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How Anti-Smash and Grab Solutions Will Protect Your Family

  • Writer: Brendan Verwey
    Brendan Verwey
  • Jul 2, 2013
  • 3 min read

It is unfortunate that vehicle related crime in South Africa is at such a critical state, but instead of only lamenting this fact, you need to be proactive about the safety of your family while driving on South Africa’s roads. South Africa has been dubbed the hijack capital of the world, but there are ways you can make your car less desirable and less accessible to criminals. Investing in anti-smash and grab solutions is perhaps one of the best ways motorists can protect their vehicles and the inhabitants from criminals of vehicles while on the road.

Most motorists have become aware of the many benefits that anti-smash and grab solutions pose, with the topic having been discussed at nauseam, yet few are aware what goes into this technology that protects them. By cultivating a better understanding of this technology, and how it can help you to protect your family and property, you will be in a better position to make an informed choice about which system to have installed on your vehicle.

How Anti-Smash and Grab Solutions Work

The first thing to accept is that not all anti-smash and grab solutions are created equally. Security film is entirely different from a solar window film. While there are certain types of security films that are able to prevent solar radiation from entering the vehicle, its chief intention is to prevent sharp fragments of glass from flying around the vehicle if a window is broken.

The causes of the window breaking can include people who attempt forced entry into the vehicle through shattering a window with high impact, or a high impact incident like a bomb blast. The security film will serve to encapsulate the shattered glass, preventing it from shattering into a thousand small pieces that fly everywhere and injure the vehicle’s inhabitants.

Ranging from four to fourteen millimetres security window film is pointedly thicker than its solar control film counterparts, whose thickness range from 1.5 to 2 millimetres. Another difference between the two types of film is that solar film is only applied to the parts of the window that is visible to the naked eye, while anti-smash and grab film is installed into the vehicle’s windows using a process referred to as anchoring.

Mechanical and Wet Glazed Anchoring Technology

When installing the anti-smash and grab technology, there are two types of anchoring methods which are used, known as mechanical and wet glazed installations. With the wet glazed installation, the rubber around the window from the gasket is removed and replaced with a structural silicon sealant which will serve to fill up the space between the frame and the actual window.

With mechanical attachments the will overlap around the window’s edges, securing the film in place with bolts to the internal frame. Both of these cutting methods are intended to make sure that the film will be able to hold the glass fragments intact and prevent the glass from flying in the event that it should break.

You can also increase the performance of the window film by installing an attachment system with it. The attachment system will fix the filmed glass to the frame of the window. This serves to prevent the complete window unit from dislodging in the event of a large force attempting to shatter it.

For best results, it is advisable to speak to a knowledgeable professional in this regard. At Electronic Fitment Centre we have a trained team of 41 installers ready to help our clients remain safe while travelling on South Africa’s roads. Contact us to discuss affordable anti-smash and grab solutions in South Africa.

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