{"id":742,"date":"2017-06-07T20:34:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T00:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/info.glass.com\/?p=742"},"modified":"2024-04-03T21:18:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T01:18:44","slug":"hey-sport-heres-windshield-gets-hit-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/hey-sport-heres-windshield-gets-hit-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do When Your Windshield Gets Hit By a Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe you\u2019ve considered the scenario of a wayward golf ball flying into the street and breaking your windshield as you drive by the local country club. Or you\u2019ve thought about the rare possibility that the parking spot you chose at the baseball game just may end up being the inevitable target of a big home run.<\/p>\n

Up until now, you figured, \u201cWhat are the actual odds it could actually happen to me?\u201d And then it does.<\/p>\n

Sure, sometimes you\u2019re just \u201cin the wrong place at the right time,\u201d but repeating that tired clich\u00e9 isn\u2019t going to magically fix your windshield<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So what do you do? Who is responsible? How do you take care of the issue responsibly and safety?<\/p>\n

What Sports Damage to Auto Glass Will Look Like<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Almost all automobiles in the United States are required have windshields made of laminated glass. Laminated windshields consist of two pieces of glass stuck together with a layer of film in between. This is safety feature that keeps the glass, even if broken, as intact as possible to reduce the possibility or severity of injury to people in or near the vehicle.<\/p>\n

This means that when a ball<\/a> impacts your windshield, the glass may crack or spider out into a small or large web\u2014but it should not shatter into many pieces. Unless an incredibly high amount of force was used, the ball will also likely not penetrate the glass, though it is possible depending on the weight of the object and the speed at which it traveled.<\/p>\n

If the ball strikes another piece of glass on the car, such as the back glass, roof glass, sunroof<\/a> or side glass on the door, it may shatter into pieces or penetrate the glass, as these areas aren\u2019t required to use laminated glass. They are typically made of tempered glass instead. Both are safety glass, but you can see the differences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Not to Do<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First of all, it\u2019s never a good idea to operate the car if your windshield is damaged, no matter the severity.<\/p>\n

Even the smallest crack or chip can compromise the integrity of the windshield, which is an important structural component of your vehicle. The crack can also spread quickly and could impede your view, which is extremely dangerous for you and other drivers on the road.<\/p>\n

So pull over to a safe place as soon as you can, and if you\u2019re not actually driving, don\u2019t start now. [Tips on what do you if your glass breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Who is Responsible for Sports-Related Auto Glass Damage?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This may be the most important aspect of this topic\u2014and quite possibly the sole reason as to why you\u2019re here in the first place.<\/p>\n

If your car is hit by something like a baseball or a golf ball, who does responsibility fall on? In most cases, it\u2019s pretty cut-and-dry, but also in most cases, the responsibility doesn\u2019t always end up falling where you would expect.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, a golf ball. You\u2019re driving down the street by a golf course minding your own business, when a ball comes flying over a tree and into your windshield. It sure as heck isn\u2019t your fault that the road happened to run within striking distance of a wayward shot.<\/p>\n

Law and policy may differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction or from facility to facility, but almost always, the ultimate responsibility falls on the person who hit the golf ball. At least, this is the answer nearly every golf course will give you, and typically they\u2019re right.<\/p>\n

The only time responsibility may fall on the course may be if they failed to provide a reasonable barricade between flying golf balls and the road in a way that could make this kind of accident a regular occurrence. And even then, the \u201cvictim\u201d would likely need to lawyer up in order to prove this\u2014if it is even provable.<\/p>\n

The same goes for a stadium. It\u2019s unlikely the stadium will take responsibility if you park your car in an area where baseballs may be flying all over the place.<\/p>\n

In one unique case, a baseball player a minor league baseball player actually hit his own car. It was OK, though… since it was a grand slam.<\/p>\n