate – but getting it assessed promptly gives you the best chance of dealing with a minor problem before it becomes a major one.

Please note: The information contained in this article is not offered as ‘advice’ in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 2002 as amended, and policyholders should consult with their intermediaries and the policy wording to ensure a full and complete understanding of the cover offered to them in terms of the Safire policy of insurance.