A Smashing Great Time

There we were, travelling along the Kesas Highway heading for Sunway Pyramid to go to the Borland seminar which would showcase Delphi 2005's new features. I was really geared up to see John Kasters for the first time, and since Delphi 7, see the whats new in the Delphi world.

I wasnt driving particularly fast as I was just tagging behind this really aggressive driver who did his duty by getting rid of the darn slow coaches who love driving on the fast lane.

Then it happened: There was a sound of a sharp crack, and I could actually feel a shockwave hit my face. I blinked, and I could see flakes of tiny shiny bits in the air. Then I realised that my vision was being obscured by veins of twisting cracks on my windshield.

Great, I thought, I wonder how long more I can drive, as it wasnt too bad. The central area of the windscreen was still relatively clear, and I could easily make out where I was driving. But while navigating to the slower lanes, there was a constant cracking sound, like the sound of corals you hear while scuba diving in the sea. So slowly but surely, my vision through the screen got more and more obscured.

Time to pull over then.

So I found a nice flyover, and parked under its shade. What do we do? I called up AAM, to find out if they had suggestions on what to do when a windshield shatters along the road. They said that nope, they cant help me, as the AAM service only covers mechanical car failures. Windscreen is out. So I called my insurance person just to make sure that the windshield is covered, and yes, I had RM1000 coverage. Just make sure I took pictures.



So the next thing to do is to clear up the glass. Nick, who was unfortunate enough to be travelling with me helped a whole load, I held solid Kinokuniya paper bag underneath while he peeled away at the glass. So after two hours of this cleaning up, and after many tiny scratches and cuts, we got the car relatively clear of the glass fragments and could turn back home.

For those who need to know, the maximum speed you can drive without a windscreen is ... any speed you want! after all, Michael Schumacher drives without a hood! I tried 120kmh and it was fine. Just make sure that the side windows are wound up, or youll get too much air blowing past you.

Anyway, sent the car to the service centre, got home and found out that the power in the kitchen to the fridge was out... what else can go wrong in a day?!