What exactly is a windshield chip, rock chip and a windshield crack? Windshield chips (aka “rock chips”) are very small cracks or chips (under .5 inches) on a windshield created by a number of flying debris including pieces of wood, gravel from trucks and loose pavement from the road. Even bad weather such as hail and falling tree limbs can crack windshields. There is no real prevention of rock chips, except keep a reasonable distance behind other vehicles and keep an eye out for severe weather. Unfortunately, sometimes even with taking precautions, rock chips still occur. Luckily there is a fairly easy procedure at a low price that can patch up a cracked windshield.