Advanced Driving Hub

I thought anything stuck to the windscreen within the sweep of the wiper blades was a MOT fail.

exportmanuk wrote:I thought anything stuck to the windscreen within the sweep of the wiper blades was a MOT fail.

Indeed, that is my perception too.

But moreover, such MOT rules are generally rooted in legislation such as Construction & Use regs, which may apply in UK but not in rest of Europe. In which case not just an MOT fail but, even if a ‘friendly’ MOT tester turns a blind eye, it is still an offence on the road.

I’m finding it very hard to believe the RAC article’s assertion that…

Founder Oleksiy Afonin recently held meetings with National Police Chiefs' Council to discuss how it would work for drivers and traffic officers.

Assuming the NPCC are not complete fools I wonder, is it vaguely possible that the above claim which implies some kind of approval by NPCC, might be misleading? Misleading to the point of illegal, who am I to say.

Another Bill wrote:I don’t have a dashcam, though I’ve been tempted. A non-negotiable requirement for me would be that it could be positioned in such a way as to not impede my own vision in the slightest and in fairness, most purpose-built dashcams seem to be designed with that in mind.

Indeed. I do have both front and rear dash cams, and I took advantage of a proper pro installation.

My front cam is tucked in behind my rearview mirror, and other than a very neat single black cable which goes up to the headlining it is completely out of sight from my driving position. It’s hardwired into the fuse box and therefore I simply locations there most of the time

exportmanuk wrote:I thought anything stuck to the windscreen within the sweep of the wiper blades was a MOT fail.

I find that hard to believe. In the days of tax disks they would sometimes have been attached within the sweep of the wiper blades. What are the specific rules about sizes and locations of screen damage in relation to MOT? MOT is quite separate from what would constitute a driving offence; what considerations would be relevant in determining whether there was a driving offence? In many vehicles it will be quite possible to attach a phone by suction to a screen in a location which in no way whatsoever diminishes the driver's view of the outside world (e.g. at the bottom of the screen the background is bonnet, at the top of the screen a horizontal device would not come down below the legal to use sun shades).

I occasionally use a phone attached to the screen for navigation, and would not do so if I considered my safety to be in any way compromised.

waremark wrote:

exportmanuk wrote:I thought anything stuck to the windscreen within the sweep of the wiper blades was a MOT fail.

I find that hard to believe. In the days of tax disks they would sometimes have been attached within the sweep of the wiper blades.

I suspect we have some serious legal beagles on here, I am not one.

But my understanding re tax discs is that, since they were a legally mandated requirement, they effectively overruled the regs about windscreen obstruction. You can’t be prosecuted for obeying legislation. But once tax discs ceased to be a legal requirement, anybody who left the old tax holder in place, if it interfered with the swept area, was in theory committing an offence. Repeat again, I am no lawyer. My understanding, but might be wrong.

Another Bill wrote:
I’m finding it very hard to believe the RAC article’s assertion that…

Founder Oleksiy Afonin recently held meetings with National Police Chiefs' Council to discuss how it would work for drivers and traffic officers.

Assuming the NPCC are not complete fools I wonder, is it vaguely possible that the above claim which implies some kind of approval by NPCC, might be misleading? Misleading to the point of illegal, who am I to say.

I can believe that he had a meeting with a representative from.

But it doesn't tell us the outcomes, so I can as easily believe that he was told to F'cough (in official parlance )

See 3.1 here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/3-visibility

"You can remove items such as a sat nav or air fresheners that obstruct the driver’s view of the road. However, make sure you tell the driver."

Hmm, seems nobody cares! Does my head in seeing SatNags in people's faces, especially at night when they are fully illuminated.

These days I use a phone and Google for directions. Mine’s able to connect to the car audio via bluetooth so spoken directions are loud and clear. The actual phone however is tucked away out of sight, such as in a side pocket of my jacket. Being invisible the temptation to look at it is removed and, after a short while, I found that I no longer missed the visual display at all.

Another Bill wrote:These days I use a phone and Google for directions. Mine’s able to connect to the car audio via bluetooth so spoken directions are loud and clear. The actual phone however is tucked away out of sight, such as in a side pocket of my jacket. Being invisible the temptation to look at it is removed and, after a short while, I found that I no longer missed the visual display at all.

I find the opposite - I can manage without the voice but not without the visuals. How do you manage to understand complex junctions?

waremark wrote:

Another Bill wrote:These days I use a phone and Google for directions. Mine’s able to connect to the car audio via bluetooth so spoken directions are loud and clear. The actual phone however is tucked away out of sight, such as in a side pocket of my jacket. Being invisible the temptation to look at it is removed and, after a short while, I found that I no longer missed the visual display at all.

I find the opposite - I can manage without the voice but not without the visuals. How do you manage to understand complex junctions?

I’d argue that the more complex a junction is, the more demanding it will be on my concentration. And the more demands there are for my attention, the less attention I can spare for looking at a Satnav.

But we’re all different. Age and eyesight, ability to quickly focus and refocus, may be relevant Others may find that a glance at the Satnav actually resolves uncertainties, and frees up their concentration to focus on other detail?