Advanced Driving UK

I have a tomtom Rider satnav. On my bike it sits on the handel bars in a position not to obscure the clocks in my car I have it on a bean bag resting on the facia panel.

The reason for this question is I see a lot of drivers with the sat nav stuck in the middle of the screen just below the mirror, in fact the prompt for this post was actually following a woman this morning who had the satnav half way between the center of her steering wheel and her mirror one of the tomtom XL screen at her eye level almost in her direct line of sight ( I was on my bike so I had a clear view into her car. It was almost like she was driving a video game, not a car.

To have one suck in you normal line of vision must be dangerous most modern cars have far too many blind spots why make it worse. I know in the USA many states do not allow anything stuck to the windscreen within the arc of the wipers, personally I think this is a good idea.

Bottom right corner of the windscreen in one car, where it does block some vision to the outside world. Bottom middle in the other, where it just blocks my view of the (longish) bonnet. No idea why I prefer different locations in the different cars.

I'm alarmed by the below the rear-view mirror position too when I see it.

Gavin

Bottom right for me.

Same, I had a TomTom rider, sits on the mount on the handlebars, without obscuring the clocks, and in the car (Tomtom 940), it's on the bottom right sitting on a bean bag type mount. Paid about £30 for a genuine TomTom one, I don't like having it stuck to the windscreen, it leaves a mark, and it may fall off.

I'm considering investing in a mount which goes on the air vent, so it's completely out the way, but I'll have one less air vent blowing air to my face.

Same here, bottom right.

I don't have one, I use a map. But if my understanding is correct, it is illegal to fix anything within the swept area of the windscreen.

fungus wrote:I don't have one, I use a map. But if my understanding is correct, it is illegal to fix anything within the swept area of the windscreen.

Where's your rear view mirror then?

exportmanuk wrote:
The reason for this question is I see a lot of drivers with the sat nav stuck in the middle of the screen just below the mirror, in fact the prompt for this post was actually following a woman this morning who had the satnav half way between the center of her steering wheel and her mirror one of the tomtom XL screen at her eye level almost in her direct line of sight ( I was on my bike so I had a clear view into her car.) It was almost like she was driving a video game, not a car.

That may not be far off the truth. Had a conversation with a guy in work who uses his to assess upcoming bends so he knows how fast to go

Mine sits where the rear view mirror would be. And yes I drive a van, and yes, it's white

It seems I may be in a minority, but mine sits in the centre at the bottom of the windscreen. One of the examiners described it's use quite nicely as a fourth mirror and with it on the windscreen, it's easy to glance at it quickly without having to move my head.

It also means the passenger can see it too, which might or might not be useful

Chris

crr003 wrote:

fungus wrote:I don't have one, I use a map. But if my understanding is correct, it is illegal to fix anything within the swept area of the windscreen.

Where's your rear view mirror then?

Mirrors are allowed to be in the swept area, but a sat-nav installed in such a way would be an MOT failure.

In the Dicovery, the sat-nav is an OE fittment as part of the dash, with the Fabia, my elderly Garmin sits in the boot until needed (or on the garage floor), or I can use the mapping on my phone. My garmin, when needed, sits on a bag mid-dash.

I prefer paper maps and memory, linked to looking at my surroundings rather than the current trend of fixing vision on a small screen. I have noticed many drivers now seem to put trust in their sat-nav and other driver aids to get them to their destination safely and have little or no involvement in the driving process. Unfortunately, the guidance deveices do not yet seem to update frequently enough to cope with changes such as other vehicles, pedestrians, weather conditions etc....

I understood it was illegal to have anything other than your rear view mirror and tax disc on the windscreen. My Tom Tom is on the passenger seat or floor, as I only use the voice. or map.

Monica

exportmanuk wrote:I have a tomtom Rider satnav. On my bike it sits on the handel bars in a position not to obscure the clocks in my car I have it on a bean bag resting on the facia panel.

I've got mine sitting on a bean bag on the dashboard, bottom right of windscreen. Its tucked into the corner next to the windscreen pillar so it doesn't block much view there.

Mitch

ScoobyChris wrote:It seems I may be in a minority, but mine sits in the centre at the bottom of the windscreen.

Through preference I do the same ... in the middle if it is to be shared with the front seat navigator, and right of middle if the navigator has as much navigational ability as a can of beans.

fungus wrote:I don't have one, I use a map. But if my understanding is correct, it is illegal to fix anything within the swept area of the windscreen.

Any idea what law would cover that? I had a look in the Construction and Use regs and this states (regulation 30):

'All glass or other transparent material shall be maintained in such condition that it does not obscure the vision of the driver.'

For a law, it seems fairly open to interpretation so maybe there is something more definitive?

Chris

Gareth wrote:

ScoobyChris wrote:It seems I may be in a minority, but mine sits in the centre at the bottom of the windscreen.

Through preference I do the same ... in the middle if it is to be shared with the front seat navigator, and right of middle if the navigator has as much navigational ability as a can of beans.

Same here. In the lowest central position it blocks very little of the road and is out of the way of the swept part of the screen (well, smeared rather than swept ). To the right of the dash would mean a long cable trail and the screen is heavily curved so I'm not sure how well it would fit.