Is Driving With A Broken Windshield Illegal?

Not every state settles for the federal cracked-windshield regulations. Some go further. Many states are fairly objective, such as Georgia, which requires starbust or spider web cracks to be less than 3 by 3 inches. Other states get super-specific, such as Louisiana, which limits windshields to two chips, nicks, half-moons, or stars less than a half-inch in size. Missouri and Pennsylvania prohibit sharp, exposed edges, which are hard to cause in safety glass. However, it’s probably possible if you, say, walk on your Cybertruck windshield enough times.

Many states restrict wiper-area cracks specifically, such as Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia, so just make sure to shatter the area outside the wiper’s reach. New Hampshire and South Dakota are military-boot-camp strict, as windshields cannot have any cracks, shatters, or damage whatsoever, do I make myself clear? Now drop and give me 20!

Then there’s the vagueness of Kansas, where cars can’t have a “damaged front windshield or side or rear windows which substantially obstructs the driver’s clear view.” Ignoring the fact that all windshields are “front” windshields, how does one define “substantially?” Does a half-inch clear-glass peephole count?

Now, there may be a loophole here. Federal regulations say that buses, trucks, and truck-tractors must have windshields, but cars don’t. Otherwise, McLaren couldn’t sell the windshieldless Elva (not that those cars sold much anyway). Some states will even let you drive your Jeep with the windshield folded down, not that it’s recommended. And if your car doesn’t have a windshield, would that make your glasses the windshield? If so, is it illegal to drive with a crack in your glasses?