finding and installing auto accessories

Almost every driver has seen the dark sleekness window tinting can provide, but relatively few know about the glass coatings that go behind improving the look of a car. The right kind of auto glass coating improves the safety of the car in addition to making it look better. Find out how adding the right sealant to your windshield protects every member of the family, whether they're driving or just riding around as a passenger.

A Cooler Car for Baby

Start with the youngest family member, a baby strapped into a car seat or a toddler wiggling around on a booster. It only takes a moment of forgetfulness to accidentally lock your keys in your car with a child too young to press the unlock button. This mistake is common enough that it leads to nearly 40 deaths a year.

While installing a sun-blocking tint coating won't completely prevent your car from heating up in the sun, it does slow down the heating process as you wait for a locksmith or the fire department to arrive on the scene. Of course, the entire family will appreciate the cooler temperatures during summer road trips too.

Reduced Glare for Teen Drivers

Teaching your teens to drive is a nerve-racking experience, but it's a necessary one when you live in an area with limited or no public transport. Night driving is the most dangerous type of driving for a teen. In fact, over 50 percent of teen driving deaths take place at night, and glare is a major factor in most of those fatal accidents. Look for a coating that reduces the glare caused by street lamps and headlights on the road so you can worry a little less when your teen has to drive home after dark from school or work.

Of course, glare on the windshield doesn't just come from outside the car. A separate phenomenon known as veiling interferes with a clear view by covering the windshield with a reflection of the dashboard during the day. An anti-glare coating can only help with this problem if you invest in double-sided coating so the interior side of the glass is covered too.

Fewer Pitting Problems for Mom and Dad

Experienced drivers may know how to deal with headlight glare at night, but physical and chemical damage to the surface of a windshield leaves it pitted in a way that causes problems for even Mom and Dad. The tiny pits and cracks catch and refract light unevenly to impede your view, especially during the mid-afternoon when sunlight glares most directly at the glass. Pitting is caused by unavoidable conditions like:

• Sand, tiny bits of gravel, and other road debris scouring your windshield as it bounces off at 60 or more miles per hour
• Corrosive reactions triggered by acid rain, alkaline cleaning compounds, and even pure water
• Salt rising off a road treated to prevent ice development or deposited by seaside breezes
• Exposure to particularly damaging particles like dust from a concrete processing plant

A Clearer View During Rain for Grandparents

Finally, consider how you can make driving safer for the oldest members of the family too. Many elderly people can keep driving independently even as their eyesight changes, but new prescription glasses only help so much when the windshield is blurred by rain and the wipers aren't helping. Anti-rain coatings cause water droplets to bead up and roll off quickly, giving your elderly loved ones the clearest view possible as they navigate the neighborhood.

A properly coated windshield is a safer one, so make sure every car your family drives or rides in features one of these coatings. It only takes a few hours to improve your windshield and reduce both visibility and heat-related hazards.