Windscreens O'Brian scare mongering?

[Yellow_Festiva]

I have been listening to that Windscreens O'Brian radio add...

Ok, story goes that some poor tool had a chipped screen, he turns on the car heater one frosty morning and BAM his windscreen (WS..) shattered...

I have 2 chips in my WS, I guess they would be called "Bulls Eye's" and one is around 5-6mm in dia, the other 9-12mm dia.

Been there several years the both of them... and nothing like this has ever happened, any any frosty morning, or the countless snow trips etc.

I guess this MAY happen if you pour a jug of boiling water driectly on the cold glass, but come on.. a car heater? My car takes several minutes to GRADUALLY warm up on a frosty morning, no instant furnace like the add makes up....

So?? how many people has this actually happened to??

[poolkeeper]

I put the jug on mine :P
though I add cold water so its not as hot.

[accurate1]

The bloke who does the Windscreens O'Brian adds in Melbourne is bordering on illiterate. Doesn't do much towards inspiring confidence in the company.

[GT0132]

What a coincidence...that add was just on the radio when I came across this thread .....you're right ! bit of an over exaggeration I think

[S3SR]

i didnt think it was possible, maybe the chips might enlarge into cracks but arent all windscreens laminated now so the screen will still be held in place, not the billions of shards from a shattered windscreen as the ad makes out

[Hunter]

It can happen - serious hot/cold changes can stress the glass to the point of fracturing. I don't know how common it is though. People I know have had that happen but its pretty uncommon.

Originally Posted by S3SR

i didnt think it was possible, maybe the chips might enlarge into cracks but arent all windscreens laminated now so the screen will still be held in place, not the billions of shards from a shattered windscreen as the ad makes out

Yes they are laminated but that doesn't mean they will stay intact. I've seen pretty new cars with their windscreens shattered to bits - in nice little safety glass pieces so its not dangerous.

[Jastel]

Happened in reverse to me

Small stone chip in window, very hot day, washing car, put the hose on the glass (cold water) and the glass cracked right across

Needed a new windscreen anyway

It can happen but not often

[xtremerus]

In modern cars, the windscreen is a structural/stressed part of the car. Old cars were not. As Mythbusters say 'pausible'

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by xtremerus

In modern cars, the windscreen is a structural/stressed part of the car. Old cars were not. As Mythbusters say 'pausible'

Is it also rewindable?

[randel]

dont know about cold mornings, but mine cracked when some little shite dropped a rock off the kwinana freeway overpass one thursday night....

[Darkr]

Originally Posted by randel

dont know about cold mornings, but mine cracked when some little shite dropped a rock off the kwinana freeway overpass one thursday night....

Holy crap! You could have been really hurt!

[snappy]

Originally Posted by randel

dont know about cold mornings, but mine cracked when some little shite dropped a rock off the kwinana freeway overpass one thursday night....

I pretty sure that happened few years back some 15 year old dropped a brick killed a fella. Also think he was trialed as an adult.

[Matty4]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Is it also rewindable?

[boss-290]

Theres another version where a dude had a chip in his windscreen, and he went over a speed hump and it sent vibrations up through his windscreen and it cracked right across.

I have a chip on my winscreen but CBF getting it fixed.

[troppo]

I had this happen when I first moved to the NT. A cool dry season morning, a fair bit of dew on the XF wagon I had at the time. I got to the 100 zone heading out of town towards Palmerston, wound the window down a crack and about 2 seconds later the whole windscreen shattered. I had to stick my head out the window to see enough to stop.

[Unco]

i just got 2 stone chips repaired on the camry's windscreen: $70 bucks. beats driving around seeing a stone chip all the time.

i got a local bloke to do it though, not o'briens. don't know how much they charge.

a new windscreen for said car costs around $250.

some insurance companies have windscreen cover that doesn't affect your no-claim bonus... worth looking into.

[Hunter]

Yeah I had some drunken f...wit throw something at my Falcon's windscreen in town one night... put a big bloody chip and some small cracks in it. I don't know what it was, I think it was either a rock or a bottle, but I didn't see it. I pulled the anchors on, got the tyre iron out from under my seat and had a look around but whoever it was decided to leg it. Perhaps that was a good thing for both of us.

And just the other day some little turds from the local school near my work were hiding in the bushes lobbing rocks at cars... hit my left rear passenger window and left a small chip. The little turds crapped themselves when I turned around and came back, I told them 'I don't think you ought to be doing that. If my window is broken I am going to call the police'. There was two of the little turds, one ran off and the other was like a deer in headlights. Its funny now but at the time I wanted to put my boot fair up their .

[King Nothing]

We had a couple of local turds throw a rock through dad's landcruiser. My brother heard the noise, ran out and confronted them. He knew who they were through school, and had always been losers.

Anyway long story short, tracked down the parents, made the pair of them come around and pick out every last bit of glass and pay for a replacement window.

I told dad to have them charged, dad the big softy said no, people make mistakes and hopefully they will learn. A month later there was a nice big dint where somehad had jumped on the bonnet. Wonder who it was....

edit: Oh, I just remembered that my brother later saw one of them at the train station, being quite forcefully arrested and shoved in the back of a paddy wagon. Something about being very abusive towards the train guard.