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Windscreen crack and MOT
Mr Whippy - 23/3/16 at 07:55 AM

Hi I got a crack in the windscreen from a thrown up stone (very annoyingly about 2 weeks after it was fitted). The crack is on the far left about where the tax disk use to sit and is about 4 inches long and goes from the edge in.

I used a Halfords crack repair kit which although it did glue it together and it is not spreading or getting worse even through all of winter it is far from invisible, I now need to take the car for an MOT but am not sure if this is a failure.

I had even thought of just getting a sticker and slapping it on the inside to hide it!

Any idea's? thanks.


CosKev3 - 23/3/16 at 08:08 AM

IIRC it's a fail if the crack goes from one side to another side of screen


Slimy38 - 23/3/16 at 08:13 AM

It's 40mm in the sweep of the wipers (10mm in the drivers line of vision). Depending on where your wipers reach I'd say it was a fail unfortunately.


CosKev3 - 23/3/16 at 08:13 AM

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_830.htm


CosKev3 - 23/3/16 at 08:15 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
It's 40mm in the sweep of the wipers (10mm in the drivers line of vision). Depending on where your wipers reach I'd say it was a fail unfortunately.


The swept area is not the full swept area of wipers though,shows you in that link the swept area they should test.


benjo - 23/3/16 at 08:17 AM

As long as it isnt in your wiper sweep you should be ok . if it is start looking for smaller wipers some older cars had wipers on the head lights am pretty sure it will pass if you fitted those

quote from auto glass website

The windscreen is chipped or cracked. The maximum damage size is 10mm in the drivers’ line of vision (a vertical strip 290mm wide centred on the steering wheel), 40mm elsewhere in the rest of the area swept by the wiper blades.


nick205 - 23/3/16 at 09:13 AM

Not certain, but it sounds like a fail to me - might be worth asking the garage before submitting for the MoT. On our car insurance we have to pay a £70 excess per glass claim, but that may well be different for you and if you've already had it replaced.


Slimy38 - 23/3/16 at 09:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
It's 40mm in the sweep of the wipers (10mm in the drivers line of vision). Depending on where your wipers reach I'd say it was a fail unfortunately.


The swept area is not the full swept area of wipers though,shows you in that link the swept area they should test.


It is the full swept area, but to a lesser standard. From that link;

quote:

In the remainder of the swept area:

d. damage not contained within a 40mm diameter circle, or


Mr Whippy - 23/3/16 at 01:00 PM

hmm a hard one. It does encroach on the swept area, not sure by how much and I could reduce the wiper size if it is close to the limits. I think I'll also slap on a tax disk holder as that is going to cover the damage completely and then try my luck!

Thanks

[Edited on 23/3/16 by Mr Whippy]


SteveWalker - 23/3/16 at 02:00 PM

It is an annoyingly tight regulation. I have damage which is in the swept area and within the 290mm stripe and I will have to change the windscreen before my next MOT. However, the damage is right at the bottom of the screen and so low that you cannot see anything except the bonnet through it. If you were short enough to be looking through it and past the end of the bonnet, you'd not be able to see it at all, as the instrument binnacle is higher than it! The only reason that it is in the swept area is that the wipers park below the visible edge of the screen.

[Edited on 23/3/16 by SteveWalker]


Slimy38 - 23/3/16 at 02:16 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
hmm a hard one. It does encroach on the swept area, not sure by how much and I could reduce the wiper size if it is close to the limits. I think I'll also slap on a tax disk holder as that is going to cover the damage completely and then try my luck!



Sadly the same article also refers to stickers within the same limits;

quote:

a Windscreen sticker or other obstruction encroaching more than 40mm



Which is certainly news to me as I distinctly remember my last tax disc was still within the swept area, I reckon it should have failed!!


gremlin1234 - 23/3/16 at 02:43 PM

quote:
The only reason that it is in the swept area is that the wipers park below the visible edge of the screen.
I think the swept area is while they are in use,
and the iva manual confirms wipers can park outside the swept area.
quote:
All front wipers must return automatically to a position of rest which is at or beyond the outer edge of the swept area


benchmark51 - 23/3/16 at 02:44 PM

I would go to another MoT station and ask for an opinion. If they say it's ok, get them to do the MoT. If not ok, try a sticker on the inside, a bit of road dirt on the outside and take a chance. Get a pidgeon to crap on the crack? If all fails, get a new screen.


SteveWalker - 23/3/16 at 03:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by gremlin1234
quote:
The only reason that it is in the swept area is that the wipers park below the visible edge of the screen.
I think the swept area is while they are in use,
and the iva manual confirms wipers can park outside the swept area.
quote:
All front wipers must return automatically to a position of rest which is at or beyond the outer edge of the swept area



I didn't mean that they move further down when parking (they sweep to and from there on each sweep), but the only reason that the sweep goes so far is so that when parked at the lower edge of the sweep, they are below the visible edge of the windscreen - which means my crack is in the swept area, despite it being impossible for a driver to use that part of the screen to see anything anyway! That's what I mean about the regulation being too tight. A tester would agree that the crack was not in any way obscuring vision for a driver of any height, but the regulations don't allow such a sensible decision only a black and white rule.


obfripper - 23/3/16 at 07:15 PM

The information on the motuk website is out of date.
This special notice contains the current criteria, effectively anything that only obscures your view of the bonnet or the sky is disregarded as a fail and can be advised instead.
It does say in the special notice that the manual will be updated in due course, that hasn't happened as of yet.

Current and up to date testing manual, this is the manual link from my testing account, it doesn't require an account to view.

Dave


Mr Whippy - 24/3/16 at 12:23 PM

Thanks for the MOT link


alfas - 1/4/16 at 08:25 PM

is the car a kitcar / locost?

if yes --> flat screen --> relplacement would be cheap and easier than all the discussion here and the possible risk for a failed mot.
if no , than its a different matter