A new report commissioned by Autoglass, has concluded that up to 89,000 vehicles on Irish roads may have serious safety issues due to poor windscreen replacement. It also suggests that insurance steering and pressure on reducing costs could be compromising windscreen replacement quality.

Autoglass Ireland recently told the Joint Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee that the practice of ‘steering’ by insurance companies and a lack of regulation in the Vehicle Glass Repair and Replacement (VGRR) industry is leading to the safety of thousands of Irish motorists being potentially compromised as some windscreen providers are failing to replace windscreens correctly.  In a bid to win ‘steering’ business from insurers, its is suggested that some VGRR operators are cutting costs by using inferior materials and practices, which can have a serious impact on the safety of the vehicle and the motorist.

The committee heard that the windscreen of a modern car now accounts for up to 30% of the structural integrity of the vehicle and prevents the roof collapsing in the event of a roll-over. Also, the airbag, once activated, on the passenger side relies on support from the windscreen in order to work correctly. This means a properly fitted windscreen is crucial to the safety of all occupants while an incorrectly fitted windscreen will significantly increase the potential for fatality or serious injury when a vehicle is involved in an accident. The Committee was also told car windscreens are becoming increasingly complicated due to increased curvature, tinting and embedded electronics.

Early in 2012, Autoglass commissioned a major study, carried out by the UK-based transport industry experts, Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), on the extent of the problem with the quality and safety of windscreen replacements in Ireland.

The main findings of the study were:

- Over 35% of windscreens that had previously been replaced were judged to exhibit some type of quality or safety issue.
- Over 14% were judged to exhibit safety issues rated as ‘high’ or ‘medium’.
- 36,274 windscreen replacements per year in Ireland have some kind of quality or safety issue.

Based on the findings it is estimated that over a five year period, approximately 180,000 windscreen replacements may be introduced into the Irish market which have quality or safety deficiencies; and between 59,000-89,000 of these may have more significant safety issues.

Autoglass have now commissioned TRL to conduct a second tranche of research that will establish the exact physiological effects of these poor practices in an impact situation on a driver in various models of cars.

Heiner Hertz, General Manager of Autoglass Ireland, commented, “This research has uncovered a major issue in the Irish market which needs to be urgently addressed. As a result of the tough economic times, we believe that the choice of ‘preferred’ replacement company by insurance companies is being increasingly determined by commercial factors, principally pricing, rather than quality and safety concerns.”  He added, “Motorists are generally ‘steered’ to an insurance company’s preferred supplier or else they face being financially penalised. The TRL evidence shows that some of these suppliers’ technicians are using inferior materials and incorrect practices which can have a serious impact on the safety of the vehicle and thus on the motorist.” 

Heiner Hertz also pointed out, “Consumers are entitled under the law to have any component of their vehicle replaced or repaired to at least the same standard that it was beforehand any damage occurred. The TRL evidence shows that this is simply not happening.”

These findings reflect similar growing concerns in the accident repair industry that “steering” is affecting quality and safety standards in some accident repair situations and that the present emphasis on continual cost reduction is unsustainable.