When I first saw someone with a GPS mounted smack bang in the middle of their windscreen I laughed and pointed. I could hardly believe someone would be so stupid. Now I’ve seen bucket loads mounted like this and even have friends and family who do it thus, so I have to contain my finger pointing and outrage to a minimum.
Thing is, I’m still not quite sure what the GPS doing there. Do people really intend to squint at their GPS while driving? Really? You wouldn’t get the map out and read it while you drove. (Okay, I have, sure, but I was young and stupid and am thankful I didn’t kill anyone, like myself.) And if it’s not there for watching…then just what the hell is the GPS doing in the middle of your field of view?
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| Thank-you Funny Pictures. |
Follow this link to an online discussion. Cas98 actually seems to be complaining about it being illegal to mount something that “only blocks about 2 meters of road view”. As someone who regularly occupies a field of view of about 2 metres or less I’m a little concerned. Sure, your average Jeep Cherokee is safe but what about a skinny little cyclist on a fixie? Two metres is plenty for me to hide in.
And that 2 metres she’s talking about is when my fixie is disappearing under the bonnet of her 4WD. (Okay, I’m conjecturing about the 4WD…but it’s true to type surely.) At a distance of 10 metres that field of view creates a blind spot big enough to hide the entire Australian cricket team. (And couldn’t they use it!) So $250 fine for recklessly endangering the life of the Gold Coast saddest fixie blogger and the Australian cricket team is excessive? Hardly, I’d hope.
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| Thank-you Fugly. |
Here’s the thing though, I’ve used GPS before and I’ve noticed this one really cool thing they do. They talk. Really. If you put it aside, maybe in the tray next to you, it’ll talk you through your journey. No need to have it dangling under your nose. Mine has a little electronic lady in it who speaks English in that clear and distinct way of someone who has English as a second language. There’s no slang or room for misunderstanding with her. She warns me as turns approach and then commands in a very stern voice for me to turn when the turn arrives. She even sounds a bit peeved and somewhat more stentorian when I ignore here. I’m actually a little afraid to defy her.
If you humour your GPS it’ll get you to exactly where you need to go. Also, if for some reason you change your destination mid-journey, pull over, re-program it, and drive off again. It’ll keep talking. It’s that clever.
And just to clear up the laws, yes it is illegal to obscure your view with anything. That includes fluffy dice, crystals, television sets, GPS or even a nice set of gingham curtains. The big glass thing on the front of your car is for looking through.
