Car windows do more than just give you a clear view of your vehicle’s surroundings. They also provide structural strength, enhance aerodynamics, and protect you from the elements. As a crucial part of your vehicle, they should be made of durable auto glass like laminated or tempered glass. While plexiglass might sound like a great option, manufacturers know better than to ignore the safety risks that come with using plexiglass for car windows.
Also known as acrylic glass, plexiglass is a strong, lightweight thermoplastic that is often used as an alternative to glass. Its durability, effective light transmission, and simple processing make it a popular material for aquariums, watch glasses, and cutlery. While plexiglass is often used in aircraft windows and police riot control vehicles, it isn’t typically used in the windows of most cars.
Compared to traditional glass, plexiglass is lighter, making it a popular choice for race car windows. The reduced weight can significantly improve the speed and handling, which is always a plus for race cars. For city cars, however, most manufacturers don’t use plexiglass for car windows.
As light and durable as plexiglass might be, it’s far from being the best choice when it comes to automotive windows. Here are some of the reasons why most manufacturers don’t use plexiglass for car windows:
Acrylic glass is sensitive to extreme temperatures, especially the heat. Compared to automotive glass, it’s much more susceptible to heat damage.
Automotive glass is typically treated to block UV radiation, protecting passengers and the car interior from UV damage. Unfortunately, this isn’t something plexiglass can offer. While treated plexiglass can offer UV protection to some degree, it isn’t enough to protect you from sunburns or your cabin from heat damage.
One of the biggest downsides to plexiglass is its poor scratch resistance. Stones, insects, and other debris can hit and scratch your windows, leaving surface abrasions that can block your visibility.
Plexiglass has greater impact resistance than automotive glass, which means it won’t break as easily as traditional glass. When automotive glass breaks, it shatters into small, blunt pieces that can minimize injury to passengers. On the other hand, plexiglass will break into large pieces that can hurt the passengers. If the door is stuck, passengers can also find it hard to break the window and escape the vehicle.
Plexiglass doesn’t always come cheap. You might score some for a good price, but high-quality plexiglass is usually more expensive than standard glass. Thicker pieces that have been treated for additional properties like better scratch resistance and reduced glare will also cost more.
Of course, we aren’t saying plexiglass is all bad. Here are some of the pros of acrylic glass:
Compared to automotive glass, plexiglass is much lighter. This is one of the biggest reasons why it’s often used in aircrafts, greenhouses, and submarines. The reduced weight makes handling and transportation easier while reducing costs related to heavy-lifting equipment.
Plexiglass is made from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), a nontoxic substance that doesn’t release any toxic fumes or chemicals that are harmful to humans.
Producing plexiglass typically uses less energy than other materials, such as glass and metal. Unlike other types of plastic, it can also be recycled and reused. However, many recycling centers aren’t equipped with the right tools to recycle acrylics, making it hard to dispose of them.
While plexiglass comes with its fair share of advantages, these hardly outweigh the risks that come with it. Manufacturers are well aware of this fact, which is why you’ll rarely find a passenger vehicle that has plexiglass windows. Laminated and tempered glass might be heavier, but they’re so much safer than plexiglass.
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