Position of Sat Nav?

[Shipwright]

Hi guys!

I have taken the plunge and joined the 21st century with a purchase of a satellite navigation device called "Tom Tom"; an odd fellow, both first and second names are identical yet he sounds like a... a... a FEMALE!!! (I'm saying nothing... 21st century and all!).

Now, I am a little stuck on how/where to place said little blighter. Obviously he/she needs to be on the windscreen (or does it?! Do do dooo!!), but just where should I place it? Obviously I don't want it in the way so it is distracting my vision scans, nor do I want it so far out the way that I have to do more-than-a-glance at its lovely display.

What is the legal perspective of placing a satnav in a vehicle? I have heard something about no objects being placed in the 'swept' area of your windscreen?

Here are two images I have hosted to show where I have chosen to place it. Views? Good, bad, illegal?

http://www.yellowsnow.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/img/satnav.jpg - the view.
http://www.yellowsnow.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/img/satnav-da.jpg - different angle of the same placement.

Anyway, on another note, it is a fabulous piece of kit. Ex girlfriends - beware!! From experiments today (driving a long known routes trying to catch it out... I didn't - it caught me out by showing me a faster route. Bastard!) it is going to take a lot of getting used to, what with the hearing driving instructions from TWO wimmin in the car... at least Ms Tom Tom is RIGHT (@ wifey, thank god she doesn't read this...).

[ScoobyChris]

I tend to position mine in the centre bottom of the windscreen as it seems a natural position to glance at without too much effort as it falls within my normal line of site and it also means the cable reaches the cigarette lighter socket I think if I put it by the A pillar I might find myself needing to consciously look at it. Ultimately, I think it needs positioning where it works for you

Interestingly, my IAM examiner suggested that a sat nav could be used as a "fourth mirror" whereby it could be checked frequently as per the other mirrors and may provide useful information about things beyond the field of vision which may help forward planning.

Chris

[Shipwright]

Thanks, Chris.

Any views on my positioning?

I tried the centre-bottom of the windscreen and it didn't feel 'right' to me; almost like the screen was saying "oh, hello! Look at meeeeee!" whenever I was scanning with my eyes. Plus it feels too cluttered there for me, what with the RVM there as well - I am fairly tall, so I probably sit higher in the car than most people so my eyeline is nearly in line with the RVM.

On a technical aspect, there are options to turn off the display and only illuminate it when the verbal instructions are given. Is this useful? I am thinking more of long-distance motorway sloggs etc?

[Gareth]

I also favour placing a satnav near the centre of the windscreen, as low as possible. If I am with a co-driver, I will position it closer to the passenger side so that they can perform the navigator role, which consists of interpreting the satnav directions and relaying the information in a form that makes more sense to the driver. If I am driving solo, or if my navigator is as much use as a spinning compass, I will position it closer to the driver's side, behind and offset from the main instrument panel. In both cases my preference is for the voice prompts to be muted.

[SeanP]

I have mine (not a real TomTom, but a PDA loaded with the software), positioned near-centre, and as low down as possible to the dash. The sucker-mount it's on just peeps above the bottom-left of the bonnet line in my vision, but does not cause any significant blind spot -- certainly not as much as the thick A-pillars!

The screen is positioned (it's on quite a long mount) to be almost in-line with the radio display & other dash-binnacle instruments.

However, if anything, I tend to not bother with spoken instructions -- which can get a bit of getting used to, as it can give a turn indication when there is no real turn (maybe road bend with change of name), or just a 'bear left/right' at a true junction (when the road-name doesn't change, but does deviate off the main road), and sometimes no spoken direction at all -- most mini-roundabouts (or a local one 'turn left, then immediately right', for a single right turn!)!

Instead, I use it more as a moving-map aid, and include it as part of my general 'sweep', or will glance on approach to a complex junction for directions; or as Scooby-Chris says, giving an advanced view of twisty roads, and early warning of junctions. However, the view of my IAM Observer was that should be the job of the advanced driver, and I must say I never ran it during observed runs, and do think my own observation skills have benefited somewhat more than they might have.

I never rely on it for directions though, except when completely 'lost', or in a new area. I do pre-program routes, and try to remember the major itineraries, and follow signs. They are great for those instances where there's a road block / bad traffic announcement and one can quickly pull-over (or get Wifey to prod whilst driving) and re-program an alternate route (e.g. 'road blocked for x miles'), and has pulled me (and wifey) out of a number of situations like that.

Also great for just jumping off main roads onto twisty Bs and still getting there -- but it does sometimes have a penchant for single-track lanes, or trying to pull you back on an 'A' or Motorway, but disabling that behaviour is also only a prod away; or just keep driving till it re-routes to something better looking

[TripleS]

My satnav is an old Navman unit, positioned near the centre of the windscreen and as low as possible, and i don't find this causes any problem with vision.

I am aware of this 'rule' about not allowing it to be in the swept area of the screen, but this is really a load of cobblers when you bear in mind that the wiper assemblies themselves obscure part of your view through the swept area! If I had to comply with that rule the only usable position would be the top left hand corner of the screen, so that hardly seems a sensible answer.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[ROG]

Re the legal positioning -

Leave it where you normally have it when the vehicle goes for MOT - you'll soon find out if it is legal or not.

[ScoobyChris]

Just doing some Googling, I stumbled across this:

Nothing may impede a driver's view in the swept area of the wipers, so aftermarket sat-nav units stuck to the glass are technically illegal. Realistically, they only tend to be a problem at an MoT or if PC Jobsworth spots them.

Which suggests that the rear view mirror in my car is also illegal as it sits in the swept area *and* can obscure vision thanks to the high driving position. Thank god my car won't be going for MOT while I own it

When I went for my IAM test, I had the sat nav in its usual place and the examiner didn't voice any concerns about it obscuring my vision or being illegal (and presumably one of his check boxes is that the car presented for test is road-legal).

I also wonder what it means for HUD systems.......

Chris

[ScoobyChris]

Any views on my positioning?

I tried the centre-bottom of the windscreen and it didn't feel 'right' to me; almost like the screen was saying "oh, hello! Look at meeeeee!" whenever I was scanning with my eyes. Plus it feels too cluttered there for me, what with the RVM there as well - I am fairly tall, so I probably sit higher in the car than most people so my eyeline is nearly in line with the RVM.

On a technical aspect, there are options to turn off the display and only illuminate it when the verbal instructions are given. Is this useful? I am thinking more of long-distance motorway sloggs etc?

My car has a similar driving position and at some junctions the RVM is a hindrance. I had an experiment this morning with repositioning my sat nav and tried it where you have yours. What I noticed immediately was that I wasn't able to "look through it" like I do when it's positioned in the centre and so it became more of a distraction because I had to turn to look at it. Maybe that says more about my eye sight than anything else

I think the only time where I'd probably want to knock the illuminations down is at night where a bright light in the car may compromise your night vision, but I suspect it's worth having a play with it and see what you find.

As with all things, it's finding what works for you, and (legalities aside!) there is no right or wrong position

Chris

[Renny]

Just to support Dave in not being the only Luddite here, I use an old Garmin Street Piolt III which is not the smallest of units, nor the quickest. However, I only use it when I need it to find obscure addresses, most of the time it is in its bag. It mounts on a "bean-bag" which quite happily on the dash just below in the middle the 'screen.

I must admit the main reason I got it was to run APRS with my amateur radio kit. As of yet, I've not got it set up yet. The Discovery has a built-in GPS system which is quite unobtrusive and most of the time the screen is off as we both tend to know where we are and where we are going.

[daz6215]

Wasn't there talk about sat navs been used as part of the dsa consultation on the new test?

[Custom24]

Leave it where you normally have it when the vehicle goes for MOT - you'll soon find out if it is legal or not.

Hmmm. I think more likely you'll find out how trustworthy the mechanics in the garage are.

In terms of positioning, distracting, etc, I use a Garmin. In one car, the mount fits on the dashboard, so that it does not block any of the view through the windscreen. In the other, the mount does not stick on the dash, so I have to use the windscreen, but I keep it down as low as possible so that the only view it is blocking is a view of the bonnet anyway.

In both cases, I've turned it to night mode permanently, which I find less distracting, and I turn the brightness down as far as I can get away with, for the same reason. I like the voice prompts rather than having to look at the unit, and I find them easier to hear and less sibilant through the FM transmitter rather than the inbuilt speaker.

You can also set the unit up to display less map detail, which is supposed to be less distracting, although personally I like as much detail as possible.

[TripleS]

Wasn't there talk about sat navs been used as part of the dsa consultation on the new test?

I don't know about that, but I do seem to recall some helpful souls suggesting that satnav systems should be banned completely. Presumably I don't need to go into too much detail about what I'd do with those people.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Angus]

My unit (a PDA with software) lives in the bottom right of the windscreen. With the thick A pillar and sweep of the windscreen it doesn't obstruct my view.

It sounds like you may find this link useful

http://www.togshopping.co.uk/shop/artic ... CHG0007%26

Tomtom also do a plastic plate that you can stick to the dashboard or a beanbag to sit it on

http://www.tomtom.com/products/accessor ... Category=5

http://www.tomtom.com/products/accessor ... Category=5

[jcochrane]

my amateur radio kit.

Seems like we have something else in common, apart from scrutineering, from G4UIO