It’s not uncommon in movies for the hero to kick out/punch out a vehicle’s windshield (Road Warrior, Fire Down Below, Act of Valor, to name a few). I’ve seen windshields replaces, and it would seem the adhesive would do a good job of holding it in place. On the other hand, I’ve also seen plenty of vehicle crashes where the windshield flies on out. Does anyone know?
yes. The adhesive around the edges (that secures it to the car) won’t let go, but the glass will crack away right next to it. The intermediate layer of goop between the glass panes does a pretty good job of keeping the pieces together, but it’s not unlimited; keep pressing with your feet, and it will yield.
Well, hell. Never thought of YouTube.
Saturday night, as I drove through an intersection, I was hit by a car that ran a red light. My truck rolled 2 or 3 times, ending up on the the right side.
My windshield was thoroughly smashed, but in place. The front driver and passenger windows were gone, the rear driver and passenger windows were intact, and the back hatch glass was gone.
Releasing my seat belt got me standing on the ground through the passenger window.
I tried kicking and pushing the windshield out without success. I was highly motivated by the full tank of gas I just purchased now making its way out of the tank.
I ended up crawling to the back where I stood up and walked out the back hatch.
I believe Hollywood is pulling our collective legs.
A deer can.
Hmm… opposing viewpoints.
Has anyone else ever tried it?
Much depends on the particular vehicle. Older vehicles often had the windshield installed using a rubber gasket. No adhesives involved. These you can get out using your feet and a few solid thumps. Newer vehicles where the windshield is installed using adhesive are in much stronger. The age of the adhesive, and even variables like the temperature of the adhesive, then come into play.
I needed to replace the windshield gasket in my old VW Vanagon Wespfalia a few years ago Used nothing put muscle power to remove the windshield and gasket. Well, that and a friend on the outside to make sure the windshield didn’t go flying through the air!
I thought that you carried a tactical tool for just that situation. 
Sounds like something Myth Busters might test. Submit the idea to them.
Good idea. Done.
If they’ll do it, that’s something else. 
That windshield is pretty well prepped. It seems to have been smashed with a hammer in several places, most notably the deep hammer strike/hole in the top middle where it starts to separate when they push. I don’t think that video makes it a sure bet that you cold kick out a windshield. Here and here are two other attempts that aren’t as fruitful.
It sure doesn’t happen like it does in the movies. In the movies, they give it one good kick and the whole windshield goes flying out so they can see/escape/fire a weapon through the clean hole where the windshield once was. Even in the first video, the glass is just peeled forward and is going to take a minute to get out of the way, and it won’t be simple from the inside. You’d have to kick it all along the bottom to get it completely loose, and you’d likely slice your leg in the process.
Modern vehicles have laminated safety glass which hold it together pretty well, but the scene in Act of Valor is probably pretty accurate (I have this movie on my local streaming server which I can browse with my PC so it took me like 10 seconds to pull up that scene). The truck is an old 70s model with a regular pane of glass. It already has bullet holes and when they kick it, large sections just break out of the windshield, sort of like this. I’ve never played with an old vehicle’s windshield, but that scene looks like what I’d expect from non-laminated glass.
Once, in an act of pure inexcusable vandalism, I threw a cinder block thru a car windshield, it went right thru collapsing it as it went so that the second block my buddy launched took it completely out. Another time I was out at night in the park with my brother and some of his friends, all of us snot slinging drunk and looking for trouble. Now my bro, who died young of anger and drugs, was the real deal as a street fighter, and when some some college boys started fucking with us w/o getting out of their car, he launched into a passenger side window with a leaping front snap kick and shattered it. This is only impressive because the car was going by at 15-20 mph. Another time (I’ve been so well behaved for so long now) I tried to break the side window of a pickup with a 9 pound hammer and it just bounced off and damn near got me in my drunk face on the rebound. The problem with the question is the construction of the glass is so variable depending on make model and age, and also the angle on a lot of windshields makes it impossible to get a good clean kick at them from inside the vehicle. HaHa, I used to break stuff all the time…
No need for Mythbusters.
On an older car with a rubber gaset a good steady push will pop the windshield right out.
Installation is done with a long piece of string to get the gasket over the lip on the body.
Newer windshield are bonded to body with a ooly urethane resin (PUR). The PUR bonding actually makes the window a structural part of the body. Assuming the windshield was installed properly good luck kicking it out. It ain’t happening.
Hell the windshield guys have a damn hard time cutting the PUR to replace a window.
Yep, definitely some leg pulling going on somewhere.
By the way, don’t you have a dashcam? Link?
Find out why your windshield was kicked out. If it was because of drugs, or other illegal problems, decide whether or not it is a safe situation.
Talk to your parents. They might let your windshield stay at their house or know of a place for your windshield to stay.
If your parents don’t want to help or can’t think of a place, don’t take matters into your own hands. Research cheap apartments or go on youth help websites. Talk to local community and civic centers. See if other relatives or friends can help. Try a cheap motel even.
If there is nothing you can do , at least try to reason with your windshield and your windshield’s parents. There may be a condition that your windshield’s parents have for their glass to stay in their house.
If all else fails, try to get your windshield a job and food along with a temporary shelter.
I remember a radio talk show about 15-20 years ago discussing windshields.
Apparently, there is some Federal Law mandating American full-size vans to require pop-out glass as a safety measure.
Not exactly the OP’s scenario, but the mention of Youtube videos reminded me of this one.
Your life is so exciting. You get into what 3-4 car crashes a week? If I were you I would get some kind of tactical tool to help me get out of a wrecked car after some other person caused, because it is always the other persons fault, me to have a car wreck. I’d probably also get some tactical pants in which I could put the tactical tool in.
Mary Jo Kopechne couldn’t.
What’s a deer can?