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Gps Unit Mount On Windshield Illegal In CA?


ozymandiasism

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Yes it is true, but I live here in So Cal and haven't had a problem. Lots of people have compass' and GPS attached to the windsheild. I've never heard of anyone having a problem.

 

But, the answer is yes you are leaving yourself open for a ticket. Watch, now I'll get pulled over tomorrow! :laughing:

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From the California Vehicle code:

 

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any

object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied

upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

 

(2) 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.

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I was stop once because I forgot to turn on my headlights leaving a gas station, no ticket and the cop didn't even give my GPS on my windshield a second look. My guess is they have better things to do with there time.

 

It is also against the law to drive a car in Ca. with out a front lic. plate, but lots of people drive without them.

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From the California Vehicle code:

 

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any

object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied

upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

 

(2) 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.

 

Hmmm....remind me to remove all items from my windshield when I drive through Orland in a few weeks. :D

 

Friv

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I was stop once because I forgot to turn on my headlights leaving a gas station, no ticket and the cop didn't even give my GPS on my windshield a second look. My guess is they have better things to do with there time.

 

It is also against the law to drive a car in Ca. with out a front lic. plate, but lots of people drive without them.

 

In my 3 years in traffic, I wrote at least 400 'No Front Plate' cites (5200 VC)...lots of poeple drive without fromt plate and lots of people get tickets for it too (it IS a correctable violation, though).

 

:D

Ed

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My husband parked his car at the local lightrail station, only to find his window broken and his Garmin gone. It was on a windshield mount. That's all they took, just the garmin. I thought it must have looked like a big neon light, "Come get me!" He looked for it on Craigslist for a while, but it never appeared there.

 

He still uses a windshield mount with his new GPSr, but takes the garmin with him when he leaves the car.

 

He has never been pulled over for having it on his windshield though. My 18 year old son got a fix-it ticket for having his graduation tassle hanging from his rearview mirror.

 

I don't have a front license plate and two of my sons took their driving test in my van, never had a problem, and I've never been pulled over for it either. But I'm waiting for the day....

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Here is the full section with exceptions and all; is there a lawyer in the house!

Rear view mirrors are OK! as are emergency lights for police cruisers. GPS should fit exceptions noted.

(note: I did not add smileys; GC did)

 

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

(2) 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.

(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.

(:D This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Rearview mirrors.

(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.

(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest the driver.

(4) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.

(5) Direction, destination, or termini signs upon a passenger common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.

(6) Rear window wiper motor.

(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.

(8) The rear window or windows, when the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the vehicle.

(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and which occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner toward the rear of that window and which provides the driver with a wide-angle view through the lens.

(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section 26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not be used during darkness.

(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that is not greater than 5 inches square, if the device provides either of the following:

(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped with the device.

(:D The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on public or private roads or facilities.

© Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the windshield if the following conditions apply:

(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.

(2) The material is not red or amber in color.

(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through the windshield.

(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any greater extent than the windshield without the material.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the front seat if the following conditions are met:

(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.

(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as specified in that federal standard.

(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful ultraviolet A rays.

(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's manufacturer by full name and street address.

(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be removed or replaced.

Edited by Chuy
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I know here in MA such things are technically not legal, but it's always been one of those things where the cops have better things to do than bug you about a GPS on your dash.

 

However if you're being a twit to the cop and he wants to start looking for things to ticket you for, they have you there.

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I live in Kansas and they let us put whatever we want on our windshields, as long as we leave a 4 x 4 inch area with which to see through - but I still have a solution for you.

 

Depending on the vehicle you are in... My wife's van has a windshield that makes it almost impossible to afix my suction cup mounted bracket for my Garmin GPS 60Cx. I wore my tongue raw lick that suction cup and attaching here and there until the window was covered with 2 inch circle stains from the mount. My daughter loved it... gave her the opportunity to make ten bucks cleaning the windows.

 

In any event, there was not a good, visible place on that windshield so I mounted it on the rear view mirror itself -- off to the roght and cocked it towrds me. It gave me perfectly clear vision through the nirror, through the windshield and it sounds like, if you are having a problem being profiled as a CA Criminal for your blantant windshiled infractions, you could get around it "legally" by using your rear view mirror.

 

ALTERNATE SOLUTION: An alternate solution is to mount a 6 inch by 6 inch plexiglass square on your dash with velcro. Then attach the suction mount to the plexigalss. Problem solved.

 

Hope this helps.

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I have my mount in the lower left hand corner of the windshield. It doesn't obstruct my vision and is easy to deal with. I do NOT leave the GPSr in the truck when I'm not using it or when I go into a restaurant, etc. It's a big fat "steal me" sign.

 

According to the law all of the Garfield figures, Baby on Board signs, etc. that you see stuck onto widows are illegal. I don't think it is enforced unless you are obviously obstructing your vision for driving and mirror usage. That doesn't mean you can't be ticketed for it.

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I have my mount in the lower left hand corner of the windshield. It doesn't obstruct my vision and is easy to deal with. I do NOT leave the GPSr in the truck when I'm not using it or when I go into a restaurant, etc. It's a big fat "steal me" sign.

 

According to the law all of the Garfield figures, Baby on Board signs, etc. that you see stuck onto widows are illegal. I don't think it is enforced unless you are obviously obstructing your vision for driving and mirror usage. That doesn't mean you can't be ticketed for it.

 

That is exactly what I'm doing... the lower left corner of the windshield. But it's a pain since the mount needs to charged in for voice prompt.

 

I don't leave my unit on the mount when I leave either. BUT, if the mount is visible on the windshield, don't you think that's a pretty big "steal me" sign as well?

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From the California Vehicle code:

 

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any

object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied

upon the windshield or side or rear windows.

 

(2) 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.

 

Interesting.

 

In Florida, we have something called 'SunPass', which is used for pre-paid tolls on the tollroads here. The device is about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and is SUPPOSED to be attached to your windshield, a little below your rear-view mirror. A LOT of people have them (at least around here, where we have 2 major tollroads that are major roadways).

 

So I guess if someone from Florida travels to CA with their sunpass on their window, they'll get in trouble???

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The only time I had anyone question my GPSr mount on my window was when I drove to Vegas about 2 months after 9-11. I was heading into vegas about 2 in the morning, and they had a roadblock setup on the AZ side of the dam. Arizona still had that side being patrolled by the National Guard for the night shift. I had a soldier, with an M-16 in hand, asked me about the device on my window, as his partner did the twice over on my truck. It was 2AM, and they had nothing better to do. Once he found out it was a GPSr, he wanted to know more about it. Another car was coming up behind me finally, and he waved me through.

 

It was kinda funny when he looked in the back seat of my truck and noticed my knee and elbow pads for my rollerblades. He didn't see my roller blades and he was really concerned at first... for some strange reason. Once I mentioned the rollerblades, he started looking at my windshield.

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