Windshield

A small amount of wind and fresh air entering the vehicle usually feels good, naturally refreshing the driver and the passengers inside the vehicle. But a large amount of wind entering inside the car can be a bit annoying, especially when it blows directly at the face of driver and the front passengers. That’s why vehicles are equipped with windows and window regulators so that passengers can control the amount of wind coming inside the vehicle. More importantly, every vehicle is equipped with a windshield that can keep strong winds from rushing into the vehicle’s passenger compartment.

The windshield is the glass panel attached to the windshield panel of a vehicle, covering the front of the driver and front passenger. The primary function of the windshield is to protect the occupants of the vehicle from wind, precipitations and airborne road debris like dust, rocks, and insects. Modern windshields are also designed to protect the vehicle occupants during accidents, keeping them safe from most injuries and preventing them from being ejected out of the windshield.

Windshields used on older vehicles are quite different from the windshields used for vehicles today. Formerly, windshields were made only of a piece of glass. Some of them are even hinged, allowing the passengers to fold them on the hood or open them up whenever they want to. Also popular for older vehicles are windshields made of two pieces of glass, one for the left and another for the right. While these windshields are enough to protect passengers from wind and other stuffs, they are proven dangerous in case of accidents.

To avoid the glasses from shattering in large pieces during accidents, the conventional windshield glasses used on old vehicles were replaced with toughened glasses. This type of windshield breaks into small pieces in the event of impact. Toughened windshields, however, were soon replaced in favor of laminated windshields. The preferred type of windshield for most vehicles today, laminated windshields are made of two curved glass with a rubbery plastic laminate sandwiched between the two. The plastic laminate is also often tinted to reduce the heat in the passenger’s compartment.