Cracked windscreen - illegal ??
14 March 2010, 06:05 PM
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Cracked windscreen - illegal ??
I've had a large stone strike on the windscreen while on the motorway which has resulted in an impact chip about an inch and a half in diameter and then two large circular cracks about 13inches in diameter. One of these has led to the crack extending across the screen, although not to the edge, about 3 inches from the bottom. Basically its stuffed 
Now the impact point is about third of the way in from the passenger side, so none of the cracks are in my direct line of sight when driving, so the simple question is, is it technically illegal to drive the car like this ? ie. points/fine if I were to be stopped.
I informed the insurance company immediately I got home and they've notified Auto Windscreens who have been in touch, BUT they say that screens for an 06 Impreza STi are currently on backorder, and its likely to be another week/10 days before they get one - my Subaru dealer has confirmed that screens are on back order, so its a case of having to wait.
The screen would obviously be an MOT failure, and while it may not be advisable to drive like this, I'd be grateful if anyone is aware of driving the car with this defect being an endorsable offence or not.
Cheers
Gareth
Now the impact point is about third of the way in from the passenger side, so none of the cracks are in my direct line of sight when driving, so the simple question is, is it technically illegal to drive the car like this ? ie. points/fine if I were to be stopped.
I informed the insurance company immediately I got home and they've notified Auto Windscreens who have been in touch, BUT they say that screens for an 06 Impreza STi are currently on backorder, and its likely to be another week/10 days before they get one - my Subaru dealer has confirmed that screens are on back order, so its a case of having to wait.
The screen would obviously be an MOT failure, and while it may not be advisable to drive like this, I'd be grateful if anyone is aware of driving the car with this defect being an endorsable offence or not.
Cheers
Gareth
Last edited by GarethE; 14 March 2010 at 06:07 PM.
14 March 2010, 06:25 PM
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yeh if its cracked its a mot fail...a stone chip ant a fail unless its in your field of view.
if the crack is on the passager side you will be ok as long as it ant a daft size, if its on the drivers side theres more of a chance of being stopped because its effecting your view. to get done for this you will have to be unlucky..normally they just advise you but if you are done it will be for poor maintance of your car. i think its 3 ponits and a fine max. normailly just a warning.
There is no strengh in a cracked window so if something hits the window you could be in trouble.
if the crack is on the passager side you will be ok as long as it ant a daft size, if its on the drivers side theres more of a chance of being stopped because its effecting your view. to get done for this you will have to be unlucky..normally they just advise you but if you are done it will be for poor maintance of your car. i think its 3 ponits and a fine max. normailly just a warning.
There is no strengh in a cracked window so if something hits the window you could be in trouble.
14 March 2010, 06:27 PM
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as far as i believe u wont get any points possible ticket though as i got stopped in my saxo vtr heading to work had decent sized crack coming from passenger side to drivers side and i got stopped by the speeders and got a stern talking to lucky no ticket mine was pretty bad but bear in mind the more u drive it it will get worse and crack allover the place i think if the speeders wanted to be as**oles they could give u a 7 day ticket to get it fixed within that timescale
14 March 2010, 08:47 PM
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a similar thing happened to me, i had a stone chip that cracked a single crack 2/3's of the way across the windscreen.
the guy came out to replace the screen but couldn't due to the weather but told me that as it was not in direct drivers vision it was legal, even though it wetn almost right across the screen. it was fixed a week later and i continued to drive the car daily and it never got any worse.
the guy came out to replace the screen but couldn't due to the weather but told me that as it was not in direct drivers vision it was legal, even though it wetn almost right across the screen. it was fixed a week later and i continued to drive the car daily and it never got any worse.
14 March 2010, 09:08 PM
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Cheers, thanks for the replies. I was told by the insurance co that it would be safe to drive, but they hadn't seen the damage.
If it is an endorsable offence then I'd push them to supply a courtesy car as technically the car shouldn't be on the road.
Just need reliable info to press the case, rather than the insurance company fob me off - I guess they'll try to.
Gareth
If it is an endorsable offence then I'd push them to supply a courtesy car as technically the car shouldn't be on the road.
Just need reliable info to press the case, rather than the insurance company fob me off - I guess they'll try to.
Gareth
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