As long as you drive a vehicle on the roads, you will eventually experience a rock chip or crack in your vehicle's windshield, as it is a matter of when, not if, windshield damage happens. So it is always good to be prepared and handle the situation in the best way possible and prevent and protect yourself with the right insurance coverage when a rock chip occurs. Here are some tips to help you protect against, prevent, and remedy rock chip and windshield crack damage.

Get the Right Coverage

One of the first things you should do as a driver is to get the right vehicle coverage to protect you and other drivers on the road. Typical comprehensive coverage will cover your vehicle with any damage that occurs from flying debris on the road, such as rocks, chunks of ice, and loose items that may fall from another vehicle. But be sure you are prepared to pay for your insurance deductible before your insurance will pay for the damage. And in the case of a windshield repair, your deductible may be more than the windshield's cost.

For this reason, you can check into a full glass coverage. A full glass coverage can be a good idea, especially if you drive on the roads quite a bit and receive a fair amount of windshield rock chips and cracks. Talk to your insurance agent about adding this coverage to your policy, which will not have a deductible requirement so your insurance will cover your new windshield.

Take Care on the Roads

You can also do your best to be a safe driver on the roadways to help protect your vehicle from receiving windshield damage. If you follow too closely behind other drivers, you are not only putting yourself at risk of an accident if they have to stop suddenly, but you also increase your chances of your windshield receiving damage from flying debris.

It is recommended to follow a two-second, four-second, and ten-second rule when driving behind another vehicle. For example, when the vehicle in front of you passes a fixed object on the side of the road, to make sure you are not following them too closely, you should not reach that same object within two, four, or ten seconds after they do—two seconds on dry roads, four seconds on wet roads, and ten seconds on slippery roads. Following this will help you have enough reaction time to avoid flying debris and to stay out of the way of flying stones from other vehicle's tires.

Know When to Repair Glass Chips

A rock chip on your vehicle window can be repairable, as long as the damage has the right characteristics. For example, some rock chips are too large, are too deep within the glass, or have already begun to fracture into the surrounding glass and cannot be repaired. However, you should always check with a professional rock chip repair professional to determine if your windshield's crack can be repaired or if you will need to replace the glass.

Typically, a rock chip that has not begun to spread cracks in an outward pattern can be repaired. The windshield professional will clean out any loose glass chips and inject a resin into the crack, filling the broken area of the glass to seal it off from further cracking.

Until you get a chance to have your windshield's rock chip repaired, take care that you don't let any cold water to come in contact with it. Cold water on a windshield's sun-heated surface can cause the glass to shrink and cause the chip or any small cracks around it to spread into large cracks over the surface of your window. Don't wash your vehicle and its windshield with cold water until you have the chip sealed.

If your windshield does receive a chip that results in a crack, talk to your insurance for a recommended auto glass professional. Asking about your options of having the windshield replaced at your home, your office, or the glass repair shop.