Visit to Autoglass for windscreen replacement - but it's illegal to drive with a cracked windscreen.

Maz1963

Hi. Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position.  Got a big chip on my windscreen from a stone thrown up by a passing lorry earlier in the week.  The cracks around the original chip are slowly spreading all across my windscreen.  I have the car booked in to Autoglass on Monday, and have to take it to them as all the connections to the safety features have to be recalibrated. I just checked and it's illegal to drive with a crack obscuring the driver's view. Which they definitely are.  I haven't phoned my insurance company or the AA yet for advice. Not sure if either would fund transport on the back of a truck to Autoglass?  I'm tempted to just take a chance, it's a 20 minute drive. But Sod's Law says there will be an eagle eyed policeman lurking somewhere who will stop me and fine me.  The cracks are far more visible from the inside than the outside, but I'm sure there will be a lot more of them by Monday!

neilmcl

Unless it's impossible to see, no copper is going to stop you from going direct to a place of repair.

Grumpy_chap

I'm inclined to agree with Neil, but it depends on how bad the cracking is.  Big difference between one single crack across the screen and a wholly shattered screen.  Obviously, you will pre-book to the windscreen repair company prior to setting off.

If the screen is truly so bad that you cannot drive safely, then it is down to calling your breakdown service or paying directly for recovery.  If the costs are high, then consider whether an insurance claim is worthwhile (though I would not expect this to be the case).

Belenus

Maz1963 said:

Hi. Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position.  Got a big chip on my windscreen from a stone thrown up by a passing lorry earlier in the week.  The cracks around the original chip are slowly spreading all across my windscreen.  I have the car booked in to Autoglass on Monday, and have to take it to them as all the connections to the safety features have to be recalibrated. I just checked and it's illegal to drive with a crack obscuring the driver's view. Which they definitely are.  I haven't phoned my insurance company or the AA yet for advice. Not sure if either would fund transport on the back of a truck to Autoglass?  I'm tempted to just take a chance, it's a 20 minute drive. But Sod's Law says there will be an eagle eyed policeman lurking somewhere who will stop me and fine me.  The cracks are far more visible from the inside than the outside, but I'm sure there will be a lot more of them by Monday!

It is very unlikely that you will be spotted and stopped, and extremely unlikely that you will be fined if you are polite and respectful and explain that the cracks have got worse since you left home to a pre booked appointment to have a chip repaired.

Anyway, any fine is likely to be less than the cost of having the car transported so you only have any points to worry about.

If you feel that it is safe to drive the car then do it.  Drive carefully and within all speed limits.

If in Monday morning the cracks are so bad that driving would be unsafe than make other arrangements.

Good luck.

daivid

Remove windscreen, wear a crash helmet and hope it doesn't rain!?

Or as others have said; are you confident visibility is good enough to drive safely? If so, take it easy, watch out for pot holes/speed bumps and don't slam any doors.

DB1904

Belenus said:

Maz1963 said:

Hi. Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position.  Got a big chip on my windscreen from a stone thrown up by a passing lorry earlier in the week.  The cracks around the original chip are slowly spreading all across my windscreen.  I have the car booked in to Autoglass on Monday, and have to take it to them as all the connections to the safety features have to be recalibrated. I just checked and it's illegal to drive with a crack obscuring the driver's view. Which they definitely are.  I haven't phoned my insurance company or the AA yet for advice. Not sure if either would fund transport on the back of a truck to Autoglass?  I'm tempted to just take a chance, it's a 20 minute drive. But Sod's Law says there will be an eagle eyed policeman lurking somewhere who will stop me and fine me.  The cracks are far more visible from the inside than the outside, but I'm sure there will be a lot more of them by Monday!

It is very unlikely that you will be spotted and stopped, and extremely unlikely that you will be fined if you are polite and respectful and explain that the cracks have got worse since you left home to a pre booked appointment to have a chip repaired.

Anyway, any fine is likely to be less than the cost of having the car transported so you only have any points to worry about.

If you feel that it is safe to drive the car then do it.  Drive carefully and within all speed limits.

If in Monday morning the cracks are so bad that driving would be unsafe than make other arrangements.

Good luck.

Whilst I agree it's unlikely the OP will be stopped, it's not the best advice to start lying if they are stopped. 

Norman_Castle

I got stopped with an 18 inch crack. 14 days to repair, provide proof from an mot test centre and avoid a fine. 

tr7phil

I remember in the 1970s my grandparents had an emergency plastic windscreen that rolled up in the boot, this was back in the days of toughened rather than laminated windscreens so they used to shatter into small cubes of glass.  I'm now wondering what happened to it, that would be an interesting motoring artifact.

Maz1963

Everything turned out fine and I have a nice new windscreen.  Autoglass were very good and 'only' £100 excess on my insurance (I think the actual cost is just over £1k).  The damage stopped at two cracks all across the windscreen, just below eye level (the chip was just above dashboard level). I decided it was probably legal to drive after all! It was quite interesting watching the cracks develop from the chip - good example of why windscreen chips should be attended to asap!

Thanks for all the helpful input.

TripleH

When out of town driving in Oz, we were given clear stickers to put over any chips we got in our windscreen and to report any bigger than a certain size.

Sadly the crack in the windscreen of our first van was courtesy of a toerag's shoe than a stone.

Arklight

If anyone else gets this, I bought some screen repair from Halfords. It stops the cracks getting any bigger and also makes the damage virtually invisible from outside the car. You can still see them inside but it should get you to your replacement appointment.