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Is It Illegal to Drive With a Cracked Windshield in Georgia?
The roadway can be an interesting and enjoyable place. Whether you love to drive or like to sightsee, there are many reasons to spend time on the road and in your vehicle. However, car accidents and truck accidents also happen on the road. It’s important to maintain awareness at all times and ensure your vehicle is in proper condition for driving.
That includes making sure that your windshield is in good repair.
Can You Get a Ticket for a Cracked Windshield?
In fact, a windshield that is in decent condition is important enough to road safety that there are laws mandating certain repairs and conditions. And if you don’t follow them, you can get a ticket in Georgia.
Dents and dings happen all the time, and the law doesn’t say you have to replace your windshield as soon as the tiniest crack appears. However, it does consider what might impact a driver’s ability to have a clear view of the road or the windshield’s ability to function safely and appropriately.
Laws About Obstructed Views
Georgia and federal law both have a bit to say about anything on your windshield that might obstruct your view of the road. To that end, it is illegal to operate a vehicle if there is a starburst or spider webbing style crack bigger than three inches square (or in diameter) anywhere on the windshield.
You also should not operate a vehicle if there are any cracks of any kind right in the driver’s view or with any stickers or other obstructions on the windshield.
Laws About Glass Safety
Federal law notes that a crack of three-quarters of an inch or less is allowable, assuming it doesn’t obstruct the driver’s view.
However, if you have more than one crack in your windshield of this nature and they are within three inches of each other, they are not allowed. That’s because larger cracks or smaller cracks close together can cause the strength and functionality of the safety class to fail. That makes it more likely the glass will cause an injury during an accident or break without an accident and cause an issue.
Your best bet is to keep an eye on your windshield and to ensure you fix cracks and chips proactively. If you have larger cracks, you will have to replace your windshield. Depending on how the crack occurred, your car insurance policy may cover some of the replacement or repair costs.
Can a Cracked Windshield Lead to Negligence in an Accident
If a crack in the windshield is big enough, it can lead to negligence in an accident by obscuring the driver’s view of the road. That can lead to issues such as the driver turning into oncoming traffic, hitting something or someone in the roadway, or misjudging the nearness of objects or other vehicles.
A windshield with too many small cracks or one large crack can also be a danger in an accident. It may shatter in a way that the safety glass was designed to avoid, causing increased injuries to the drivers and passengers. This could also be an incident where negligence is a factor. If the owner of the car had the windshield replaced in a timely manner, for instance, the injuries in the accident might not be as bad.
Personal Injury Attorneys Get to the Bottom of Accident Causes
Obviously, proving whether a crack in a windshield was a factor in an accident or whether damage to the windshield created injuries that might have been avoided may be difficult. But these factors are not impossible to consider and prove, and they may be critical details in a personal injury case if someone is injured in a car accident.
Getting to the bottom of accident causation and attempting to prove that a specific factor or action was likely at fault for a personal injury is one of the jobs of personal injury attorneys. We and our staff work hard on each case to gather and consider as many pertinent details as possible so that we can make the strongest case for compensation.
If you are involved in a car accident, every detail can be important. If you are able to at the scene, consider taking notes about everything you see on your phone. You may also want to snap pictures or capture videos with your cell phone. The state of the vehicles after the crash and any details you remember about them from before the collision can be important to discuss later with your lawyer. These facts can help your legal team understand what happened in an accident and build a case for fault or negligence to help you seek compensation for your injuries.
The importance of every detail is one reason why you should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident if you have been injured. Even if you’re not sure about how you want to proceed, talking to a lawyer when the memories are fresh can help you provide better details and get proactive advice about your options for seeking compensation.
If you’re reeling from an injury caused in a car crash that was the fault of another driver, don’t wait. Reach out to Jarrett & Price, trial attorneys, today at 912-446-7983,
