Arizona windshield crack repair law states that it’s illegal to drive your vehicle if there’s auto glass damage that obstructs the driver’s vision. Law enforcement generally operates under the understanding that any crack over ¼ of an inch wide is considered significant enough to impair the driver’s vision. That being said, there’s no clear specification about what kind of damage actually impairs your vision, other than the crack size specified above.
But, of course, we know the real question on your mind: “so, how much would this fine cost me?”. Well, if you get a ticket for disobeying Arizona’s windshield damage law, you’re looking at a deficit of $100 to $150 from your budget, so it’s best not to risk it. We understand you might be frustrated that this law even exists, but it’s really in place to protect you. Yes, it’s your choice to drive with a cracked windshield, but you wouldn’t be endangering just yourself.
This law exists not only to protect you, but also your passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers on the road. If you’re still not convinced that this law is reasonable, we’ve prepared a few reasons why you should repair your windshield down below. Also, keep in mind that if you choose to work with us in this regard, your windshield chip repair cost is going to be the grand total of $0 Out-of-Pocket!
Safety Risks of Driving With a Cracked Windshield
Firstly and most obvious of all, a cracked windshield can interfere with your vision of the road. It’s simply an added distraction, as it’s always there, and you’re tempted to shift your gaze to it from time to time. This aspect makes it more likely that you’ll divide your focus between the crack and the road, not noticing certain possibly dangerous events fast enough.
At worst, you can get into an accident. If your windshield is already cracked when a collision occurs, the front end of the car may collapse in on the passengers more than it’s designed to.
This is because your windshield plays a huge role in protecting the structural integrity of your vehicle, and it’s actually responsible for 45%-60% of it. If its shape and strength are compromised, then it can’t efficiently distribute force away from you and the other passengers in your car anymore. As a result, an accident is way more likely to crush the windshield and splash shards of glass towards the inside, seriously placing everyone in the vehicle in peril.
Yes, windshields are designed to stay together as much as possible in the event of a collision, but only if they’re in a pristine condition. Windshields go as far as to even aid the proper deployment of airbags. If the windshield bursts inwards, then the airbag won’t be of much help to you either, as its primary function is heavily impaired. This is why there’s a fine in place if your OEM’s specifications no longer apply to your vehicle’s glass, and you didn’t go for a windshield crack repair either.
Getting a Ticket vs Getting a Windshield Crack Repair
We know that all of the above sound very scary, but we just want to make sure that we’re being crystal clear about why windshield repairs & replacements are crucial. You might look at that tiny, tiny chip on your windshield and think that we’re being way too extreme, but that tiny chip will sadly degrade into something worse before long. That’s because of an effect called “spider-webbing”.
This is what we call the nature of chips to steadily turn into a single, long crack, or multiple shorter ones. Those cracks then spread to the corners of your auto glass. The reasons why this happens are many: dust & debris accumulation, differences in temperature which affect the structure the glass, the glass being subjected to both temperature ranges at once (hot on the outside, cold on the inside from the AC), and so on.
The good news is that auto glass damage is easily solvable, as long as the people handling those procedures are experts in their field. At ProLite Auto Glass, all of our certified technicians have over 10 years of experience, and have already handled glass repairs & replacements for a wide variety of vehicle brands.
Moreover, we have over 30,000 satisfied customers, so you can be sure we mean business. If you’d like to get in touch with our friendly customer care team, you can reach us at (480) 525-6554, and instead of a $100 fine, your insurance will cover everything, resulting in $0 Out-of-Pocket windshield chip repair cost!
