Windshields

The windscreen (also known as the windshield) of an aircraft, automobile, bus, motorcycle, or tram is the front window. more...

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Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, which consists of two (typically) curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are glued into the window frame.

Motorcycle windscreens are often made of high-impact acrylic plastic. As the name implies, their main function is to shield the driver from the wind, though they do not do so as totally as those of a car.

Usage

In daily use, windshields mainly protect the vehicle's occupants from wind, temperature extremes, and flying debris such as dust, insects, and rocks, as well as providing an aerodynamically formed window towards the front. UV Coating may be applied to screen out harmful ultraviolet light.

Safety

Early windscreens were made of ordinary window glass, but that could lead to serious injuries in the event of a crash. They were replaced with windshields made of toughened glass and were fitted in the frame using a rubber or neoprene seal. The hardened glass shattered into many mostly harmless fragments when the windscreen broke. These windshields, however, could shatter from a simple stone chip. Especially in police cars this was seen as a problem and it led to the development of the laminated glass windows most cars use. Ford Motor Company adopted laminated glass as standard windshield equipment for all its cars in 1928.

However, there have been some concern over the risk of decapitation and some cars instead use a windscreen of lexan.

The modern, glued-in screens contribute to the vehicle's rigidity, but the main force in innovating the windshield has historically been the need to prevent injury from sharp glass fragments. Modern windshields, now almost universally required in all nations, do not fragment, but tend to stay in one piece even if broken, except if pierced locally by a strong force. Properly installed automobile windshields are also essential to safety; along with the roof of the car, they provide protection in the case of a roll-over accident in the vehicle.

Other aspects

In many places, laws restrict the use of heavily tinted glass in vehicle windshields; generally, laws specify the maximum level of tint permitted. Some vehicles have noticeably more tint in the uppermost part of the windshield of motor vehicles that blocks glare from the sun.

Read more at Wikipedia.org