I think they should be banned... I am in awe at the idea of slapping on of these on a mount below the rear view mirror, is received as plausible... I get tense when I see the person with whole right side windshield view virtually being blocked... and I feel most of the people requiring such a device mounted in such a location... most likely don't need anymore detraction from their views and attention.

I keep my gps in the back seat. Zero obstruction to the windshield so I'm fully compliant. All I have to do is take my eyes off the road, remove my seatbelt and stretch to see it on the floor back there.

@om nom de plume: .. of yea "think of the children!" (and my ass driving, KNOWING WHERE I'M HEADED!)

I'm baffled at how a small GPS screen really makes it hard for people to see. I have no issue with mine below the rear view mirror and forget it's even there until I decide to look at it. Sometimes, on longer trips, it's augmented with a radar detector. Neither of them blocks my view of the road to any real degree.

@TheTooth: I also find it safer to look at than the built-in units I've had on past cars. Now I don't actually have to take my eyes completely off the road to look at it.

This is so needed in L.A. because it will distract drivers from slowing down to look at a guy changing a tire!

Great, now CA can join the rest of humanity in getting their windshields smashed by GPS thieves.

WHAT!!?? My brother's had a windshield mounted GPS since like 2004!

@Mr.Fresco: I know... I use one as well. I had no idea I was such a rebel. Of course, I only pull it out of the glovebox when I need to find someplace I haven't been before.

"The specifications behind this new law isn't being accepted well among the GPS faithful."

"specifications" is plural, "isn't" is singular. And I didn't capitalize the previous sentance for quotational accuracy.

I just got back from a 4-day weekend. Have some energy to burn, I guess.

That said, my GPS goes Centre-low, like a rear-view mirror in a classic race car.

The other reason the middle location is safer is that I don't mess with it. I have my fiance do the data entry and such while I just glance at it occasionally on route. If it was on the far left, I'd have to mess with it myself when I should be driving.

@om nom de plume:

How big do you think a GPS unit is that it's blocking the "whole right side windshield view?"

What safe procedure do you follow while driving alone to a place you're unfamiliar with?

Next time I'll print out directions and pull over at every step to read the directions so my eyes are never diverted from the road.

@AlexTheSane: @om nom de plume has a 27 inch LCD "GPS" in his 65...cept when I saw him, he was playing reruns of "Top Gear" on it....and was lost....so go figure

I've been tucking mine in the lower-left corner, almost touching the dash, since I picked one up a couple years ago. Fits perfect and only obscures a small portion of the dash (a section of dash I really don't need to look at anyway). If I ever drove with a passenger, I would likely relocate to "Centre-low" like Feds, for the reason TheTooth cited, but I find the left pocket to be even less obtrusive.

@TBlueMax: Does that sound dirty? I am referring to a Garmin GPS and nothing else.

There's nothing obscured behind my Garmin except the hood of the car. On the other hand, the rear view mirror on my Bimmer is below my eye level and it seriously screws my view of right hand sweepers, cars entering from the right, etc.

The fruits and nuts in Ca are not fooling anyone.

That had that law in truth to prevent radar detectors being mounted so they sneaked in the view law to hide their real motives.

Yay! Now Minnesota's the only state left with this silly law!

i taped mine to my sunglasses years ago.

@topdown: My pickup is the same way, and it is extremely annoying. Doesn't anyone drive these things before selling them?

@tenbeers: Doesn't anyone drive these things before buying them, you big idiot?

So then Minnesota will be the only nanny state with that law.

@AlexTheSane: I was referring to the people, mostly in Asian sedans (yes possibly Asian, in a sedan, as well).. with the huge ass arm mount that to me, from behind, blocks the whole center of their windshield... you know the view all "looking ahead" drivers monitor in case of a retards inability to stop)... it's not hard to look at the perspective I have in my car, visualize an arm mounted GPS under the rear view.. and imagine that person can't see very well, or at the least, not as well as an uninhibited view provides...

and here's the thing, it's not like they are all going places they haven't ever been.. a lot are repeat sighting of people to and from work...

GPS ranks right under cellphone for the blaming game while watching someone else's piss poor driving.

@Bentos, Der Frischmacher!: Yea BOY!! did you like the bootleg episodes from next season?? got that on the bittorrent... word... oh and you got there after I was showing the Debbie does DODGES vol. 4... saw some kids and old folks walking round got a little guilty feeling...

HA!

@NICKNICK: bravo my good man, I missed that gem before! :D

I sat in the garage the first day I got my Nuvi, playing with best locations (accessibility and visibility). In my Caravan, it fits ABOVE the rearview and I can reach it without sitting forward in the seat. My BMW goes in the center of the dash all the way down to the dash. Neither location is even close to obstructing my view. I have witnessed many people with them right smack dab in the middle of the windshield. Granted, you couldn't hide a Smart car behind mine even if it was in the middle, but a pedestrian, motorcyclist or bicyclist could be missed by all these astute Florida drivers. Even though I know MY county like the back of my hand, I bought it for my frequent out of town trips for work. Chicago gets me discombobulated every time I go.

@Feds: That would be "sentence" not "sentance."

Damn, now it's just us Minnesotans left with a ban.

(I mean really, of all places, we have a ban on this stuff?)

I'm not a big fan of GPS, but I'd say put it where you want it. If you hit me because it blocked your view, however, I reserve the right to put it where I want it.

And I'm sure you won't be comfortable with that view.

Didn't know it was against the law.

What's funny is that just today, I saw a cop in his unmarked Crown Vic driving home on an L.A. freeway. He was not only yakking into his cell phone up to his left ear, he had both a GPS *and* a satellite radio suctioned to the windshield.

Oh noes, I am teh distracted.

i had no idea. apparently neither do the rental car companies. I rented a car in San Francisco a few weeks ago and they offered me a window mountable GPS unit, lucky for me, I had my "illegal" TomTom with me. Saved a few bucks and showed CA how much of a bad ass I really am.

@LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot: *yuck!*

how do you live with yourself having all those dangly wires?!

@iamjames:
At least the V1 is up top where it should be. I see people put radar detectors down at the bottom of the windshield, robbing themselves of precious early-warning time when coming over a hill, and it makes me shake my head.

But seriously, dude -- run those cords along the headliner and down an A-pillar. If you don't feel up to hard-wiring them, at least bring them out through the glovebox or something. Dangly wires are for no.

--R