Could Tesla Armor Glass save lives?

[commasign]

This was in the news today:

Man Killed After Concrete Thrown From Highway Overpass Smashes Through His Car's Windshield

If you google “Thrown overpass windshield” there are similar stories almost every week.

Danger from above: Objects thrown from overpasses

And more generally, there are a lot of incidents involving objects (or animals) crashing through windshields. A few examples with Tesla’s:

Tesla Model X windshield gets hit by a full truck wheel – spectacular freak accident without injury

Tesla Model 3 Driver Lucky to Be Alive After Boulder Violently Crushes Windshield

But... I just remembered that Tesla is already working on something for the Semi. Seems like Tesla Armor Glass is the solution to this problem. Could it be adapted for Model S, X, and 3? Would it not save lives in these rare but severe life-ending types of accidents/attacks?

[URL="https://evannex.com/blogs/news/breaking-through-the-new-armor-glass-on-the-tesla-semi-video"]Breaking through: The new 'armor glass' on the Tesla Semi [Video][/URL]

An engineer who helped develop Tesla Glass told us why a big part of her job is destroying things

 

[Sprandt23]

I've wondered about this as well. There was a freak accident earlier this year here in St. Louis, where the former Chief of Police's wife was killed when she was driving under a bridge at the same time another vehicle on the road above was involved in an accident and the car knocked of a large piece of concrete that fell below and she was crushed.
Businesswoman, wife of former St. Louis police chief, killed when concrete falls on car
Very sad and completely random accident, and made some national news I'm sure because she was driving a Tesla.

It seems like this would be something they could develop across all models in the future - perhaps it would help in some cases.

 

[Xminus6]

There was a psycho in Austin who was throwing stuff off of overpasses with the intent of hurting people. He hurt many people and I believe a couple died.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I think "armor glass" could be helpful in some instances but potentially harmful in others. If the doors were stuck or unable to open, would passengers be able to kick out or break the glass to escape?

 

[commasign]

I think "armor glass" could be helpful in some instances but potentially harmful in others. If the doors were stuck or unable to open, would passengers be able to kick out or break the glass to escape?

True. Maybe armor glass for windshield and roof, but regular glass for all side windows to allow for extraction/escape.

 

[BluestarE3]

In addition to mitigating the outcome of these rare but potentially fatal accidents, its use will reduce the number of chipped or cracked windshields/roofs and the related costs and hassle of getting these replaced, which in the long run may more than offset the higher initial cost of using armor glass.

 

[Kichwas]

A good idea but I immediately began thinking of police objecting to it. Hard to shoot one if us 17 times through a bullet proof windshield...

This whole thing of people throwing rocks off if overpasses is not a good trend to see...

 

[dhanson865]

I think "armor glass" could be helpful in some instances but potentially harmful in others. If the doors were stuck or unable to open, would passengers be able to kick out or break the glass to escape?

True. Maybe armor glass for windshield and roof, but regular glass for all side windows to allow for extraction/escape.

Yeah the armor glass will be more expensive so they'll only use it on the front which is where it's needed most. No reason to use it on the sides or rear for cost reasons or how it would affect escape.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Is it actually bulletproof?

And in the case of kicking out the windshield in case of an accident/rollover, I could see an airbag like charge device that could be activated from inside the cabin to release the windshield. There are similar charge devices in some BMW convertibles to release a hidden roll bar behind the driver's and pax seats when a rollover is detected. Perhaps use similar tech to automatically release the windshield when rolled over and motion stopped (as to not release it prematurely in the middle of an accident event).