Editing Windshield (section)

==Safety==
[[File:An automobile that has sustained damage following a mob attack in Caracas, Venezuela, targeting Vice President Richard Nixon. Close-up of shattered windows.jpg|thumb|The [[laminated glass]] in Vice President [[Richard Nixon]]'s vehicle was nearly breached [[Attack on Richard Nixon's motorcade|by a hostile crowd]] in [[Caracas]] in 1958]]

[[File:Windshield-spiderweb.jpg|thumb|left|Automobile windshield displaying "spiderweb" cracking typical of laminated safety glass]]

Early windshields were made of ordinary window glass, but that could lead to serious injuries in the event of a crash. A series of crashes led up to the development of stronger windshields. The most notable example of this is the ''Pane vs. Ford'' case of 1917 that decided against Pane in that he was only injured through [[reckless driving]].{{citation needed |date=November 2015}} They were replaced with windshields made of [[toughened glass]] and were fitted in the frame using a [[rubber]] or [[neoprene]] [[Seal (mechanical)|seal]]. The hardened glass shattered into many mostly harmless fragments when the windshield broke. These windshields, however, could shatter from a simple stone chip.  "Triplex" [[laminated glass|glass laminating]], however, had been available for windshields in France from 1911 and in Britain from 1912; it was adopted as an accessory by some high-end American auto manufacturers beginning in 1913, and from 1919 to 1929 [[Henry Ford]] ordered the use of laminated glass on all of his vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.glass.org/consumer/a_windshield.htm|title= Your Windshield is Not Just a "Wind-Shield" Any More|publisher= National Glass Association|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2 August 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090802145330/http://www.glass.org/consumer/a_windshield.htm}}</ref>

Modern, glued-in windshields contribute to the vehicle's rigidity, but the main force for innovation has historically been the need to prevent injury from sharp glass fragments. Almost all nations now require windshields to stay in one piece even if broken, except if pierced by a strong force.

The urethane sealant is protected from UV in sunlight by a band of dark dots called a ''[[frit]]'' around the edge of the windshield.<ref name="ieee7">
{{cite book |last=Zbinden |first=Lyn |title=Glass Engineering: Design Solutions for Automotive Applications |chapter=Chapter 7 - Ceramic Frit and Shadeband |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/book/8504902 |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8505002 |date=2014 |publisher=[[IEEE]] |doi=10.4271/R-433 |isbn=978-0-7680-8129-9 |access-date=9 June 2020 }}</ref>  The darkened edge transitions to the clear windshield with smaller dots to minimize thermal stress in manufacturing.  The same band of darkened dots is often expanded around the rearview mirror to act as a sunshade.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tracy|first1=David|title=Here's What Those Little Dots Are On The Edges Of Your Car Windows|url=http://jalopnik.com/heres-what-those-little-dots-are-on-the-edges-of-your-c-1791075995|website=Jalopnik|date=3 February 2017 |publisher=[[Gawker Media]]|access-date=6 February 2017}}</ref>

On a rainy day, water [[refraction]] on aircraft windshields can mislead pilots into believing that they are flying at a higher altitude than they actually are due to the horizon appearing lower than it is. This can result in undershooting the [[runway]] and become a safety hazard.<ref>{{Cite PHAK|year=2023|chapter=17|page=10}}</ref>