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I was just heading up through the Lakes this morning to work when there was a loud crack, and a line appeared right across 3/4 of my windscreen. It starts on the passenger side base roughly in the middle of where the wiper sits, heads up 4 or 5 inches, then turns 90 degrees and heads across the drivers side ending 3 or 4 inches from the A pillar.
Came straight home, phoned the insurance and they can't replace it until next Thursday due to the cold weather induced workload, and finding an appropriate windscreen (Kwik Fit insurance).
So... can I drive with it (my gut instinct is no)... as it kind of scuppers my working for the next week as I travel all over the place on site visits (yesterday was 240 miles for instance). If the weather was better I would be able to use it as an excuse to break out the Triumph, but snow/ice and motorbikes isn't the best of combinations!
I would say yes OK to drive as long is its not right in your line of sight, but bear in mind that if you run the windscreen heaters it may grow. Old my old van I watched the crack grow each morning for two weeks each time I turned the heating up 🙂
It's not directly in my line of sight, but it is distracting - it was catching the sun very noticeably this morning!
Not running windscreen heaters... in this weather... lol 😉 If it grows much more it will hit the A pillar, and I seem to recall that becomes a serious issue then!
I wouldn't if its 3/4 way across. Thats probably about as bad as it could get without it completely shattering. I'd hate it to break completely and make the car undrivable when I was on a motorway or back road miles from home in the snow etc etc.
I'd verge towards no. Likely to get worse isn't it with all the freezing and expansion of water in the crack?
Windscreens also provide a lot of strength if you happen to have a nasty accident.
Hmmm... I may be forced into a week off work at this rate!
Err - hire a car?
Yeah - was toying with that one... though most of them aren't too happy when you return a car or van that has had sewage pumps in the back 😉
Hire a van?
IIRC it's an offence to drive with a cracked windscreen.
and how would you get a sewage pump in/on the back of the motorbike?
It would fail an MOT and the police could nick you for it. It severly weakens the windscreen so if some thing hit it, its more likely to come through and do damage to you.
Plus in the cold weather its likely to crack further.
Can you get back on to insurance and say that the car is dangerous to drive and can you have a courtesy car. Mind you if you do that they will probably put it as a proper claim and would cost you more than just hiring a car!
It's unlikely to fail, assuming it's laminated. I drove with a similarly knackered windscreen for a couple of weeks with absolutely no drama.
Not that I'd recommend it, mind you.
smash the window out and cover your face with clingfilm.... sorted.
When mine cracked similarly the windscreen place told me that modern windscreens are absolutely safe when cracked as they're laminated, and to just carry on as normal till they could replace it. I didn't even have to ask, it was the first thing they said.
Maybe ask the people that are doing yours
Was in the back of a car on a motorway when the windscreen shattered.
Stayed in one piece but completly crazed over.
Driver put his fist through the windscreen and drove on with sunglasses on.
Progressively more glass was coming in so he had to stop..
This was an old van though.
IIRC it's an offence to drive with a cracked windscreen.
My car has passed several MOTs with a cracked windscreen. Nowhere near 3/4s though.
When mine cracked similarly the windscreen place told me that modern windscreens are absolutely safe when cracked as they're laminated, and to just carry on as normal till they could replace it. I didn't even have to ask, it was the first thing they said.
Maybe ask the people that are doing yours
The guy that fixed my windscreen said the same thing. It's only cracked on one side of the laminate. The other side is still intact.
My laminated windscreen cracked on both sides. Still, it was perfectly drivable for a long time.
They said it was safe to drive... problem is plod may not agree, and since we are in December now the random spot checks may well be on the brink of starting up, so I am a wee bit reluctant to drive about the place!
The replacement is booked - for 1pm next Thursday.