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 Auto Glass In the News 

February 26, 2000
 

TV's 20/20 Airs Segment
On
Autoglass Safety

    The popular TV newsmagazine 20/20 aired a segment on windshield installation safety Friday, February 25, and the auto glass industry finally saw the "safety issue" of windshield replacement get some national exposure. The show was done in a 'consumer awareness' tone, with on-air personality Arnold Diaz, who started with the fact that windshield replacement is 'complicated' and auto glass installers do not have to be licensed or certified.

    The segment said experts have claimed that millions of windshield replacements  have been installed improperly. The story stressed that the windshield is an important vehicle component, perhaps saving your life in the event of an accident. Video of crash and rollover tests, as well as an air bag detonation, was shown to demonstrate the key role of the windshield.

    The tragic and up-close human toll, reportedly the result of a bad windshield replacement, was an interview with a woman whose neck was broken in an auto accident. Her vehicle had rolled over, the glass popped out, and the roof crushed in, rendering her a paraplegic. The vehicles' windshield had been replaced four years previously by a local glass shop. The woman's family settled for 2 million dollars after suing the replacement shop. The woman's' husband said the company forgot to use a secondary primer, causing the sealant not to harden.

    After hearing from auto glass experts that windshields are often replaced improperly due to installers being "sloppy" or "not being trained well enough", 20/20 showed windshield replacements by three different shops, in three different cities, all mobile installations.

    Hidden cameras taped two installers from American Mobile Glass, of New Jersey, replacing a windshield, and setting the glass with their bare hands. Generally accepted industry procedure is to wear gloves to prevent any oils from the hands 'contaminating' the windshield and causing the sealant not to adhere. When confronted with this fact, one of the installers proceeded to 'demonstrate' the technique of carrying the glass by the edges to prevent such contact.
    Footage also revealed that no primer appeared to be applied to the glass. One installer claimed that usually the windshields are primed before they head out to the job, and when his partner was asked he claimed to have primed it right before it was installed.
    The following day 20/20 had the windshield removed and claimed the urethane easily came loose, indicating little or no use of primers.

     One of the installers claimed that the installation just witnessed was a 'bad example' and they had been 'real busy' and just 'slammed down 12 jobs'. The company commented that the installers are certified and regularly trained.

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    The second installation took place in Spokane, Washington, where a Safelite Autoglass installer was filmed cleaning the windshield with only a rag, and not any cleaning agent. The company terminated the installer, and told 20/20 that it was an 'isolated incident' and that the mistakes did not necessarily pose a safety risk.

    After an installation by Diamond Triumph in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the "customer" said the technician told him, that after he "slapped on the glue" and put the windshield in, the vehicle was ready to go. Confronted with his purported statements, the installer denied it, saying the car should 'probably sit for a while', later clarifying the time as "a couple of hours". A graphic from sealant manufacturer Essex showed ten hours on their safe drive-a-way chart for U-418. The company claimed that 20/20 cameras caused their installer to be nervous and give erroneous information.

    For expert opinion on the story, 20/20 consulted with Mitch Becker, of ABRA Auto Glass & Body, and Steve Coyle of the Performance Achievement Group, a leading auto glass training company.

    At the close of the segment, Barbara Walters asked Arnold Diaz just what consumers can do to "get the right kind of treatment for their windshield?" Mr. Diaz responded that experts say they might want to ask if they are certified by the National Glass Association. He commented that although that doesn't give a guarantee, it does give the consumer a better chance. Diaz recommended that they also ask the installer, and not just the shop, about being certified.

    Ms. Walters also asked about consumers checking with their insurance agent for a recommendation for a shop. Mr. Diaz responded that "that could be a problem", as sometimes insured's are steered to a place that is cheaper, and that could mean cutting corners.