Position of sat nav Illegal Police advise! (1 Viewer)

[44658]

Does this mean I have to remove my Sally Harry named sun visor, furry dice and the 10 club log membership stickers as well.

 

[soreeyes]

290 mm wide area from the centre of the steering wheel for under 3500 kg and 350 mm for over 3500 kg in a vertical area in the wiper area says here must not be obstructed .


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stickers-or-other-items-in-front-and-rear-windscreens

 

[gus-lopez]

Do you have a link to the legislation where this is stated? Googling finds a number of people quoting legislation which prohibits DVD screens etc being visible to the driver, but explicitly exempts satnavs from this:

Quedan prohibidos los dispositivos que puedan distraer al conductor, como pantallas con acceso a internet, monitores de televisión y reproductores de vídeo o DVD. Se exceptúan a estos efectos el uso de monitores que, aún estando a la vista del conductor, su utilización sea necesaria (visión de acceso o bajada de peatones, maniobras traseras...) así como el dispositivo GPS.

Unfortunately the links to the place on the dgt.es site where this quote comes from no longer work.

Yes sat navs. Not anything being used as a sat-nav ,like a mobile phone. You are at the discretion of whoever pulls you. If he considers it is an offence all his job is is to write out the ticket.

IF. no one is allowed to actually USE a sat nav, as it is a "distraction". Why is it now one element in part of the Driving Test?.
.

probably the same reason that you can buy tow ropes here but it is totally illegal using them to tow a car

It used to be, probably changed now, that the screen within the sweep on the wipers had to be maintained clear at all times. These days sat navs, forward cameras, curtains,stickers and god only knows what else seems to find a home there.

Still the same in the UK. Same here plus it's an automatic fail at mot time for anything to be in swept wiper area including sunstrips so any sat nav in that area is a fail.

I can give you an answer. They are probably exempt but anyway how many times have they messed around, as you put it, with stab vest mounted models when chasing cars through built up areas at 90 mph. I doubt they would need to do this anyway.

Presumably you have witnessed this yourself or can provide some information as to how frequently this happens and where.

Once you 'exempt' those supposedly upholding the laws from any of those same laws then it is all downhill. It just encourages a 'them & us' situation that rapidly develops into outright hatred.

I



Have you considered any exemption might be to enable them to do their job. Same applies to ambulances and fire service vehicles. Have you also considered that the drivers of such vehicles, particularly those authorised to drive st higher speeds are highly trained as opposed to ordinary drivers.

No? Why should it ? Once you 'exempt' them why not others ?
If you can't talk hands free, same as mobile phones are with auto answering /auto off /voice dial/etc; , then they need better equipment.
They might well be "highly trained " drivers. unfortunately when teaching them to drive with such skill, mutli-tasking using phone, walkie talkies, etc; isn't part of it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[soreeyes]

Mobiles used in the different uses in the car for payment and sat nav and parking are being discussed I understand .
https://www.gov.uk/government/consu...for-amending-regulations-and-the-highway-code

 

[iandsm]

Yes sat navs. Not anything being used as a sat-nav ,like a mobile phone. You are at the discretion of whoever pulls you. If he considers it is an offence all his job is is to write out the ticket.



probably the same reason that you can buy tow ropes here but it is totally illegal using them to tow a car


Still the same in the UK. Same here plus it's an automatic fail at mot time for anything to be in swept wiper area including sunstrips so any sat nav in that area is a fail.


Once you 'exempt' those supposedly upholding the laws from any of those same laws then it is all downhill. It just encourages a 'them & us' situation that rapidly develops into outright hatred.


No? Why should it ? Once you 'exempt' them why not others ?
If you can't talk hands free, same as mobile phones are with auto answering /auto off /voice dial/etc; , then they need better equipment.
They might well be "highly trained " drivers. unfortunately when teaching them to drive with such skill, mutli-tasking using phone, walkie talkies, etc; isn't part of it.

I dont know about ambulances and fire vehicles, I expect its the same but I do know the Road Traffic Act specifically provides exemptions for police vehicles if compliance with the Act and regulations would frustrate the use for which the vehicle is currently being used. Traffic lights, speed restrictions etc. Otherwise there would be the ridiculous situation where they have to abide by the same law as everyone else.

So a scrote who has stolen your car speeds through a red traffic light at 60 and the police car can only drive at 30 and stop at the light!. You call 999 when you see your motorhome being stolen and driven off you would not be best pleased when the police car turns up twenty minutes later because the driver had to stop at all the traffic lights, stick to the speed limit and come to a halt at the roadside to receive and transmit radio messages.

 

[nicholsong]

290 mm wide area from the centre of the steering wheel for under 3500 kg and 350 mm for over 3500 kg in a vertical area in the wiper area says here must not be obstructed .


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stickers-or-other-items-in-front-and-rear-windscreens

I can imagine that soon the accumulation of Umlaut, Crit'ait etc. stickers, which have to be positioned on the right side of the screen may well infringe on a RHD vehicle's swept area. So there will be an international conflict of law.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Flook]

I confess, I have not read all 4 pages. However if what I am about to say has already been covered then . . . When setting the heating in the cab, how many of us take our eyes off the road and look at what we are doing to set the air blower, the temp hi/lower, hot to cold. Now if that is not breaking the law then I will have to go to jail, do not pass go and do not collect £200 unless I throw a six.

Life can be a real Flook at times

 

[pappajohn]

how many of us take our eyes off the road and look at what we are doing to set the air blower, the temp hi/lower, hot to cold.

Could be wrong but I believe using controls essential to the operation of the car is ok otherwise you'd have to choose a gear before setting off and stay in it.

Adjusting a heater is an essential act to keep the screen demisted.
Turning on and off headlights is an essential act.
Operating a radio or satnag or making a phonecall isn't an essential act.

 

[Flook]

True, so true pappajohn, but eyes averted from road even for a short time can be dangerous, oooops so sorry Sir, I did not see you suddenly break, oh sorry officer, your break light is so strong it semi blinded me

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Louis]

There is a procedure called ‘something’ scan that drivers should learn to use, eg reading multiple road Signs within a blink of an eye? I was firmly informed on a speed awareness course, so there

 

[tonyidle]

Yes sat navs. Not anything being used as a sat-nav ,like a mobile phone. You are at the discretion of whoever pulls you. If he considers it is an offence all his job is is to write out the ticket.



probably the same reason that you can buy tow ropes here but it is totally illegal using them to tow a car


Still the same in the UK. Same here plus it's an automatic fail at mot time for anything to be in swept wiper area including sunstrips so any sat nav in that area is a fail.


Once you 'exempt' those supposedly upholding the laws from any of those same laws then it is all downhill. It just encourages a 'them & us' situation that rapidly develops into outright hatred.


No? Why should it ? Once you 'exempt' them why not others ?
If you can't talk hands free, same as mobile phones are with auto answering /auto off /voice dial/etc; , then they need better equipment.
They might well be "highly trained " drivers. unfortunately when teaching them to drive with such skill, mutli-tasking using phone, walkie talkies, etc; isn't part of it.

And it isn't for the rest of us either: UK law is quite specific and relates only to the use of hand-held mobile phones. It makes no mention of microphones, body-worn transceivers, or any other kind of equipment, inappropriate use of which could fall foul of other motoring legislation if it was seen to contribute to a lack of control of the vehicle. In the same way as using a water bottle, coffee cup etc, could.

 

[meanders]

Anyone else noted the following in the linked document?

Drivers can also get into trouble for messing around and tampering with a satnav while they are driving. Instead, you should either set it before you leave, and not touch it while driving, or pull over, turn off the ignition and then make the necessary changes to the settings.

Someone needs to tell Fiat. Turn the ignition off on ours and the Media unit including the Satnav goes off! You then have to throw a switch to put it on the leisure battery and wait for it to reboot. Then when you restart, it goes off again at whatever point you throw the switch.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tootles]

bviously have your own reasons for your dislike/hatred of the police, that’s fine.

Good. I'm really glad that's 'fine' with you. It really helps to know that others may appreciate two British police officers murdering two soldiers who were making a phone call from a telephone box, using fully automatic fire from eight feet away.

RIP Cpl. M Cotton &Cpl. M. Herbert ...20th March 1974. Murdered by two un-named Royal Ulster Constabulary Officers.

Because like many, they thought, (and in the above case were), above the law.

 

[iandsm]

Duplicate

 

[iandsm]

A deplorable incident, those responsible if identified whether genuine RUC officers or otherwise should have been brought to justice. There were many deplorable incidents committed by all sides, some say they lost innocent family and friends at the hands of Loyalists, Republicans, RUC and British soldiers and to this day remain full of hate even for people who weren't even born at the time.

I don’t think further comment on such matters is appropriate in this thread.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[iandsm]

I appear to have edited Tootles post as opposed to replying to it. I apologise for that. Sorted now I think

 

[Markas]

Ours is built in the stereo so what are they going to do about that

As it is on my daily driver Mercedes, so mounted a good few inches below the windscreen. In the Bongo I put it in a cubby box in the dash so it's in a similar location.
I do take the point about anything on the windscreen being a distraction and obscuring the driver's view of the road. Being a bit OCD, I would also find the ring left by a suction cup mount on the windscreen to be a distraction too!

 

[Markas]

Bottom rh side of screen.
Just right for a passer by to nick if you're at a standstill with your window open lol

You need to do more continental touring, then it'll be on the offside

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DABurleigh]

Haven't read all the comments but my understanding of the law since 1 March 2017 is that a built-in satnav is OK, a portable mounted (not obscuring driver's view) dedicated 'dumb' satnav is OK, BUT a portable mounted dedicated satnav with traffic data, say, along with a mounted smartphone, MUST be mounted further away than 45 degrees from the driver's line of sight.

That the law is blind is a good thing, but in wording it so, the worthy intention to further discourage hand-held phone use while driving, by virtue of it being described generically as a data transmitting and receiving device, has unwittingly drawn in modern dedicated satnavs as well as made use of the best satnav out there - a smartphone running the Google satnav app - decidedly more dangerous. If the audio is a little ambiguous, having to look at the moving map now takes your eyes off the road for longer.

The law also applies to motorbikes, but I'm having trouble sourcing a selfie-stick with a rigid enough mount to shove the Garmin traffic satnav beyond 45 degrees from my LOS in a 70mph airflow....... :-(

 

[tacr2man]

@DABurleigh where did you get this 45deg thing from ?

 

[DABurleigh]

I don't know whether I was supposed to, but I didn't get any alert from your @DABurleigh.

From national newspapers at the time, for example:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/new-harsh-penalties-drivers-caught-9931996
and just 6 weeks ago:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/3000168/smartphone-sat-nav-illegal-breaking-law/
and driving and legal websites:

http://www.driving-success.co.uk/2017/03/01/new-penalties-for-using-mobile-phone/
http://www.levinslaw.co.uk/using-phone-whilst-driving/

From the plethora of publishing on 1 March, maybe it came from a Government or Police press release.
I have tried to look back to the law itself, but lost the will to live.

Dave

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}