I currently have my 730 windshield mounted. I will no longer fiddle with the settings while the car is in motion . So fellow Ontarians, according to the new and any existing law...am I law abiding?

 

Your post isn't very clear. Did you get into an accident or had a near-miss or something? I ask because you say you will no longer fiddle with the device while the car is in motion. Is there a new law? Is there not? Explain!

 

No accident. And yes a new law has just been enacted but w/o seeing it in writing I am unsure as to what GPS form is no longer permitted; most importantly is windshield mounted allowed under this new law?

 

It hasn't been enacted yet. The legislation is just getting tabled. But, considering the party in power has a majority, the legislation is likely to pass into law with few, if any, amendments.

Yes........windshield and dash mounted gps units (and phones and pdas) will be legal. What WON'T be is gps directions received while you are HOLDING the receiver. So, devices such as i-phones, cell phones and pda's, if held while receiving directions, will be ILLEGAL.

One reporter at the press conference announcing the new legislation asked the Minister of Transport whether ipods, if attached to the dash, would be legal. His reply, "I don't know. I'll have to get back to you".

 

I'm pretty sure it's a windshield mounting law and not a "using a GPS" law. Here in the states there are plenty of insurance companies that even give discounts for having and using one. GPS devices are even said to reduce accidents by a nice percentage.

California has a law that restricts GPS devices from being mounted on a windshield. I don't know if that's a good idea because if you have to mount a GPS even lower in your car, you now have to look down and take your eyes further off the road. Yea I know windshield mounted gps devices block your view a tiny bit, but looking DOWN makes you lose 100% of your view of the road. California has some crazy laws at times (not this law but many othrs)

 

I thought I read that California is modifying the law to allow gps units on a windshield if attached at the bottom of the screen to not block line of sight vision.

 

Ohh I didn't know that. That would make more sense.

 

So far the newspaper reports have stated clearly that it will be a ban on hand held devices while presuming that mp3 players will be excluded.
Remarks about the positioning of GPS devices has been somewhat ambiguous as I have only see statements about the acceptance of in dash navigation systems.

The thrust, of the not yet tabled law, is to ban hand held phones and it has been made pretty clear that texting while driving will become subject to fines.

For me, the best spot for a GPS is windshield mounted, directly below the rear view mirror. I divide my attention between windshield, instruments and mirror. Glancing at the GPS below the mirror does not cause undue distraction, looking for a GPS in the middle of the dash would.

At highway speeds very little attention is given to the GPS. At slower speeds in heavy city traffic I like seeing the (my) green arrow pointing towards the next turn even before the announcement.
Once the announcement comes it confirms that which I glanced at and does not then require my taking attention away from traffic.
This, to me is a true contribution to safety.

As mentioned a a few months ago, driving half a day through traffic in London without a single argument with the passenger made for relaxed, unstressed driving. Knowing that you have to take the fifth exit at the next triple lane roundabout without having to look for the street name to find the exit made my last trip to the UK the most pleasurable one. Compound that with not having to pull over (with no space to find) to look at a map to find how to get back on track takes off such a burden, it is hard to explain.
Cheers,

__________________
GO 930, reverted to 8.302, NA 840 + W&CE 805, XP Pro SP3

 

Saskatchewan already has similar rules.

http://www.caa.ca/driventodistractio...racted.html#sk

 

Excerpt:
... computer screen should only be visible if they are designed to assist the driver in ensuring the safety of the vehicle's load or its passengers, or for one of the following reasons: to navigate;

This would be good.

... in a manner that does not obstruct the view of the driver or is not visible to the driver

This could be troublesome.

I would maintain that the GPS mounted directly below my rear view mirror is not any more obstructing than the mirror itself and definitely less so than a fox tail, worry beads or a rosary.

That might not get me anywhere in a court of law and we will have to wait for the exact wording of the Act and/or eventual case law decisions.

__________________
GO 930, reverted to 8.302, NA 840 + W&CE 805, XP Pro SP3