Arnie says hasta la vista to ban on windscreen mounts

Darren · Last edited by Darren on Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

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.
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Darren Griffin

simonwait · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:03 am Post subject:

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.

Darren · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:40 am Post subject:

culzean · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 54

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.

Darren · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject:

dwills · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 29, 2007 Posts: 9

Kar98 · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject:

Kar98 · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:13 pm Post subject:

navver · Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 11:03 pm Post subject:

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!

JimmyTheHand · Frequent Visitor Joined: Apr 16, 2005 Posts: 386

usually have mine in the middle of screen - almost at bottom - only thing it blocks is my view of the bonnet Smile

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J.

mikealder · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 9:47 pm Post subject:

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

MichaelEvans · Lifetime Member Joined: Nov 04, 2006 Posts: 11

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.

Arimus · Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject:

I've got a dash mount which is screwed onto the a-pillar plastic trim (its an old battered mondeo) so its easy to reach but as its well below my line of sight its not obscruting my view Smile

Initially used this with my 910 but find with the bigger screen my 530 is even easier to see here and control...

M8TJT · Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:46 am Post subject:

culzean · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 54

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