Laceration and ejection dangers of automotive glass, and the weak standards involved : the strain fracture test.

Glazing types are historically described, with the laceration injuries and ejection deaths associated with present glazing. Sixty tempered glass windows manufactured at nominally four temper levels were tested for uncracked fracture fragment size and weight and length by the American and European standards, which fracture the glass without strain, and the authors' preliminary strain fracture test, which produces longer uncracked fragments and heavier clusters of fragments. This study relates the results by the three methods to the temper measurements using birefringence, with a discussion of alternate safer glazing and the inadequacy of present standards for reducing laceration and ejection dangers. (A)