Laminated Vs. Tempered Safety Glass

At Duran's Auto Glass, we really enjoy working what we do, and that is, installing and repairing auto glass. We also love answering questions about what we do. One common question about auto glass that comes up has to do with laminated vs tempered safety glass. Why do automobiles use these two different types of auto glass?

Let's picture this. There is a car accident nearby. A Nissan Altima steers right, pass the safety rail, and heads straight into a lake in order to avoid crashing onto a car whose driver was texting and driving. Few seconds later after going inside the lake, the passengers of the Altima realize that they have to get out as soon as possible. The passengers unbuckle their seat belts and try to open the doors. Soon they realize that this is  very hard to do. They then realize that they have to break the windows open in order to escape.

Now, image that all of the auto's windows were made out of laminated glass. As we learned in the previous post, laminated auto glass is made out of two layers of plate glass with plastic laminate in between. This type of glass is design to keep objects from easily getting inside the vehicle. That is why laminated auto glass is used for windshields.

However, let's say that laminated glass was used for all of the windows in our Nissan Altima accident. As the passengers would get their hands on any solid item and would try to break the side windows, they would soon realize that the auto glass would not break into tiny pieces. Instead, it would hold together because of the laminate. Several valuable minutes may be wasted, which may put the passengers' lives in serious peril.

Thus, as we can see, laminated glass was intended to help keep objects (and Paparazzis) from entering inside of the vehicles, and not the other way around.

To learn more about us, visit our website at www.duransautoglass.com. We serve the entire bay area, from San Francisco to Oakland, to San Rafael, to windshield replacement in San Pablo CA.

Manufacturing Auto Glass

Auto glass helps to protect the structure of a vehicle and the occupants inside. But how is auto glass manufactured? Is there just one type of auto glass? The DAB team will provide some answers.

The glass used in home windows is usually made from a standard type of glass that breaks into smaller pieces. However, since auto glass has to endure more stress, two types of safety glass are used. The first type is called laminated glass and is used for windshields, and the second type is called tempered glass, which is used for side windows and back windows.

Laminated Glass

To make laminated glass, glass makers insert a thin layer of film between two layers of glass and fuse them together through heat and pressure. The think layer of film is what is responsible for the glass staying together after it has been punctured or broken.

Tempered Glass

Tempered glass is created by heating and then rapidly cooling the glass to room temperature by ushering it through a system of blowers. This produces glass that has 5 to 10 times its original strength.

You can learn more about glass manufacturing from the following video from PPG:

For all your glass needs, please remember to call Duran's Auto Glass. We provide windshield and auto glass repair in Berkeley and surrounding areas all the way to San Mateo.

Auto Theft Statistics

One common reason our customers come to Duran's Auto Glass to get their car's auto side window replaced has to do with auto theft. So, the Duran's Auto Glass team set out to find out more about auto theft in general.

Our findings, to be honest, have been quite interesting.
According to the FBI, a motor vehicle is stolen in the United States every 43 seconds. Doing the math, that is about 1.4 vehicles per minutes, and since there is 525,949 minutes in year, we get the yearly figure of 736,329 stolen cars per year.

This was a quite interesting figure. Now, we also set out to look for the cities with the highest number of stolen cars. According to the National Insurance Claim Bureau, The top 10 metro areas with highest auto theft rates in 2011:

1. Fresno, Calif.
2. Modesto, Calif.
3. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
4. Spokane, Wash.
5. Yakima, Wash.
6. San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif.
7. Stockton, Calif.
8. Anderson, S.C.
9. Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.
10. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.

With the numbers in mind and the potential of having a car stolen, it is not a bad idea to take the necessary precautions. In an upcoming post, the Duran's Auto Glass will provide you with some steps you can take to prevent your car from being stolen. 

If your car has been stolen, and you need to replace your auto glass, check more about Duran's Auto Glass, providing auto glass replacement and auto glass repair in the Bay Area. Also, check what others are saying about our company in our Yelp profile. 

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If you want to check more about our company, free free to visit our website. And remember to call us whenever you need your windshield or any other auto glass replaced or repaired. Duran's Auto Glass is your #1 source for windshield replacement and auto glass replacement in the Bay Area.