Stray light on the windshields of automotive vehicles, caused by the impact of small particles, imposes severe safety hazards during night driving. Due to reduced contrast by stray light, non-illuminated objects are perceived much later than through pristine windshields. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to show the dependence of stray light on impact velocity, impact angle, particle shape and the mechanical properties of the impacting particle and the target material. Single and multiple impacts of SiC(~1mg/particle) and quartz sand (~0.7mg/particle) on ordinary and strengthened float glass under angles of 30, 45, and 90 degrees and velocities between 50 and 200 km/h were investigated. Profilometer and various methods of stray light measurement, such as total integrated scattering, were used.
