Driving any vehicle comes with great responsibility. After all, you're responsible not only for your safety but for those of your passengers, other drivers on the road, and pedestrians. If your car isn't up to code due to unattended issues, you can increase the likelihood of an accident. That's why windshield repair is so important. Here are ways you endanger your safety when you don't get timely windshield repair.

Structural Integrity

Engineers put hundreds of hours into car design, and it's a precise science. Like the human body, each part of your car works together to make it function properly. When one part of your car is damaged or fails, it can have a devastating effect on the rest of the auto body. According to Progressive, you must get a windshield crack fixed if it is over 3/4 inch in diameter or is within 3 inches of another crack. This is because even the smallest crack can affect the entire structural integrity of your car. As that windshield crack grows, it's no longer a supportive part of your car. It weakens the front of your vehicle and increases the chances of it shattering should you get into an accident. The more damage your car suffers in an accident, the more likely you are to get injured.

Visibility

There's a reason why you have mirrors all around your car. It's so that you can have high visibility from the front, side, and back. After all, dangers on the road can happen at any time and from any direction. When any aspect of your visibility is impaired, it affects your safety on the road since you may not be able to react in time. Windshield repair is vital because it's the largest point of view you have in your car. Even the slightest crack can reflect light in a way that can cause a glare. When you have a glare in your eye, it can make it hard to see clearly, and you may not see an obstruction until it's too late.

Risk of Injury

When car accidents occur, it's not just your car or someone else's that can get totaled. You or another person can also suffer major injuries as well as fatalities in the event of a car accident. Car accidents have changed people's lives for the worse, as they have resulted in injuries, disabilities, and, of course, premature death. By getting timely windshield repair, you can prevent your risk of injury by preventing the accident from occurring in the first place.

The risk of injury in a shattered windshield is greater because of the glass. If there's already a crack, it makes it easier for the windshield to shatter upon impact. However, if the windshield was solid, it may be less likely to shatter and more likely to stop whatever debris hit it. This way, you avoid both broken glass and debris from the accident from hitting you or getting inside your vehicle.

Safety Systems

More modern cars come with additional safety systems to make driving safer. You may have paid more money to have a safety system installed, and it would be a shame if you let it go to waste. Your car may have collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, as well as lane departure warnings. These safety systems can save the lives of you and other people on the road. Don't negate their use by keeping unattended cracks in your windshield. Unfortunately, cracks in the front of your glass can do just that. Without windshield repair, you impair your safety system's ability to give you the appropriate warning and their effectiveness will be limited.

As you can see, your windshield is a vital part of your car that you must maintain the integrity of. After all, your windshield is a part of the car you must always look out of when driving on the road. It's hard to be a responsible and safe driver when it's hard for you to see, be warned of possible obstructions, or protect the structural integrity of your car. To give your car the safety it deserves and to make sure that you're driving responsibly, visit Aaron Auto Glass today for professional windshield repair.