Autoglass reveals weird and wonderful causes of windscreen chips and cracks
If you're a fleet manager, you've probably heard some incredible excuses for damage to company cars. But do you have any stories to rival these ones from Autoglass?
The vehicle glass repair and replacement specialist has revealed its top 10 list of unusual things to damage car windscreens in 2016, including hippos and a rare meteorite shower.
Here is this year's top 10:
1. A hippo falling on the screen.
2. An inquisitive safari park camel.
3. A rogue cooking oil drum.
4. A misguided attempt to hoover car park tickets off the screen.
5. A toddler's temper tantrum.
6. A dare-devil bee.
7. A rare meteorite shower.
8. A squirrel holding a hazel nut that landed nut first.
9. Flying fish.
10. A fast-recovering heron with an odd flight path.
Autoglass noted that the most common cause of unexpected damage is stones and loose road surfaces (29%), followed by general mishaps (25%), 'mysterious' cracks which appear without warning often due to temperature changes (16%), animal-related damage (15%) and relatively rare occurrences of vandalism (5%).
The catch-all 'general mishaps' category this year included misdirected fireworks as well as people who shattered their rear window by slamming the boot closed on large flat-pack furniture, kayaks or surfboards.
And sometimes vehicle glass was damaged by avoidable pitfalls, including cranking up heaters on frosty mornings, makeshift ice scrapers, or cold, freshly topped up screen wash on a very hot day.
Taxiarchis Konstantopoulos, managing director of Autoglass, commented: "In these winter months, motorists need to be extra careful on the roads and with their vehicles. Take time to defrost screens correctly; rushing this process using the wrong tools or pouring water straight from the kettle can cause damage that can cost more time and money to rectify."
