Why does Wyoming have more broken windshields than anywhere else in America? Or even the world?
There are two big reasons and both of them make the Cowboy State unique.
First, we drive more miles, per capita, by far, than people of any other state. Why? Perhaps because we do not have a large central city like Anchorage in Alaska or Boise in Idaho. But seriously, I don’t know, except to say that I sure drive a lot of miles.
Second, we are the windiest state in America and that requires some special kind of rocks on our roads in bad weather – which can come just about any time of year.
I was thinking about our wonderful state and how unique it is as I drove along I-80, squinting into Wyoming’s future through the cracked glass of my car’s windshield.
We seem to have an abundance of auto glass shops all over Wyoming and now I know why.
For years, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has used heavier than usual rock materials on its roads because of our high winds. And thus, when you motor down the highway at the speed limit, and a truck flips up a rock at your windshield, well, glass just does not have a chance.
One of my cars has four chip spots that have been repaired. Another car had its windshield broken twice during the same month.
There is no easy answer. The roads in the winter are not safe without some kind of particles to provide traction. And our famous winds will not tolerate the light stuff.
Former State Rep. Del McOmie (R-Lander) said he and his fellow Fremont County legislators complained about these heavier rocks years ago during a meeting with WYDOT officials. Among those officials was WYDOT’s then-chief engineer, Del’s son, Delbert McOmie II.
After briefly telling me that story, the elder McOmie said he had to run. He was replacing the windshield in his car!
Catch 22
The younger McOmie called the situation a “catch 22.” He said they were trying to minimize broken windshields by decreasing the size of the sanding material and also adding some chemical de-icers to the mix. “This will make the sand stick better and stay where we want it, thus reducing the amount we have to place and still provide a more stable driving surface.”
Let’s assume there are at least 500,000 cars and trucks in Wyoming, one for each man, woman, and child. Now that is a lot of windshields. And frankly, there are probably more than a million vehicles, anyway.
And keep in mind, that Wyoming drivers put more miles on their vehicles, per capita, by far, than citizens of any other state.
And if I am even close to a typical driver, our windshields are getting busted at record levels.
A big reason is the huge amount of semi-trailer traffic on I-80 and highway construction. Readers of this column have endured my complaints about fighting my way down this interstate, dodging huge trucks while worrying about Wyoming’s unpredictable weather.
All the construction projects take a big toll on the windshields. I was driving my wife’s car one day north of Rawlins when a big dump truck rumbled along ahead of us and hit a huge bump. Its entire load seemed to jump up into the air and then settle back into the bed of the truck. But not before a couple of golf-ball-sized rocks flew up and came down smack on the car with a dramatic crash.
It was so loud, we pulled over to check the damage, which involved deep scratches on the hood and a pretty-badly cracked windshield. Meanwhile the truck disappeared into the distance.
Construction Zones
We have not had good luck driving in construction zones. Another time my wife picked me up at the Casper airport in a blizzard and we gradually worked out way home on Highway 26. We were in a construction site late at night and there was just one car ahead of us.
The going was slow and we could read the license plate, which read 1-FLO, obviously someone from Casper. I think it might even have been a Cadillac.
Anyway, I was tired and went to sleep. My wife was working her way through the construction area in an almost total whiteout. When I felt our car stop, I opened my eyes and looked around.
My wife had stopped because Flo had stopped. We had apparently left the roadway completely and driven down a lane to where some camper trailers were placed, including Flo’s home. With some embarrassment, Nancy quickly backed up and we headed down the lane and then back onto the highway and on to home.
Neither of us said much for a while until we burst out laughing. Ever since then, we have called that experience “going with the FLO.”
Human Powered Wipers
Another story from our past also involves a windshield. Many years ago, when my wife and I were dating, we had driven her 1959 Volkswagen Beetle to Northeast Iowa to meet my parents.
On the way home it started to rain hard and the windshield wipers quit. I could not figure out how to get them going again. Ultimately, we ran a string through both vent windows that was connected to the wiper on the driver’s side of the windshield. Nancy snuggled up real close to me with her arm around my shoulders and she manually operated the wipers for the next 200 miles.
That experience was one of the reasons I decided to marry this gal. She was a keeper.
