Sunday, January 11, 2009

New California law limits GPS placement on windshield


Watch where you mount your GSP unit in California. It's now illegal to drive in the state with a GPS on most places on the windshield. Realistically, to stay within the law, users have to somehow affix the devices to the dash or use a bean-bag type holder. According to a state law that went into effect Jan. 1, a GPS device can be mounted on the windshield, but only in two places:

Within a "seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield" on the passenger side or within a "five-inch square in the lower corner" on the driver's side. The first position works if a passenger is the navigator. The second position reportedly works well for the driver.

The law reads: “No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows.” So we also assumed you should remove that fuzzy pair of oversized dice you have hanging from your rear view mirror.

If you happen to get pulled over by a copy and cited for having your GSP in the wrong place (not likely) you will be given a ticket that says you need to change the GPS to a legal position. Once done, you can pay $10 and have the ticket removed from your record.
Posted by Staff Report at Sunday, January 11, 2009

8 comments:

  1. California has had a law for a long time against hanging anything from the rear view mirrow, although you would never know from seeing all the stuff hanging from them. The placing requirements for the gps seem very strange to me. It seems they would increase the normal blind spot area.
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  2. California with all of its laws suck. I am looking forward to the "big one" and California becomes an island.
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  3. This sillyness along with being told I could not bring my bing cherries into California this summer reminds me why we call it the land of fruit and nuts!!! Happy I do not live there and will probably never visit it again.
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  4. California is a beautiful state with lots of wonderful people living there. For someone to wish for the big one is a person with a black heart.
    California does have a lot of laws and I being a native don't agree with most of them. They are doing something right though or there wouldn't be so many people wanting to live and visit there.
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  5. I for one am glad that I no longer live in "La La Land". California has to much BIG government and that equals loss of freedom...
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  6. The way the law reads, everyone must take down their review mirror since it obstructs vision and is not withing either prescribed square on the windshield corners.
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  7. Wow I really wish I had known this before I got pulled over this morning for it! You'd think there would have been a bit more press about it to help us out!
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  8. California has some really stupid laws and having a bean bag GPS sitting on your dash is a major danger. If the GPS is properly affixed to the windshield, during an accident, it will remain there. If as a bean bag, would become a missile in a high speed crash causing serious, if not, deadly consequences.

    I would assume one would be distracted if the unit fell off the windshield so I can see why it was written but it's painfully obvious that not having it affixed or permanent will allow the unit and anything else in the vehicle not tied down to become a missile.
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