BOISE — Cars these days have all sorts of safety measures: traction control, airbags everywhere, seat belts. But there’s one change in newer cars that could actually put you at risk. And this new development is hard to see — it’s buried inside your window.
Tempered safety glass shatters to protect the occupants of a car in a crash. The pieces are generally not sharp.
"It shatters into a million little pieces, and it’s gone," said Brent Heaton, owner of Integrity Auto Glass.
To prevent a windshield from shattering while you’re driving, it has a thin sheet of invisible plastic through the center — a laminate.
Now, some manufacturers are using similar glass on side windows, too.
"The main reason for that is to help reduce road noise," Heaton said.
Laminated glass is almost impossible to break, as Heaton demonstrated by hitting a pane repeatedly with a special glass punch. The result was minor dents in the surface of the glass, but no shattering at all.
This can be a serious liability if you drive your car into water and need to escape.
Rescue personnel are equipped to cut through laminated glass, but even for them, it takes longer.
"If it’s tempered, pop — we go, 'OK!' If it’s laminated, we have to work a bit harder to get through that," said Don Matchette, senior firefighter at the Nampa Fire Department.
If you’re on your own and happen to crash into water, it’s vital to know whether your car has laminated windows.
"Obviously, panic sets in at that point," Heaton said. "And you may not know which door glass — you’ll just try to break the closest one to you."
That can waste valuable time.
"You just need to know so you can take appropriate action. Which door glass am I going to break if I need to break one?" Heaton said.
To find out, check the stamp at the bottom corner of your window to see if it says "tempered" or "laminated."
It can be hard to see, but all auto glass should have it.
You can also roll down your window, and if you see a line through the middle, it’s most likely laminated.
If your front side windows are laminated, Heaton said the only way out in the event of a water landing is to move to the back seat and break out one of those windows, which are rarely laminated.
