Know Your Rights: Utah’s Rules On Cracked Windshields

You are driving behind a dump truck and you hear that smack on your windshield that makes your heart jump. When you can breathe again, you scan your window for that chip in the glass. Do you have to get it repaired? What does the law require? 

Utah law says you can actually drive with a crack in your windshield as long as it is not obscuring your view.  

Windshield cracks at any length may be present anywhere within the six inch border that surrounds the outside edge of a windshield.   

If it is a rock chip is smaller than a penny, you are can still drive it as well. If it gets larger than that, it could get you a ticket. 

• there is any damage within the acute area that cannot be covered by a disc 3/4 inch in diameter (a 3/4 inch diameter disc is approximately the size of a penny) 

You cannot drive a vehicle if something is obscuring your view whether that be a spidery crack in the glass or a sticker placed in the wrong spot. If any of the following happen to your windshield, you must have it repaired before you can drive it.

• A vehicle does not meet the standards for windshields if 
• any crack intersects with another crack within the acute area 
• there is any damage in the acute area that is within 3 inches of any other damage in the acute area 
• the windshield has outright breakage, which includes shattered glass on either the inside or outside surface, or any broken glass leaving sharp or jagged edges. 

Your best bet when you get a rock chip is get it repaired right away. Check with your insurance as they may cover rock chip repair. If you don’t get it taken care of, heat or AC will turn that chip into a crack that stretches all the way across.