Some of the first automobiles did not even have windshields. Originally, they were called motorized carriages. Everyone was used to horseback travel and horse-drawn carriages. The automobile was a novelty for many years. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that windshields began to be more commonplace on the automobile. As the technology evolved and the speed and range of the automobile increased there was more demand for comfort and utility. By the late 1910s, the windshield was a luxury to have on more expensive cars. By the 1920s the windshield was a standard feature on most cars.
Windshields First Use
Windshields originally weren’t used because of safety concerns. In the early days of the automobile, the max speed was very low. The very first motorized carriage had a max speed of about 10mph. For this reason, the risk of injury or death was much lower. When you add glass to the equation it could turn a simple fender bender into a deadly accident. This was before the time of laminated windshields or tempered auto glass. As glass began to evolve and improve in durability and strength, the utility of it became must greater.
Windshield Uses
Windshields provide structural integrity to the automobile. Windshields serve many purposes in the automobile, but of the most important are the structural components that it possesses. In the event of an accident where the car rolls over, the windshield provides support between the roof and the rest of the body of the car. The windshield is also vital to the car’s airbags working property. The airbags use the windshield to properly angle towards the passengers when they deploy. These safety issues are the number one reason you should always exercise adequate windshield and auto glass maintenance. Even a small chip or crack in your car’s windshield can cause major safety issues or major financial issues down the road. We also encourage you to contact windshield repair Edmond anytime you find yourself with a chipped or cracked windshield or auto glass.
How Glass Shatters
Auto glass is supposed to shatter. Laminated glass is not. Your car has two types of glass on it. First, it has the laminated glass for the front windshield and read windshield. The laminated glass is designed to never shatter. It will bend and flex before it shatters. This is because, as we mentioned before, the windshields possess structural components. The rest of the auto glass, however, is made of tempered glass. Tempered glass is much stronger to blunt force impact. However, if the tempered glass is struck by something sharp then it is designed to shatter into many tiny pieces. When standard glass shatters it shatters into large sharp shards of glass, which could be dangerous in a car accident. Tempered glass is designed to shatter into tiny pieces reducing the likelihood of laceration in the event of a serious accident.