Distracting speedos and built-in satnavs: law?

SouthLondonUser

Is there no law on the position of dashboards and built-in satnavs and “infotainment” systems?

Some cars have built-in satnavs sensibly placed onto the dashboard, so they’re not too far from the driver’s line of sight (Mercedes C, BMW X5, Mazda 3 and many others). But, in most cars I have seen, these built-in satnavs tend to be placed in between the driver and the front passenger, so that the driver would need to take his/her eyes off the road completely in order to look at the sat-nav. How is this legal? Is there no law/requirement on where integrated satnavs should be, or do manufacturers get round it by, I don’t know, claiming that only the passenger should look at it?

Similarly, the Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and others have a very sensible speedometer that’s quite high up, so drivers can read it quite conveniently. In many other cars, however, the speedometer is so far down that drivers need to take their eyes off the road in order to read it. It’s not just an annoyance, it’s potentially dangerous, especially because, with the now ubiquitous 20mph limits and no tolerance, you could be fined a percentage (up to 50%?) of weekly earnings for going just 1mph above the limit, so I find myself checking the speedometer way more frequently in a city than on a motorway.

unforeseen

And they've also got the nerve to put a mirror on the outside of the passenger door so you have to turn your head completely to see it.

Oh and the internal mirror. They put that between the driver and passenger as well


With having to look at mirrors, sat nav and Speedo I've done whole journeys without having the chance to actually look at the road ahead. It's getting really dangerous to drive these days

Chickabiddybex

This is not what I originally thought "distracting speedos" meant :rotfl:

bigisi

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

Is there no law on the position of dashboards and built-in satnavs and “infotainment” systems?

Some cars have built-in satnavs sensibly placed onto the dashboard, so they’re not too far from the driver’s line of sight (Mercedes C, BMW X5, Mazda 3 and many others). But, in most cars I have seen, these built-in satnavs tend to be placed in between the driver and the front passenger, so that the driver would need to take his/her eyes off the road completely in order to look at the sat-nav. How is this legal? Is there no law/requirement on where integrated satnavs should be, or do manufacturers get round it by, I don’t know, claiming that only the passenger should look at it?

Similarly, the Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and others have a very sensible speedometer that’s quite high up, so drivers can read it quite conveniently. In many other cars, however, the speedometer is so far down that drivers need to take their eyes off the road in order to read it. It’s not just an annoyance, it’s potentially dangerous, especially because, with the now ubiquitous 20mph limits and no tolerance, you could be fined a percentage (up to 50%?) of weekly earnings for going just 1mph above the limit, so I find myself checking the speedometer way more frequently in a city than on a motorway.

I bet you're a hoot at dinner parties.

caprikid1

I think you should Ban Children from Cars if you are worried about any of the above.

SouthLondonUser

I'll be sure to send all your comments to the colleague who is now in hospital because a genius was too busy looking at the (built-in) satnav to notice him crossing the road - he will now doubt find them witty, useful and insightful.

neilmcl

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

I'll be sure to send all your comments to the colleague who is now in hospital because a genius was too busy looking at the (built-in) satnav to notice him crossing the road - he will now doubt find them witty, useful and insightful.

That's purely down to the idiot behind the wheel, nothing to do with the position of the satnav. There's a myriad of things that can take your eye off the road, it's how you use them that's the issue.

Car_54

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

It’s not just an annoyance, it’s potentially dangerous, especially because, with the now ubiquitous 20mph limits and no tolerance, you could be fined a percentage (up to 50%?) of weekly earnings for going just 1mph above the limit, so I find myself checking the speedometer way more frequently in a city than on a motorway.

What makes you think there's no tolerance? The guidelines (which are generally followed) are for action to start at 24 mph in a 20 limit. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic-offences-guidance-fixed-penalty-notices

You will not find a substantiated example of anyone prosecuted for 1 mph over the limit, 20 or otherwise.

Gloomendoom

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

Is there no law on the position of dashboards and built-in satnavs and “infotainment” systems?

Some cars have built-in satnavs sensibly placed onto the dashboard, so they’re not too far from the driver’s line of sight (Mercedes C, BMW X5, Mazda 3 and many others). But, in most cars I have seen, these built-in satnavs tend to be placed in between the driver and the front passenger, so that the driver would need to take his/her eyes off the road completely in order to look at the sat-nav. How is this legal? Is there no law/requirement on where integrated satnavs should be, or do manufacturers get round it by, I don’t know, claiming that only the passenger should look at it?

Mine speaks to me. I rarely need to look at it while I'm driving.

droopsnoot

If it's a car on sale new in the UK, you can pretty much bet that it conforms to the various regulations in place to govern such things.

DoaM

Car_54 wrote: »

You will not find a substantiated example of anyone prosecuted for 1 mph over the limit, 20 or otherwise.

Whilst I accept that it is purely anecdotal, and I only have his word for it ... my cousin was done for speeding doing a clocked 41 in a 40 limit. (This was maybe 20-25 years ago).