An unexpected crack in your windshield can bring your road trip or daily commute to a screeching halt. if you want to avoid a situation like this, there are some steps you can take. Sure, you can't prevent a random rock from flying up into your windshield, but you can try and avoid a situation where that would be more likely to happen. Here are some tips to keep in mind in order to protect your windshield.

Dirty Wipers Cause Scratches

You might not immediately think of your windshield wipers as a potential culprit when it comes to windshield damage, but if you don't replace them for a long time, they can indeed become a problem. A dirty windshield wiper won't cause a crack, of course, but it can cause a scratch. If you leave said scratch untreated instead of taking the vehicle in for windshield repair, it can develop into something worse over time. Change your windshield wipers every 3 to 6 months depending on use in order to keep your windshield scratch-free.

Give Yourself Room to Maneuver 

Like we said before, you can't just Jedi mind trick every bouncing rock into flying away from your car instead of towards it. But you can at least give yourself a chance of dodging flying objects by giving yourself room to operate. Leave a wide berth between yourself and the vehicle in front of you whenever possible. If the vehicle ahead of you kicks up some debris, you'll at least have a bit more time to react as you see it moving towards you. A wide berth is also a best practice for safe driving in general and will give you more time to brake in the event that something goes wrong ahead of you.

Easy with the Ice Scraper

This issue won't afflict you year-round, of course, but when winter arrives and brings lots of snow and ice with it, this will likely mean it's time to break out the ice scraper. Your car's windshield can be especially vulnerable to cracks when it's frozen solid, and hammering away at the ice could potentially cause a problem. You may gradually weaken the glass over time until one day when you finally cause a crack to happen. Be firm with the scraper but never use it like a hammer to pound down on the ice.

If despite your best efforts you have developed a windshield crack, head to a local windshield repair shop today.