Windshield wiper blades play a very important role in maintaining clear visibility of the road ahead. They keep precipitation, dust and other road debris off the windshield. However, it was found out that at highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, conventional wiper blades actually tend to lose contact with the windshield surface. This drastically lessens the wiper blade’s ability to keep rain, snow, dust and other road debris away from the windshield. However a new technology in wiper blades will greatly improve their functionality in various weather conditions and highway speeds – Bracketless or beam blades.

Bracketless or beam blades are the newest technology upgrades in wiper blades. This new type of wiper blades feature a bracketless design, allowing the wiper blade to conform to the contour of the windshield snugly and with uniform pressure along the entire length of the wiper blade. This allows the wiper blades to clean the windshield surface more evenly and quietly even at highway speeds. Bracketless wiper blades doesn’t have the rigid external steel frame and multiple joints in conventional wiper blades that apply pressure only on specific points.

“With the blade curved at a precise radius along each millimeter of length, this new design creates what we call ‘tension memory,’ which provides a snug fit to the curvature of the windshield, with the aerodynamic wind spoiler creating a downward force similar to rear spoilers on automobiles. To put it simply, bracketless blades distribute pressure uniformly along the entire length of the blade, for a more clean and consistent wipe while the enclosed tension springs are protected from snow and ice build-up during winter”, says Otto Stefaner, group product manager of Consumer Products, for Bosch, the largest OE makers of bracketless wiper blades.

This is the first upgrade in wiper blade technology in almost 80 years. About 35 percent of European vehicles are now equipped with bracketless or beam wiper blades and it is estimated that by 2010, 40 percent of vehicles in the U.S. domestic market will have bracketless wiper blades. Something as simple as new wiper blades can really help make driving safer by ensuring good visibility in any type of weather condition.