How to Get Your Windshield Chip Repaired

Rocks, road debris, hail, ice, and many other objects can cause your windshield to chip or crack.  Although these images may look harmless, left in disrepair, these windshield chips can cause your windshield to crack and become unsafe.

As long as the chip or small crack (less than 6 inches) is not in the direct line of site of the driver (or what is known as the critical area), it may be repairable, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars.  Some insurance companies will actually pay for the repair of windshield chips or small cracks, waiving your deductible.

The windshield repair technician will first drill a small hole into the rock chip.  Then, the technician will apply vacuum pressure onto the hole.  An injection of resin is made into the windshield chip hole.  Once the resin has been injected, the technician cures the resin by utilizing an ultraviolet light.  Once cured, the excess resin is removed from the repair and the windshield in cleaned.  The repaired windshield is no longer in danger of cracking further from this chip.  You may, however, notice some distortion at the point of the repair as the resin will not be perfectly clear, but it is structurally safe. 

Left in disrepair, your windshield chip will develop into a crack and most likely will end up ruining your windshield.  Temperature variations, car washes, or even extreme temperatures can cause your chip to turn into a large un-repairable crack.  The sooner the repair is completed, the better the results will generally be.  Dust, debris and moisture can settle into the crack and cause blemishes or discoloration.

Most people do not realize that the windshield of your car, truck or van is an important structural component of your vehicle.  Therefore, a quality installation is essential to maintain that structural integrity.  Using the most advanced materials, such as a quality adhesive, is a critical element in the windshield installation process.

Big Brother: Traffic Cameras and How They’re Making Us Paranoid

I know you’ve seen these inconspicuous little buggers on top of stoplights, on street corners, and in your nightmares.  They record your movements through traffic with the flicker of a flash, causing paranoia that could lead to a citation in the mail, with a photo of you disregarding the law.  A smile planted on your face as you cruise through a stoplight is all the evidence they need. 

Red light cameras are made to deter running red lights. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2007, almost 900 were killed and nearly 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. About half of the deaths are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners. The IIHS has reported huge decreases in red light running in several cities in which the cameras were used.  Since they’re working, the cameras have been installed in more major intersections. 

Some drivers ask if this is an invasion of privacy.  Nope. Driving is a regulated activity on public roads.  When you receive a license, you must obey the laws of the road, which contains nothing to prevent local governments from documenting violators.  According to an article appearing in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the city of Lilburn, GA issued about 1,500 citations in January 2008. The citations dropped by 80 percent to around 300 in January 2009, after a new Georgia law mandated a longer yellow light duration. The extra second on the yellow light may have reduced the problem of red light running for the driver, but it almost worked too well for the city. Red light cameras were no longer issuing enough citations to keep them "profitable" and as a result, Lilburn and four other cities in the same county suspended their red light programs.

The red light camera system looks like it’s here to stay, for mow.  For more info on how they work, visit: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/red-light-camera1.htm

Car App of the Week: Waze, FREE GPS Application

Life has been made simpler with the emergence of smartphones.  Need to find a great place to eat? There’s an app for that.  Want to set up a reminder to pick milk after work?  There’s an app for that.  Want to begin your plan for world domination by taking over your city with one swift button?  There’s NO app for that, yet…but who knows what's in store for the future!

The iPhone app store has a plethora of GPS apps that range from $.99 to $100, all allowing for a step-by-step guide to get from point A to B.  Our app of the week, Waze, a new navigation system that provides step-by-step directions on a 3-D map, combining crowd-sourced info as well as accurate GPS, is the perfect solution. Also, the app is totally free!  According to 148Apps: “Waze is a free, social, mobile crowd-source navigation and real-time traffic application for iPhone that gives its users a "real-time," live description of the road/driving conditions around them. It's a free, useful, fun application everyone should download and experience!”

Waze features:

• Constantly-updated road map
• Real-time traffic updates
• Automatic rerouting
• Live reports from users on the road
• Turn-by turn directions
• Road tweets – Twitter integration
• Foursquare integration
• Automatically learned frequent routes
• Picture sharing from the road
• User contribution scoreboard

Download ASAP! For more, visit: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/waze/ and http://www.waze.com/download/ to download

The Kookiest Auto Races…EVER

We love speed.  The exhilaration we feel when we’re driving with the top down and the landscape is whizzing by is an American pastime, almost a tradition in our culture.  We pack Nascar Speedways to watch speed demons circle a track, drive fast in the HOV lane, and mount up a ridiculous amount of speeding violations on a daily basis.  We’re a speed-based country bent on getting to the next objective…quickly.  As fans of the racing dynamic and the sense of adrenaline we get from it, I’ve decided to pull 3 crazy races into a list (Courtesy of HowStuffWorks.com) on our Blog.  Check them out below:

Red Bull Soapbox Race

It’s all about gravity with this one.  The objective is to create a makeshift vessel that can be propelled with only standard wheels.  The vehicle is engineless, and zooming downhill in this derby and winning could warrant a prize.  The derby oozes creativity, with past entrants being in the shape of a piano, a giant corn on the cob, and…the Golden Gate Bridge.  Now that’s awesome!

24 Hours of LeMons

According to HowStuffWorks.com “While the actual 24 Hours of LeMans sports car race, held annually in the eponymous French city, features real racing cars that have been tuned and engineered within an inch of their lives, the 24 Hours of LeMons race features real, well, lemons.”  If you paid more than $500 for your car, including modifications you won’t be allowed on the track.  Our first car out of high school would have worked perfectly.

Gumball 3000

The Gumball 3000 is a high-end car rally that runs annually between locations since 1999.  The tradition began in London, making its way through Europe, ending in New York City.  Other Gumballs have gone from New York to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles and from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France -- not a very long trip until you consider that the route crossed the Mediterranean and passed through North Africa on its way to the finish line.  Have any you would like to add?

Tips For Keeping Your Car Cool in the Summer

Summer.   The byproduct of pent up pubescent energy, barbequed sausage links, and strangely warm swimming pools. It’s a time of childhood freedom, family road trips, and a generous amount of suntan lotion, all wrapped into a 3-month span.   Driving your vehicle during the summer months can put wear and tear on your car, the extreme heat causing internal frustration and outward sweat spells.  In today’s blog, we suggest ways to keep yourself and your vehicle cool during the summer months.

Our first option is an auto shade that sets in your front window.  It cools your vehicle, and protects your dash from cracking from sun damage.  Make sure your shade:

·      Fits your car fully

·      Dark and reflective shade

·      HEATSHIELD- made to conform to specific makes and models of vehicles.

Another way to drop your car’s temperature is to install a window film, or tints on your vehicle. Several companies’ make a nearly clear film that reflects U.V. and infrared rays.  By keeping your vehicle temperature down, it takes less time for your A/C to cool your car down.  Thus, saving you energy and promoting overall efficiency.  If you have any other options to contribute, please leave a comment below.  Have a great summer!

The Dangers of Texting and Driving (2013 Edition)

You’ve heard it all before.  Texting and driving should not mix.  We’ve all been ridiculed and yelled at for checking our phones in the HOV lane, dashing passed a red light while flicking our phone and having full blown conversations via MMS.  Texting and driving is DEADLY.  This isn’t a filtered blog with soft-spoken words, it’s a PSA for those who drive while browsing and texting on their phones.  We’re providing some scary facts on WHY LOL can lead to RIP.  Please be safe out there, fans! We care about ‘ya!

·      In 2011, at least 23% of auto collisions involved cellphones.  That’s 1.3 million crashes.

·      Five seconds is the average amount of time your attention is taken away from the road.  So, if you’re traveling at 55 mph, this equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road.

·      77% of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving.

·      55% of young adults claim it’s easy to text while they drive.

·      Teens who text while driving spend 10% of their driving time outside of their lane

·      48% of young drivers have seen their parents drive while talking on a cell phone.

·      1 in 5 drivers of all ages confess to surfing the web while driving.

·      Texting while driving increases the risk of accident 23.2 times over unimpaired driving.

·      Texting while driving results in longer response times than even drunken driving. While an unimpaired driver can respond quickly to changes in traffic and begin braking within half a second, a legally drunk driver needs four additional feet to begin braking—and a driver who’s texting needs 70.

Drive safely!

6 Things to tell your insurance agent that could lower your bill

 

Recently I moved from a major city in which public transportation was my most logical means to get around.  (Perhaps you can relate?) Since I was no longer privy to public transpo.  I decided to lease one of our fine vehicles. Now, I’ll admit, insurance was the one thing I hadn’t researched before my purchase.  So needless to say two months later I realized I was getting hosed.  Has this happened to you?  Well I quickly came up with a game plan that might help to save you some money.  Read on to learn more.

1.)  Since I hadn’t been in an auto accident in over 2 years I began my negotiation there.  The agent looked at my record and gave me a discount.  I’ve become aware that insurance agents are on a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality.

2.)  I am definitely over 25, so I was under the impression that I shouldn’t be paying more than when I first started driving.  The agent told me that policies go up and down as we age.  I pressed a little and was able to persuade the agent that I should be rewarded for the fact that I have never had a car accident in the entire 31 years I’d been driving and that my maturity shouldn’t be a benefit.  Moral: A little sniveling and groveling can put a little extra money in your back pocket!

3.)  Since I was leasing the car; I was allotted 12K miles per year.  I was a perfect candidate for a lease since I only drove to work and back less than 10 miles each day.    I asked again if there were any special rates for someone driving with that mileage that low.  The agent took off another chunk of money.  Moral: Getting lower insurance rates could be fun!

4.)  He asked if I had airbags all over the car and an alarm system.  I replied well most cars are built with airbags aren’t’ they?  I’m sure that my sarcasm was far from welcome. However,  I did purchase LoJack, which eliminated that hit.  Pow! Take that Insurer!

5.)  Next I asked if I was being charged for my credit?  The insurance agent explained that I was being charged additional fees for not having insurance for the past 2 years.  When I explained to him that I didn’t own a car for two years I was told that didn’t matter.  (Apparently you should buy insurance for invisible cars or insure air?).  I pleaded my case and explained that I had good credit and felt that this was unacceptable treatment.  Cha Ch’ing! They lowered my rate once again.

6.)  Last but not least; a big pet peeve of mine is drinking and driving.  Since I have never and I mean NEVER, gotten busted for DUI I politely asked the rep if I could get rewarded for having never gotten one of these offenses.   After the harps stopped playing and I took off my halo, the agent came back with a new payment that was $185 cheaper per month! 

Last moral: Ask and Ye shall receive.  I could have saved myself $688 had I done my research first.  While we don’t endorse insurance companies I am hoping that this might help save you some serious cash.  It never hurts to try!

For more information on automotive issues contact us at 301-656-9200

What Exactly is the Autobahn?

When Autobahn comes to mind, I can’t help but reference Michael Jackson’s hit “Speed Demon, “ a fast-paced song about the repercussions of speeding down an infinite highway.  THAT is how I picture the Autobahn.  Millions of people have heard references to the famed speedway, but what exactly is it?  Is it a motorway system that lasts an eternity without a speed limit or a racetrack for the fastest cars in the world?  In today’s blog, we break down WHAT the Autobahn is and how you can see it for yourself.

The Autobahn, by definition, is a superhighway or expressway in Germany that stands as one of the last places on earth where you can drive as fast as you want.  The highway is in no means a free-for-all, with some sections of the autobahn having speed limits, though great stretches still remain unrestricted. 

The Autobahn national highway system stretches over 6,800 miles and is designed to connect all of Germany’s major metropolitan areas.  The presumption is that there are unlimited speeds on the entire Autobahn, but many heavily trafficked sections of the freeway have speed limits in the 50 to 75 mph range. The suggested speed for the unlimited sections is 81 mph, though various speedsters and adrenaline seekers routinely break the fold.

So, you must be wondering HOW fast someone has ventured into the record books.  Well, in 1938, driver Rudolf Caracciola set an autobahn speed record of 268.8 mph.  WOW.