A firefighter approaches the damaged vehicle with a spring loaded center punch in her gloved hand. I, for one, would try a second time with the punch, thinking that for some reason it wasn t working right or possibly I had placed it incorrectly on the side window glass. After a second pop and even a third, if the only evidence of your efforts is three small BB-size dings in the glass, you may be the first in your department to encounter a vehicle equipped with laminated side and rear windows. As an experiment, the laminated EPG in the side windows of the vehicle are left intact. Note how it fractures under stress from the power spreader.
Police estimate that half of all vehicle break-ins are through side windows.
Laminated glass has been used successfully in passenger vehicles for more than 60 years in front windshields, providing protection in head-on collisions and when exterior objects such as rocks strike windshields. Today, vehicles such as the Audi A8 also use laminated glass for side and rear windows. This has been standard equipment since the 1998 model year and has been an option since 1995. Selected models of BMW vehicles are available with a security glass option. The Mercedes S class sedan has laminated side and rear windows standard on 2000 models.