SatNav on the dash or on the windscreen - is it safe at night or in poor visibility?

anewman

scbk wrote: »

On a slightly related note has anyone noticed the amount of cars on the motorway at night with dvd screens for the rear seats!

I suppose they're the rich persons way of keeping the kids quiet.

Woby_Tide

anewman wrote: »

I suppose they're the rich persons way of keeping the kids quiet.

given you can pick up protable DVD's for £30/40 nowadays they aren't really a rich play toy unless they are factory fit and even that isn't a massive expense nowadays with lots of manufacturers

(this isn't the start of an "In my day we didn't even have windows and used to count bits of coal....well then you were rich we didn't even have a car and used to run in a synchronised fashion down the inside lane till we reached the caravan site" discussion is it?)

vikingaero

peterbaker wrote: »

I've been meaning to ask this for ages:

I don't have SatNav as I luckily have a kind of inbuilt device called "I usually know where I am going and how to get there or make a detour".

If I was a travelling rep then I might use one I guess.

Anyway, I have noticed hoards of aftermarket SatNavs glowing in the dark from cars I am approaching from behind, and sometimes they seem to be almost as bright as the rear lights! They also seem more often than not to be placed right in the eyeline of the driver which may sound smart so they don't have to look down, but the brightness has often had me wondering if they can focus on the road ahead when it is dark and wet especially.

Many of these cars, so-equipped, I seem to often encounter meandering along in the middle lane at inside lane speeds, with the drivers seemingly straining to see where they are going!

Has anyone heard whether these have yet been cited as the cause of any accident?

Would you really be doing someone a favour by buying one as a Christmas present?

Peter,

I guess that you're slightly pessimistic about the value of having a Sat Nav. But I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference to most people.

In my job I drive 40k+ per annum for business mileage and probably about another 10-15k on personal mileage. Pre-Sat Nav I would have about 20 or 30 local town map books which would rapidly date as new estates were built. There is a lag with Sat Nav in updating mapping but in a stroke I carry fewer maps.

Here's why I think Nav is good:

(1) It takes you from A to B without fuss.
(2) You always know which lane to be in so you don't cut in at the last moment.
(3) You become more spatially aware of your surroundings - bridges that hide rivers and railways etc
(4) Instead of blasting through an area on a by-pass you see the extent of an urban area and can gauge if it is likely to have a cashpoint or some shops.
(5) It makes you a safer driver because you can see bends ahead on maps and anticipate them.
(6) Speed camera warnings and school warnings to modulate your speed.

There are a few downsides to portable navigation systems such as numpties who slavishly follow every instruction and get stuck. This is nothing more than operator error like the stupid woman from Rainham in Essex who bought and returned 3 nav systems to Halfords because it kept on routing her over the Dartford Crossing/QE2 bridge to get home. Even the most !!!!!! person in Rainham, Essex knows that there is a Rainham in Kent........

Woby_Tide

Don't RAC insurance(or one of the insurers) actually offer a discount if there is sat nav fitted as there was some statistical proof that with it fitted drivers were actually less distracted having to monitor surroundings and signposts etc. and awareness of upcoming junctions as mentioned above?

peterbaker

Nah I am not pessimistic about SatNav, I just think that it is sitting as an unnecessary distraction and sight-degrader in far too many millions of vehicles.

I fully accept that to a commercial traveller it must be a very useful tool (I was one of the first grateful users of the TrafficMaster system back in the late 80s early 90s), but I would guess that only 1 in 1000 of these units is owned by someone that uses it as a tool like that. To the other 999 it is surely a gaudy ornament 364 days a year

anewman

Woby_Tide wrote: »

given you can pick up protable DVD's for £30/40 nowadays they aren't really a rich play toy unless they are factory fit and even that isn't a massive expense nowadays with lots of manufacturers

I doubt the people in cars costing £20k+ velcroed a £40 cheapie to the headrest. It will be factory fit or professionally installed and will have cost a good few hundred at least.

Stephb1986_2

Hi, I dont actually have a sat nav but i drive a van and a car at different times of the day, i had to borrow my dads sat nav the other day as i was going somewhere i didnt know properly and i can honestly say it was brilliant because i wasnt sure of where i had to turn and it sat nav simply said turn right turn left ect, some sat navs and dash boards might not have a dimming function my car certainly doesnt! But as i dont usually drive with a sat nav it didnt really put me off driving it helped me more instead of writing down directions and having to look at them whilst driving.

Stephb xxx

vikingaero

anewman wrote: »

I doubt the people in cars costing £20k+ velcroed a £40 cheapie to the headrest. It will be factory fit or professionally installed and will have cost a good few hundred at least.

I have a £20k+ car with twin 8" screens in the back. They are velcroed to the headrests and also have a security bungee. I got them from Argos for £180. No point spending £2k on a factory or aftermarket install. :money:

kitchen_buff

I purchased a cheap set of glass cup coasters, covered it in black insulation tape to prevent glare, dont tape up where you put the suction pad though, fix it to the dashboard with double sided velcro 1inch wide. when not using the sat nav I bought a post it pad and pen set from Halfords which clips on and off easy, this then acts as a decoy for potential thieves so they do not know yoy have a sat nav. Fix the clip for the pen/pad set on top of the insulation tape at the back end of the coaster.

vikingaero

peterbaker wrote: »

Nah I am not pessimistic about SatNav, I just think that it is sitting as an unnecessary distraction and sight-degrader in far too many millions of vehicles.

I fully accept that to a commercial traveller it must be a very useful tool (I was one of the first grateful users of the TrafficMaster system back in the late 80s early 90s), but I would guess that only 1 in 1000 of these units is owned by someone that uses it as a tool like that. To the other 999 it is surely a gaudy ornament 364 days a year

I would agree with you to some extent. I have built in nav because it's far superior to portable systems. Even my Tom Tom Go 720 that I have in my wifes car is pants compared to a fitted system. The nav is too slow in recognising turns. Most portable navs lack a speed canbus input from the abs sensors. A lot of my friends report problems driving in Paris with portable navs as they lose satellite signals amongst the tall buildings and narrow streets.With a fitted nav you still have the gyro and speed canbus input without a signal.

All I can say Peter is that if you buy a decent portable system that can be updated over time then it is a worthwhile investment. If you just drive A to B all year long then maybe it's not worth it.