Going Back in Time: Brief History of Auto Glass Safety

Windshields are perhaps the most important safety feature in vehicles. They keep you in the car during rollover accidents, protect you from ejection from the car in the event of a collision, and keep the dirt, debris, and wind away from your face.

As useful and game changing as today’s windshields are, they were not always this good. They have a long history of evolution that led to modern windshields. It is important to go over their history in order to truly appreciate their existence and contributions to ensuring drivers’ and passengers’ safety.

The First Ever Use of Windshields

In the early 20^th century, carriages started using glass to protect drivers and passengers from harsh winds. This standard glass, however, wasn’t efficient enough to prevent casualties from rollover accidents and collisions.

In the event of an accident, the glass would break into a million pieces, injuring the occupants with its sharp edges. It became a tool to kill instead of a tool to protect.

How Was Safety Auto Glass Discovered?

Unlike many other inventions that are heavily researched, safety glass was discovered by accident.

Even though there were many accidents taking place at the time, leading car manufacturers weren’t ready to take the blame. Their goal was only to manufacture cars which gave passengers a smooth driving experience. Whatever happened to the cars and passengers after they left the showroom was none of the car manufacturer’s concern. And they got away with this for years.

But before the lawsuits against leading car manufacturers even started coming up, Edouard Benedictus had accidentally discovered shatterproof glass in his Paris lab in 1903. While fetching some elements from a high cabinet, he bumped again a line of shelves that had glass flasks on them, sending one tumbling to the floor. As expected, the glass shattered. But much to the chemist’s surprise, the pieces of shattered glass didn’t scatter across the floor. Instead, they clung together and held the flask’s shape.

Determined to find out as to why the glass didn’t shatter, he showed the flask to his assistant. The assistant informed him that the flask contained a clear solution of liquid plastic—cellulose nitrate. Both of them concluded that the water had evaporated, which left a transparent film on the inner walls of the flask. The flask had been mistaken for an empty flask and hence, was placed on the shelf without being washed.

How Was Shatterproof Glass Introduced In The Automotive Industry?

Manufacturing and installing auto glass was expensive, and leading car manufacturers argued that they were trying to make automotive vehicles affordable for the middle class—and they couldn’t afford to introduce expensive windshields in their cars.

It took a lot of persistence and resistance—around one and half a century later—after which Ford finally decided to provide safety to drivers and passengers in a more sustainable manner without increasing costs. Auto glass safety didn’t become a part of the automotive industry until Ford figured out how to produce and install safety auto glass in mass production.

Today, the Auto Glass Safety Council monitors and supervises the certification and installation of auto glass in all automotive vehicles.

AAR Auto Glass offers 24/7 windshield repairs services in Houston, Texas. Get in touch with them to know more about their services.