|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Arnie says hasta la vista to ban on windscreen mounts
 California residents have until now been prohibited from using mounts attached to the windscreen.
The rather curious piece of legislation has been on their books for many years and no-one was quite sure why.
Now California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a billoverturning the ban with some caveats.
In a very uncommon display of common sense the new bill permits the use of windscreen mounts but only when installed in the lower left or lower right areas of the windscreen and so long as they do not interfere with airbag deployment.
This nicely resolves the issue and is perhaps something we ought to consider emulating here in the UK. Rarely does a day go by where I fail to see a GPS stuck half way up a windscreen and clearly restricting the drivers vision.
| Comments
|
 Posted by simonwait on Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:03 am |
 |
I have to say that my GPS is stuck in the middle. I own a clio and thanfullly the is a sunken tray in the centre console so the device can sit in there and means it doesnt block my vision. Im afraid I dont like the thought of having it in the corner where on a sunny day with my window down some little toerag can come and swipe it while I'm sat at the lights.
|
|
| Posted by Darren on Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:40 am |
|
| simonwait Wrote: | | I have to say that my GPS is stuck in the middle. I own a clio and thanfullly the is a sunken tray in the centre console so the device can sit in there and means it doesnt block my vision. Im afraid I dont like the thought of having it in the corner where on a sunny day with my window down some little toerag can come and swipe it while I'm sat at the lights. |
And no issue with it there in my view but the eejuts who have it half way up the screen or like a few I have seen, right in front of them, need to be addressed.
I'm sure some think a SatNav is some form of Head UP Display like in Top Gun!
Darren Griffin |
|
| Posted by culzean on Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:48 pm |
|
No need to stick it on the windscren at all, I attach my Garmin to the drivers side window, and using it is as easy as looking at the door mirror. It is discreet, hardly visible from outside the car, out of the sun and easy to reach to turn volume up or down. I normally slip my satnav off the window well before I park the car, but in any case the unit is hard to see from outside the car.
The only downside is that if you wind down the window before you remove the unit it stops the window - but no big deal comparing one negative with all the pluses.
|
|
| Posted by Darren on Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:55 pm |
|
| culzean Wrote: | No need to stick it on the windscren at all, I attach my Garmin to the drivers side window,
[snip]
The only downside is that if you wind down the window before you remove the unit it stops the window - but no big deal comparing one negative with all the pluses. |
Whilst that might work for you it would drive me mad! What about having top open the window for car park tickets etc?
Darren Griffin |
|
| Posted by dwills on Thu Jun 11, 2009 3:49 pm |
|
| News Team Wrote: | snip....
This nicely resolves the issue and is perhaps something we ought to consider emulating here in the UK. Rarely does a day go by where I fail to see a GPS stuck half way up a windscreen and clearly restricting the drivers vision.
|
I have mine very low in front of me, works very well for me. it doesn't obstruct my view in front at all, easily tested when in traffic and how close to the car in front I have to get before the satnav 'touches' the car...
Astra 08
Wonder why the put the dials inline with your forward vision and not to the left or right of the steering wheel?
Of course if people put them in places that cause limited views etc, the police already have a law for this...Think Iced windscreens, saw one of the police type programs, client test driving the car, still had all the things on the windscreen Prices etc they were done...So law is already there...
|
|
| Posted by Kar98 on Thu Jun 11, 2009 5:08 pm |
|
| Darren Wrote: | | ... the eejuts who have it half way up the screen |
Well if I put it a the bottom of the windshield... it's out of my reach by 2 feet.
|
|
| Posted by Kar98 on Thu Jun 11, 2009 5:13 pm |
|
| Darren Wrote: | | culzean Wrote: | No need to stick it on the windscren at all, I attach my Garmin to the drivers side window,
[snip]
The only downside is that if you wind down the window before you remove the unit it stops the window - but no big deal comparing one negative with all the pluses. |
Whilst that might work for you it would drive me mad! What about having top open the window for car park tickets etc? |
Or, even if one were to mount it on the fixed wing window, more importantly: the power lead dangling around the steering wheel, and the risk of the sat nav taking a leap out of the the driver's window.
And there's also the issue of glare and direct sun which is worst in that position.
|
|
| Posted by navver on Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:03 pm |
|
I had to put my old Navman 635 immediately below the mirror. Only place it wouldwork due to an athermic windscreen. My Pug 406 has a clear bit of windscreen either side of the mirror.
It didn't interfere with my view and was easy to see
Now I have a tomtom 520 I can put it anywhere, even works in the glove box!
Tomtom Go520, App 8.010, Map UK&ROI 810.1870 |
|
| Posted by JimmyTheHand on Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:46 pm |
|
usually have mine in the middle of screen - almost at bottom - only thing it blocks is my view of the bonnet 
J. |
|
| Posted by mikealder on Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:47 pm |
|
General rule I work to is from my own drivers eye point I must be able to see the end of the bonnet above the postion of the Sat Nav, this way the device isn't offering any obstruction to the drivers view of the road. As I often switch devices in and out of different hire cars this has become a standard check for me when putting a nav device on the screen, in my own car they are mounted to the dash below the level of the screen - but each to their own.
That said I do have an issue with cables in the car which can be a hazard so I recently burried them all behind the dash, not something that is too easy with the hire car scenario, just make sure the cables cannot get caught up in the controls, any doubt and move the device to a different location BEFORE setting off - Mike
|
|
| Posted by MichaelEvans on Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:32 pm |
|
I found out about this restriction last year some time after lending a friend my TomTom for a 2 week driving holiday in California. The previous year I myself had driven around there for a month, using it daily.
What annoys me is, although I was never apprehended and jailed for this crime, the country seems to be oblivious to the fact that every year thousands of tourists arrive and take to the roads. I hired a car for the month, and even had a discussion over whether or not I wanted to take the satnav option at a ripoff rate. The car rental companies make no attempt to inform the tourist that screen mounts are illegal.
|
|
|
| Click here to view more comments... |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
