Tech Tip- Driver’s Primary Viewing Area (DPVA)

If you are not familiar with the phrase Driver’s Primary Viewing Area, or the acronym DPVA, perhaps the phrase Acute Area rings a bell. The Acute Area of a windshield was originally defined as the area directly above and centered on the steering wheel. Insurance claim forms often showed a rectangular box to indicate where that area is on a windshield, and glass repair technicians were told to hold up a letter size sheet of paper, 8.5″ x 11″, above the steering wheel to quickly and accurately identify the Acute Area. When the National Glass Association (NGA) and National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) got together to create a new ANSI standard called the Repair Of Laminated Auto Glass Standard (ROLAGS) for the windshield repair industry, the phrase Acute Area was replaced with DPVA. Is your head reeling from all the acronyms yet? I know mine is.

The ROLAGS committee more clearly defined the DPVA and added what sizes and types of breaks should and should not be repaired in that area. Keep in mind that the ROLAGS is not a law, but a voluntary standard developed in an effort to promote safe practices and consistent quality workmanship throughout the windshield repair industry.

Well now that I have bored you to tears, let’s get to the heart of the matter. The graphic below shows the current DPVA and recommendations for repairing damage in that area as defined by the ROLAGS.

DPVA

So if the ROLAGS is voluntary, why should you care about it? Well, this is the part where I insert my humble opinion. Millions of windshield repairs have been performed over the past 30 years, and our industry still has an impeccable safety record, so for what it is worth I don’t think we need laws to govern our business. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me, so although not here yet, I believe there may come a day when the ROLAGS is the basis for a nationwide law, or at the very least the standard by which insurance companies create provisions for paying windshield repair claims. Therefore, I believe that it is in the best interest of windshield repair technicians to adhere to the ROLAGS. Now, that does not mean that you have to agree with everything in the standard, or that the standard cannot be changed. In fact, it almost certainly will be changed as more technicians provide feedback for the ROLAGS committee to consider.

Those of you who have attended a Delta Kits training and certification course have been trained to the ROLAGS and have received a copy of the ROLAGS document. For those of you who have not yet reviewed this important document, we are providing a link to the ROLAGS website at the end of this article. I hope you will familiarize yourself with the ROLAGS document and submit your opinions to the ROLAGS committee for consideration. It’s a good standard, but it can be better with the help of professional windshield repair technicians like you.

In a recent development, Belron has applied to become an ANSI accredited standards developer. This has a lot of windshield repair technicians up in arms and has been a hot topic on www.glassbytes.com and www.windshield-repair-forum.com. Visit www.rolags.com to download a current copy of the ROLAGS document.