Mr. Heiner Herz:

That is a very interesting question. When we spoke to the Road Safety Authority we were told that nothing was recorded at local authority level. When we informed the chief fire officer about the issue he told us that we was previously unaware of it. When the emergency services arrive at the scene of a crash more often than not the windscreen is out of the car. This is an advantage for them because it is easier to cut off the roof of the vehicle.

In one instance in the United States an individual linked the loss of his sister in a car crash to a windscreen that had been improperly bonded. The roof of the vehicle collapsed on her and broke her neck. This awareness is increasing, particularly in America, but there was also an incident in Chile in which a stone was thrown through the windscreen of a car. We will be more prone to have such issues in Ireland than in, for example, Germany where the after market is not as developed and manufacturers do much of the installation themselves. The findings may be bad but they offer an opportunity for Ireland to set a good example. It would be a good result if we can increase awareness generally in other countries.