It's a Team's Life
Chipped Windshield
The D.O.T. regulations 393.60(c) refers to windshield condition.
"( c) Windshield condition. With the exception of the conditions listed in paragraphs(c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(3) of this section, each windshield shall be free of discoloration or damage in the area extending upward from the height of the top of the steering wheel (excluding a 51 mm (2 inch) border at the top of the windshield) and extending from a 25 mm (1 inch) border at each side of the windshield or windshield panel.
Exceptions:
(1) Coloring or tinting which meets the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section;
(2) Any crack that is not intersected by any other cracks;
(3) Any damaged area which can be covered by a disc 19 mm (3/4 inch) in diameter if not closer than 76 mm (3 inches) to any similarly damaged area."
So there are the regulations, does this mean you must replace the windshield every time you get stone damage? As I read it, no. However, I believe that it is at the discretion of an inspecting officer, and that officer, whether D.O.T. or the mechanic at the shop doing your annual inspection, has the authority to fail your inspection because of that stone damage.
So, we got a stone chip the other day, about 2/3 down from the top about 1/3 to the right of center in the right side windshield. Did we need to replace this glass? I didn't believe we did, but I decided to have it repaired so it didn't grow into a crack that would cause the glass to be required to be replaced. The damage was just 3/4 inch long with the rock contact point in the center, a straight crack without any staring. How does one get a windshield fixed?
Since we were on our way to a layover, I got on line and Googled "windshield repair" and Safelite Auto Glass was the top result. I gave them a call. We were passing through Janesville, WI. and Safelite has a store there. As we were in no hurry we pulled into the local T/A and were told the tech would be with us shortly. About 15 minutes later a van pulled in and the tech checked the damage, "I can fix that" was his summary. After receiving the go ahead he went right to work. It seemed to be a simple process and 20 minutes later he was done. He explained the process of what he had done and the billing and he was gone. We got our 30-minute break, our windshield fixed and we were on our way to our delivery in less than an hour.
Safelite offers mobile service and in store repairs at most locations, Janesville cannot handle a semi truck, so mobile was our only option. You can still see the crack if you know where to look, but the tech said that their objective is not to make it disappear but to stop it from cracking farther. If you have a stone chip that needs to be fixed you may also make arrangements online if you know where you are going to be for a few hours.
One more thing about things in the windshield, 393.60(e).
"(e) Prohibition on obstructions to the drivers field of view- (1) Devices mounted at the top of the windshield. Antennas, transponders, and similar devices must not be mounted more than 152 mm (6 inches) below the upper edge of the windshield. These devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals."
What does this mean to you? If you have a GPS or anything mounted with a suction device to the inside of the windshield within the sweep of the wiper blades you are in violation of this section. I know of a driver receiving an out of service order and a $300 fine for having her GPS mounted to the windshield. An OOS order is pretty severe for such an offense, but the law is the law. She just removed the device and was able to keep going, but she still got the CSA points for an OOS violation. We have a bracket that is mounted to the dash that keeps everything but the transponders and the lane departure warning system camera ( which just got an exception from FMCSA ) out of the wiper sweep
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
[email protected]
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