History

• The skeleton of a car provides passengers with protection during accidents and rollovers. Beginning in the 1970s, manufacturers with an eye toward energy efficiency began making these skeletons lighter. Auto windshields in 2010 offer 60 percent of the structural roof-support of a car.
  
  

Function

• The Safety Restraint System of a car includes seat belts, air bags and the windshield. A windshield protects occupants from being thrown from a car during an accident. An air bag also bounces off the windshield to cushion occupants against impact. Windshields have two layers, an interior polyvinyl and an outside glass. While the outside layer may break or crack during impact, the inside layer makes the windshield flexible and cushions impact.
  
  

Warning

• Occupants of a vehicle with a cracked or improperly installed windshield face danger. An unstable windshield, or one replaced with weak adhesives, may shatter and fail during and accident. Replace or repair damage to a windshield immediately.