"Rat, Just wait until you see some one with an Ipad mounted on their windshield. Yes a ..... IPAD their blind spot could hide a car."
its true, an ipad could hide a car...if the car was really far away. Some of yall are making it seem like GPS, or even a tablet, is going to fill up the entire windshield. Just aint so.
I want to add, in regards to having the GPS on during the same commute to work etc etc etc Yep, Froggy nailed it. Except for one point, which is my main reason, and thats MPH. Most of you that have a GPS can see that your vehicles speedo and the GPS dont sync up exactly at highway speeds. My pathfinder, at 70mph is off by 5mph My 1125R is off by 2. Not huge amounts, but I know around here cops are cool up til about 6 or 7 over, so i'd rather have an accurate mph keeping me in check so that I dont get in trouble.
And in the end - why does it really bother you that they have their GPS on each day on their way to work? I swear, some of yall will complain about anything
I'm the OP, and my complaint was people with the GPS mounted square in front of them on the windshield.
I don't care how small it is - right smack in front of your face blocks a LOT. Tape your windshield right there and go for a drive. See how much stuff you miss.
People are getting dumber by the day. Common sense (at least to me) says "don't hang shit right in front of your face when you drive, put it off to the side".
I guess it's just me.
Do I care that you use a GPS on the way to work? Nope. Not one bit. What I care about is, sticking it right in front of your face and blocking your view could adversely affect ME. It's DUMB. It's DANGEROUS. And - this is the key - IT'S EASILY AVOIDED. Just hang the damned thing off to the side, or stick it in the ashtray or something. THEY TALK. You don't have to see them every second and every mile.
Life is not a video game. There is no reset button. Don't f@(k with MY safety, especially when a little common sense can make all the difference.
again, we're talking a 12sq/in item, even in front of them it will NOT be hiding you even if you were on your bike....unless you really really far ahead of them. And at that point you shouldnt have much concern.
Would you really rather them have it down in the ashtray where they have to LOOK DOWN, really take their eyes off of the road to check out their GPS?
obviously you have never tended goal in hockey or soccer. They teach you to take away the angle by moving out towards the attacker. the closer you are to the attacker the more of the goal you cover. well it is the same as if I place a 5x7 card directly in front of you on your windshield. It blocks more vision than it would at the end of the hood or 3 feet off the front bumper. I was nearly ran over by s lil old lady in her town car because she kept her handicap placard hanging from her rear view mirror(illegal in the state of Virginia) claiming "oh I didn't see ya" well duh no sh_t!!!
I've been using one of these since I had my first car, a '73 Superbeetle, and have religiously installed one in every vehicle since.
The first few days were hairy, as I was not paying attention to what was in FRONT of me.
I've come to LOVE this, and depend on it.
OK, dammit, I watched that whole douche canoe video, I DID cover up the place where the stock rear view was mounted, I DIDN'T "sticker bomb" the whole damn thing, I ACTUALLY USE MINE EVERY DAY DRIVING, NOT TO BE A LOSER PUZZZY LOSING FZZZUK LIKE THIS.
I only wanted to show and share a useful tool. Soory about the unuseful one.
6gears - I actually have a cheap windshield mount that I tried but it blocked too much, I was thinking of somehow mounting it to a "muffin" cupholder ashtray I have to mount it there.
And for the record, a GPS square in the middle of your windshield WILL block an entire bike OR car at a much closer distance than anyone should be comfortable with. Not to mention, it doesn't even need to block a whole vehicle, but only the brakelights to be incredibly dangerous.
It's incredible to me that some think that sticking a gps on the windshield won't block your vision of a car/motorcycle/pedestrian. It's all about distance and angle. I've seen how the crossing mirrors (the round mirrors at the frond of a bus) on a school bus completely hides a car not far away. What's more, hiding most of the object will cause your brain to not see the bit you can see. It's just how the brain filters information.
The simple fact is that you don't even have to actually block vision to stop seeing. When GM was playing around with heads up displays, they thought they were onto building something that would be safer by letting the driver see his speed while looking at the road. What they didn't expect was that people would just see their speed, and stop seeing the road that was still in plain sight. They had people running into fixed objects that they never identified before the accident.
One more thing. Just over two weeks ago, one of our buses was going down a four lane road at 40 mph. Some lady in an SUV made a left turn right in front of the bus. A big 43 foot yellow banana with lights on and reflective tape all over the freaking thing! Care to guess what she had to say about it? Here's a hint... It's what most drivers say when they run into a biker too.
again, we're talking a 12sq/in item, even in front of them it will NOT be hiding you even if you were on your bike....unless you really really far ahead of them. And at that point you shouldnt have much concern.
OK, try this. Put a ONE square inch piece of tape on your helmet visor and go for a ride. How much does that block? Now...tape off 12 square inches on your windshield and take a spin. How much stuff do YOU miss? How often? It only has to happen once, at one wrong moment...and someone is dead or maimed.
Is your GPS worth that?
Would you really rather them have it down in the ashtray where they have to LOOK DOWN, really take their eyes off of the road to check out their GPS?
ABSOLUTELY. Because that way it registers as a DISTRACTION, and it will help them keep returning their eyes to the road where they belong. People can't multitask, especially where driving is concerned. Sticking a GPS on the windshield is an attempt at multitasking, because people are LAZY and don't want to "have" to move their eyes. Shit, most people can't be bothered to flip a switch for a turn signal...does that make it OK? Not in my book.
If their focus is on the GPS - and it must be, or they'd put the damn thing in the ashtray or down on the instrument panel where it belongs and just listen for the prompts instead of trying to use it as a HUD or a video game - then their focus is NOT on their driving. Which is where I, and MY SAFETY, come into play. You wanna debate it? Fine, I'll go all night. People should DRIVE when they're behind the wheel. PERIOD. Half of them can't even do *that* well, yet they try and toss all this other crap (handheld phones, text messaging, kindles, GPSs, books, make-up, razors, you name it) in between them and the task at hand. Which is another barrier between their DRIVING (which is what they should be doing), and MY SAFETY.
I've been dead once. I don't care to do it again. The dead part wasn't so tough...but the rebuild, surgeries, PT, PTSD, and the *survival* was the hard part. People who threaten to do that to me again out of sheer stupidity and laziness PISS ME OFF.
And again - it's easily avoided. Use your devices PROPERLY - and that includes the *automobile* you're sitting in. If you don't want to put effort into that...fine. But don't expect me to be quiet about it. And don't you DARE tell me that blocking a square foot of your windshield "isn't a problem" for driving and visibility.
I find it hard to believe people on a motorcycle forum are actually arguing FOR this sort of crap. I guess common sense really IS dead.
...and people wonder why I ride alone most of the time...
Well, the guy I saw with the Ipad mounted, had it directly below the rear view mirror. In the middle of the windshield.
Yea I tried that, lasted a whole 30 seconds before I decided it wasn't a good spot and strategically relocated it
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Now, if you could hack and swap the camera for night vision, that would be a different critter altogether.
I don't see that being possible with the current technology we have, but it would be something I would love.
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Also hate the IDIOTS with the Handicap placards hanging from the mirror.
The only thing I love about those tags is that they are a giant hanging warning that you need to keep as much distance as possible around them.
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I'm the OP, and my complaint was people with the GPS mounted square in front of them on the windshield.
I don't care how small it is - right smack in front of your face blocks a LOT.
I agree, thats why my tablet, GPS, phone, and other devices are off to the sides and placed in spots where I am not really blocking the view of anything other than the hood and dash.
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When GM was playing around with heads up displays, they thought they were onto building something that would be safer by letting the driver see his speed while looking at the road. What they didn't expect was that people would just see their speed, and stop seeing the road that was still in plain sight. They had people running into fixed objects that they never identified before the accident.
The problem is that most people are not used to a HUD system, resulting in the situation you describe. People get distracted by shiny new thing. I've driven Pontiacs with the HUD, it is freaking fantastic and should be standard on everything, and never caused me any visibility/distraction issues.
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Would you really rather them have it down in the ashtray where they have to LOOK DOWN, really take their eyes off of the road to check out their GPS? -------- ABSOLUTELY. Because that way it registers as a DISTRACTION, and it will help them keep returning their eyes to the road where they belong.
My first hand experience says that the dealing with it in the ash tray is worse. It is more dangerous as it takes more effort to obtain and process the data the GPS is providing, and taking eyes off the road results in drifting out of lane, not noticing a sudden stop, etc.
I don't have a proper mount for my phone yet, so it lives in the cup holder near the shifter, and on occasion I will notice out of the corner of my eye that the screen is on. Why is it on? Did my mother call me from the hospital? The fraction of a second it takes me to tilt my head down and see the screen to figure out whats going on results in 100% distracted and unsafe driving. With the dash/windshield mounted devices I use, I can view them, see all I need to see without taking my eyes off the road or resulting in any unsafe driving conditions.
OK lets sign Froggy up for BORG implants he will love it and we can see what works and what will burn out his brain. If it works great Froggys famous for the first successful VR5 program or he's fried in pony land forever. Then we know what works.
I don't have a proper mount for my phone yet, so it lives in the cup holder near the shifter, and on occasion I will notice out of the corner of my eye that the screen is on. Why is it on? Did my mother call me from the hospital? The fraction of a second it takes me to tilt my head down and see the screen to figure out whats going on results in 100% distracted and unsafe driving. With the dash/windshield mounted devices I use, I can view them, see all I need to see without taking my eyes off the road or resulting in any unsafe driving conditions. And from what you describe there, you KNEW you were distracted looking down.
I bet you're much more distracted than you think, when your device is mounted up high in your line of sight...
If your mom called...you would have heard the phone ring in your earpiece For $19.95, I can't imagine anyone having an excuse not to own and use one...
I'd give Maryland title of the dumbest, laziest, most entitled drivers in the nation. This includes experience in NJ and NY. The yuppie entitlement in this state in breathtaking.
The problem with Maryland drivers is that, a lot of "Marylanders" are not from around here. They come here for our jobs or are tourists and don't understand how to drive Nascar style on road courses and when going clockwise (turning right).
And from what you describe there, you KNEW you were distracted looking down.
Yes, which is why I'm going to rig up something different for future use, putting it somewhere more visible.
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I bet you're much more distracted than you think, when your device is mounted up high in your line of sight..
No more distracted than those electronic overhead signs telling me of a road closure. I am not moving my head and totally losing focus on the task at hand, allowing me to safely multi task just a little.
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f your mom called...you would have heard the phone ring in your earpiece For $19.95, I can't imagine anyone having an excuse not to own and use one...
I can't imagine anyone having a reason to own one of those pieces of garbage. Bluetooth is terrible and flaky technology at best. I do have my phone Bluetooth tied to my GPS and tablet, but things don't always work. I've seen phones light up seemingly randomly, I know mine does it when I remove the stylus, which it can think happens if there is a change in the magnetic field.
For $19.95, I can't imagine anyone having an excuse not to own and use one...