Autoglass has launched a national public awareness campaign to warn consumers that they may be travelling in unsafe and dangerous vehicles due to poor windscreen fitting.  The hard hitting campaign which will feature across television and social media and is aimed at drawing awareness to the potential risks facing up to 89,000 drivers.

Autoglass says that windscreens account for up to 34% of the structural strength of a car and in the event of an accident, prevent occupant ejection, support airbag inflation and are of critical importance should a car flip over.  However, independent research carried out in 2012 showed that up to 89,000 cars on Irish roads may have poorly fitted windscreens. Autoglass also points out that Ireland still has no uniform standard for proper windscreen replacement and repair.

Donal Lawlor Managing Director of Autoglass says, “Autoglass is embarking on this campaign to let people know that their car’s safety may be critically compromised by the windscreen. Many people do not realise the vital role of the windscreen in protecting occupants in the event of an accident.” He added, “We are urging people to go to our windscreen safety site www.autoglass/safety where we have compiled a gallery, a veritable hall of shame, showing examples of poorly fitted windscreens that our technicians come across weekly. What this tells us is that poorly fitted windscreens are not a once-off problem, but much more common in the industry than expected and certainly than should be the case.”

Autoglass is calling for a uniform industry standard to be applied to the windscreen repair and replacement sector. Donal Lawlor says, “Motorists deserve better than the current unregulated situation and we need to develop a standard that is to the best interests of everybody operating in the Irish market.”