A minor chip or crack in your car's windshield may not seem very important, as it doesn't interfere with your ability to start your car and drive it down the road. Many drivers put off repairing this type of damage simply because it seems so minor, but this can be a mistake. Your car's windshield is more important to your overall safety than you may realize, and there are other reasons to consider having the damage repaired as soon as possible, even if it's a small chip or crack. Note the following.

1. Your car's windshield helps keep you safe

A car's windshield does more than just keep bugs out of your teeth; it actually helps to support the roof of the car in case of a rollover accident so that the roof doesn't just buckle and collapse. In turn, you're protected from serious injury and from being crushed in the car. If your car is hit from ahead or behind, the windshield also helps to keep you from flying out of the cab of the car, and this too protects you from serious injury.

When a windshield is cracked or chipped, its strength and integrity is then compromised. It's more likely to collapse during a rollover accident, allowing the roof to cave in. You may also fly out of the cab of the car when you hit the windshield, or it may shatter during a collision and you could be injured by flying glass. This is one reason to get your windshield fixed even if it has minor damage or a small chip or crack.

Along with keeping you safe during an accident, your visibility may be compromised even by a small chip or crack in your windshield. This too can be more dangerous than you realize; if even a small part of a road is blocked when you look out your windshield, you may miss a car entering an intersection or a pedestrian stepping into the street and cause an accident.

2. The repair could get worse over time

A small chip or crack in your windshield may be filled in with a type of resin that dries and becomes invisible. However, if you keep driving your car with this chip or crack, it could spread across the entire windshield. In turn, you may need the windshield replaced altogether. This is a much more expensive repair job, which is another reason to have a small chip or crack repaired as soon as possible.

For more information about windshield repair, contact a business such as Precision Windscreens & Autoglass.

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