1204 South Brundidge Street Troy, Alabama 36081 (334) 566-4343 1-800-628-9799 Earles Glass 1204 South Brundidge Street Troy, Alabama 36081 (334) 566-4343 1-800-628-9799 Jeanne Fransway was killed when her windshield "popped out "during a rollover accident allowing her to be ejected. She was found seventy feet from her car in a pasture lying on the windshield. Investigations revealed the windshield - which had been replaced eight months earlier had not been properly bonded to the car. Maya Donnet was driving only 25-30 miles per hour when she ran off the road and the car turned up on its roof. She was unhurt but hung upside down by her seatbelt. Seconds later the windshield came loose from the car. The roof was no longer able to support the weight of the car. It crushed her neck causing her to be quadriplegic. The windshield had been replaced earlier that day. - - Kenneth Cole /Detroit News-Washington Bureau Nov 1998 According to the Ford Motor Company, the windshield is 33 percent of the front strength of the energy management system. The windshield is up to 70 percent of the roof strength in a rollover in some SUV's and some other car models. The strongest part of a vehicle has become the bond of the windshield together with the top section of the dash. Great Article by Dave Long - - Windshields Under Fire; Danger in Front of Your Eyes Today, more than ever, vehicles depend on the glass windshield to add to its structure and strength as a whole. The windshield is a major part of the support system and energy management in a collision. Have you ever noticed why the windshield is much larger in size and more aerodynamically slanted? It's because of energy management and occupant protection in the cab of the vehicle. In a 1982 General Motors concluded that a vehicle lost about 1/3 of its roof strength if the windshield bond came loose during a rollover accident. Rusty Earles & Jeanne's brother Jon Fransway Alabama is 8th of all 50 states in rollover fatalities. We have more people killed in rollovers than the states of Pennsylvania or Illinois. We have only about 1/3 the population of either state. Each year in Alabama nearly 1200 people are killed in auto accidents. About 400 of those die as a result of rollover accidents. Many, many more survive but their lives are ravaged by life-long catastrophic injuries This windshield remained intact & performed properly. Amazing! Photo by Dave Long 2004 Caravan and 1994 Caravan Notice the newer windshield's larger size. Dave Long is an Emergency Medical Services trainer. Please click here for complete Bio. From a high of 54,589 in 1972 - traffic accident fatalities have fallen by almost 12,000 people each year to 42,642 in 2006. During this same period however, rollover fatalities have risen by almost 10,000 each year from 745 deaths in 1972 to 10698 in 2006. Another 24,000 suffer catastrophic life altering injuries such as quadriplegia, paralysis or severe head injuries in rollovers each year. CUSTOM SHOWER ENCLOSURES - - FRAMELESS SHOWER DOORS - - MIRRORS - - BEVEL MIRROR STRIPS - - INSULATED DOOR / WINDOW REPAIRS - - STORM DOOR / WINDOW GLASS - -FIRE PLACE / HEATER GLASS - - COMMERCIAL STOREFRONTS - - DOOR CLOSERS - - PLEXIGLASS - - PLEXIGLASS MIRROR- - LEXAN - - VEHICLE WINDSHIELDS REPLACED - - WINDSHIELD [ CHIP ] REPAIRS - -WINDOW MOTOR REPAIRS US border agent Luis Pena was paralyzed when the roof of his F 250 crushed him in a rollover . <---Note how the windshield transferred the force of the windshield upward causing the roof to peak over the driver People would shudder if they realized the structural integrity of a vehicle's roof depends on a piece of glass,"said Ralph Hoar, a Virginia auto safety consultant Only 3 of every 100 auto accidents are rollovers but they are the cause of 35 of every 100 deaths. A Properly Bonded OEM windshield is designed to provide UP to 70% of the roof strength of some SUV's. "There is no other issue in our country that involves as many deaths annually as the number of deaths in rollovers." Paula Lawlor, founder of People Safe in Rollovers Foundation, Atty. Jere Beasley Report, Montgomery AL, November 2007 Has your windshield been replaced?- Will your car still pass crash tests? "One of the easiest ways to improve roof strength is by keeping the front windshield and the rear back-lite glass from breaking out or popping out. June 27, 1984 General Motors - Ivars Arums In a front end collision your windshield provides up to 45% of the structural integrity of the occupant cabin of your vehicle. In a rollover it can provide up to 60%. < <--- Windshield Warning : Rust Video Most rust under and around the edges of a windshield is a result of an unsafe shortcut by a windshield installer. Rust is much like a cancer. It eats until it destroys the strength as well as the appearance and resale value of a vehicle. In an accident the windshield is much more likely to come loose from the vehicle allowing someone to be injured or killed. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year. No other kind of hazard comes close to claiming as many teenage lives, including homicides (13 percent) and suicides (11 percent). (2002 figures) Teenage drivers account for 12.6 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes. The fatal crash rates among 16- to 19-year-olds is four times that of older drivers. Risk is the highest at age 16, when the fatal crash rate is 40 percent higher than for 18 year-olds and 30 percent higher than for 19-year-olds. - - Allstate Insurance Penny Shipler vehicle she was riding in If they don't think the roof matters, let them live a full day as a quad and see what it entails," says Penny Shipler, with son Keenan. Shipler was paralyzed in a 1997 rollover. ABC News VIDEO with Barbara Walters - click on picture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDd4VNEx9c CNBC Marketplace Video www.safewindshields.org click on picture Please click on here for excellent safety video - Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, No other kind of hazard comes close to claiming as many teenage lives, - - Allstate Ins In a 1982 study by General Motors of rollover ejection, GM engineer Ivar Arums found the roof lost one-third of its strength when the bonded windshield broke. GM did not tell NHTSA about these results. Insurers are illegally trying to control the cost of repairs by steering consumers to particular shops, while at the same time, trying to distance themselves from any liability associated with negligent repairs. Keep This Job - by Chicago Attorney - Patrick J. McGuire - Body Shop Business Magazine GM tests found that it's pickup lost 36% of roof strength with the glass removed. Ford tested a 1990 F-150. Without the glass the roof could support only 4700 lbs. With the front and rear glass installed the roof could support 6700 lbs - Peoplesafeinrollovers. - - babcox.com - - KHAS - TV.windshield safety video Sorry, no longer available General Motors estimates that 80% of all after market windshields are installed improperly in a front end collision the windshield provides up to 45% of the structural integrity of the cabin of the vehicle and in a rollover, up to 60%.