That Little Chip Is Not as Harmless as It Looks
Most drivers see a chip in their windscreen and make the same calculation: it's small, it's not in my line of sight, I'll deal with it later. It's an understandable reaction. But glass doesn't stay still. It responds to temperature, vibration, pressure, and time — and a chip that looked stable on Monday can spread into a long crack by Friday.
The reason this happens comes down to how laminated glass behaves. Modern windscreens are made from two layers of glass bonded around a plastic interlayer. When a stone or road debris strikes the outer layer, it creates a stress point. Every time the car flexes on a pothole, every time you run the defroster, every time outside temperatures swing — that stress point is being tested. Eventually, it gives.