Safety and Security Window Film.

We've been promoting our product for years as an added safety feature. Finally, a few of the luxury

automobile  manufacturers have taken note despite opposition from the insurance companies.

Window film, helps deter theft as well as protect lives, along with many other benefits which are

listed below.

 

Every 15 minutes someone in the United States learns that a loved one has died in a traffic crash.

Every day 119 people die on American roads and highways-more than 40,000 each year.

Surprisingly, that grim crash fatality statistic has held steady for the past two decades-even as

cars have become more crashworthy and sophisticated safety features are more widely available.

 

The seatbelt fight;

Although shoulder/lap belt usage increased from 58 percent in 1994 to 81 percent in 2006,

according to the NHTSA, more than half the occupants killed in passenger vehicle traffic

crashes were unbelted.

 

Unfortunately, it will be years before laminated side windows are a standard feature on all makes and models of vehicles because of the added expense in manufacturing.

It's about time the automotive industry took your safety and security just as seriously as we do. We are able to offer you window film at a reasonable price and the process only

takes one to two hours to apply. Did you realize that 15 to 20 percent of a car’s surface today is glass.

 

The EPGAA (The Enhanced Protective Glass Automotive Association) states that

compared to tempered glass, which can be shattered in about one-tenth of a second,

laminated (to construct from layers of material bonded together) glass can protect the

vehicle and the objects within for about 30 seconds - enough time to deter most

would-be thieve.

 

Automotive Window film protects cars against Smash-and-Grab car theft. The scenario is simple: You're stopped at a stoplight, computer bag sitting on the front passenger seat. While you're eyes are focused straight ahead watching, waiting for the light to turn green, a criminal walks up to your car, sees the computer, and in an instant, smashes the passenger window with a heavy object and snatches the case. Within seconds, he's out of sight, ducking between cars carrying your laptop and its irreplaceable contents.

This weekend I met with a friend on Saturday and we had lunch downtown. At about 2pm, I parked my car about 1-1/2 blocks from the restaurant. We had an enjoyable time and I was gone from my car for maybe an hour. When I returned, my car had been broken into, and my valuables stolen. Overall, the damage was about $1,900.

Does this story sound familiar?

 

 

   From WIKIPEDIA, the free encyclopedia

 

  Safety and Security window films are polyester films that are applied to

  glass & glazing in order to hold them together if the glass is shattered

  (similar to laminated glass). The main difference between film and laminated

  glass is that film can be applied to the glass or glazing after manufacture or

  installation. These films are used widely all over the world, they can be

  found on trains, buses, cars and buildings.

 

More and more car owners are turning to laminate security window film to deter the opportunistic thief. Once only the purview of the most expensive lines of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes vehicles were equipped with this multilayered, optically clear polyester film that was either standard or an optional buying feature. This feature could be professionally installed as a retrofit application in a matter of hours, protecting the occupants from smash-and-grab thievery. Some types can protect against heat gain, damaging ultraviolet rays, and road noise as well. This added safety feature on all auto window glass was first introduced on the Audi A8 in Europe back in 1995.

Question: What's the difference between my windshield and the other glass in my car?

Isn't glass just glass?

Answer: No - there's a very important difference. Windshield are laminated glass and the rest of your car is tempered.

 LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS:

 

 Your windshield is made of LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS. What makes it unique is its special construction,

 designed to offer optimum safety in the event of a crash. LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS is made up of two

 pieces of glass, with a thin layer of vinyl (film) sandwiched between them. The three pieces are

 laminated together by applying heat and pressure in a special oven called an autoclave.  

When a small object strikes a piece of safety glass, often only the outer layer struck breaks. This is what makes windshield rock chip repair possible. In a more severe impact, the glass "shatters" but usually does not fly apart - the broken pieces of glass generally adhere to the vinyl inner lining. A manufacturing milestone occurred in 1927 when laminated windshields were first introduced. LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS also acts as a barrier to objects moving inside the vehicle.

 

TEMPERED GLASS:

 

The side and rear windows are made of TEMPERED GLASS. As the name implies, the glass has been "tempered", i.e., put through a special process where it is heated, then rapidly cooled. This "tempering" process makes the glass many times stronger 5 – 10 times stronger than un-tempered glass of the same thickness. Upon impact, TEMPERED GLASS is designed to disintegrate into small pieces of glass about the size of rock salt. There should be no large, jagged pieces of glass to injure the driver or passengers. However, the force necessary to break a piece of tempered glass is considerably more than an un-tempered piece.

 

This is a great safety feature, but what a mess, with glass scattered all over the inside of your

vehicle. Window film serves as a safety barrier to prevent the glass from being broken into shard

pieces should it endure trauma of some sort. Plus, window film adds even more strength to the

window making it even harder to break.

Window film is a special type of material that is created with polyester substrate, which makes it resistant to scratching and absorbs outside heat. One side of the window film contains an adhesive (glue) layer in order to stick to a window. This side is covered with a protective release liner that is removed when the window film is applied to the interior side of a window.

Think about it: After brakes and seatbelts, what's more important to the safety and comfort of a

car's occupants than glass.

 

Window film may be applied to a window for a variety of reasons. The most common reason for

tinted window film is to provide protection from the glaring sun. In fact, the original purpose of

window film was to prevent windows from becoming too hot or too cold in response to the climate

and the glare of the sun. Automotive window film also reduces the amount of heat inside the car,

thereby increasing the efficiency of the air conditioner and improving comfort.

Today, window film can also serve as a safety barrier to prevent the glass from being broken into

shards should it endure trauma of some sort.

 

Another potential significant benefit of the stronger glass is the prevention of occupant ejection during traffic accidents. Since up to a third of all Americans apparently haven't figured out the safety benefits of seat belts, a number of occupants, many of them young people, continue to die through vehicle ejection during a crash. Several U.S. national auto safety groups, and the Automobile Protection Association in Canada, support laminated windows all around the car. There's even support from the U.S. regulator. Last year, it released a report which found that up to 1,300 American lives could be saved every year if all car windows were laminated. European luxury car makers. Five of them offer laminated windows. Mercedes Benz says "there are no known disadvantages of this glass against the previous methods." However, the Europeans don't often promote the safety aspects of laminated glass. Their emphasis is on anti-theft security. That's also the idea behind Chrysler offering laminated side windows on two of its cars, although they're only made in Mexico.

 

In April 1999, Todd and two friends were driving back from a horse show in Kentucky. Todd was

lying down in the back of the car, not wearing a seatbelt. Just outside Chatham, Ontario, something

went wrong. The U-haul they were trailing began to sway. The vehicle went out of control, hit the

median, and flipped over three or four times. The two passengers in the front seat survived. Todd

was thrown through the rear window, and killed.

Safety experts say being ejected through these windows can be stopped. The solution is no mystery

- all the auto industry has to do is install a different type of glass, the same glass they've been using

in windshields for decades. 

 

"It's at least 15 times safer to stay in the car, than to go out of the car, in a severe crash," he says.

"Tempered glass breaks so easily. So there you have an open window. And you can eject. Whereas

the laminated glass, it'll crack. But that plastic will hold the window in place and you can hit it with

considerable force and still not go out."   

Tempered glass windows are supposed to shatter into tiny bits, reducing the chance of being cut.

Some call it 'friendly glass.' But with enough pressure, (as happens in an accident) the tempered

glass can go through skull. 

 

(Photographs above are of cars with tempered glass only on side windows).                                           

In other words, window films can improve the look of a vehicle and make the occupant feel safer.

 

  Belfort (Stephen Belfort, sales manager, Bekaert Specialty Films), points out

  that while a solar control window film would hold most of the glass together

  in the event of a smash and grab incident, it won't prevent it from breaking.

  "It wouldn't stop the opportunist thief from getting into the vehicle although

  it may just slow him down. With a safety and security film, however, when

  the glass breaks it tends to expand in size slightly. Because each crack is a

  small air gap between that and the next piece of glass, so the glass gets

  slightly bigger and it tends to lock itself into the frame. So the opportunist

  thief can give the side window 20 or 30 blows and still not penetrate the film.

  He would typically give up after the second or third hammer as he is attracting

  too much attention." Belfort added: with a safety film, because we bond just

  the inside surface of the glass, then the particles of glass open up and the

                           film just falls out of the car. 

 

Laminated glass also reduces road noise.

 

                                                  

  

How does a windshield repair stop a crack or chip from spreading?

 

When a windshield gets a rock chip, air fills into the cracks. A change in temperature causes

the air to expand and contract. When this happens the crack will spread. It's important to

remember that repairing a rock chip will make it less visible but it will not make it disappear

completely.

 

 

      

 

                                                    

Bekaert Specialty Films is a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of professional grade

solar control and safety and security window film products. All of its products are sold through a

worldwide network of independent dealers and are available in a variety of options specifically

designed for automotive, residential, commercial and safety applications.

Below is a list of production vehicles on the 2007 NAIAS floor that offer 

laminated side windows:

Production vehicles offering laminated glass as a standard feature:

Audi A8	Chevy TrailBlazer SS	Maybach
Bentley Continental GT	Chrysler Aspen Limited	Mercedes S-Class
Buick Enclave	GMC Envoy Denali	Maserati Quatroporte
Buick LaCrosse	Jaguar XJ	Porsche 911 Targa
Buick Lucerne	Land Rover LR3	Saab 9-7X
Buick Rainer	Land Rover Range Rover	Saturn Aura
Cadillac DTS	Mercedes CL 550
Cadillac STS	Mercedes GL

     Production vehicles offering laminated glass as an optional feature:

Audi A4	Mercedes	Volvo C-30
Audi A6	(Sedan & Wagon)	Volvo S-40
Audi Q7	Mercedes M-Class	Volvo S-60
Chevy Malibu	Mercedes R-Class	Volvo S-80
Chrysler Pacifica	Mercury Grand Marquis	Volvo V-50
Lexus LS 460	Porsche Cayenne	Volvo V-70
Lexus LS 600	Subaru Forester	Volvo XC70
Mercedes B-Class	Subaru Outback	Volvo XC90
Mercedes E-Class		Volvo S-60

Laminated glass provides five key benefits, to help protect vehicle occupants:

Safety, Security, Sound Reduction, Thermal and Ultraviolet protection from the sun.

 

European auto makers have known for almost ten years the advantages of safety window film.

Isn't your families safety just as valuable as theirs.

 

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