Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
maximum amount of forward visibility?

I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.

Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.

A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.

Erica Nurney wrote:
> Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
> my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.


Good idea, increasing the width of the RH screen pillar just to help mask
those annoying motorbikes at T junctions. Well done.
A satnav in the middle of the screen in no way, IME, cuts down forward
visibility.

--
I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as
members. Groucho Marx

Scraggy wrote:
> Good idea, increasing the width of the RH screen pillar just to help
> mask those annoying motorbikes at T junctions.

And anywhere there are central areas marked with cross-hatching to show they
are specially for motorbikes ...

Mike.
--
If reply address is invalid, remove spurious "@" and substitute "plus"
where needed.

Erica Nurney wrote:
> Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
> my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.
>
Possibly you're just not noticing the sensibly positioned ones?

It'd be very easy to miss mine at a quick glance from outside the
vehicle, for instance, and most of our drivers use a similar position.
So you'd have them and me down as non-users for a start.

I'll not start on about how many drivers seem not to look out through
the windscreen anyway....

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

Erica Nurney wrote:

> Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
> my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.

On my Disco the Sat nav is in the middle of the screen, low-down next
to the dashboard top and doesn't impede vision at all ... indeed I can
still see the end of the bonnet. When I tried to fit it to the right
of the dashboard the instrument binnacle gets in the way and the satnav
intrudes into the space directly above and to the right of the steering
wheel. It simply doesn't fit due to the steepness of the screen and
lack of depth to the dash top.

--
Paul - xxx

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi
Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp

Erica Nurney <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> maximum amount of forward visibility?

I don't. And they do it because they are thick. The same people seem to
use the "daylight" settings at night and sit there bathed in the blue
radioactive glow, presumably unable to see much through the windscreen.

> I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
> my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.

Yes, that's what I do. Or when I'm driving a LHD position to the left of
the screen. I've done this both with gooseneck and with rigid mounts.

> Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.

It seems easier on most vehicles to do that. There's usually a fold,
crease, line or junction between two surfaces on the dash that the cable
can be pressed into. Having the cable trail up the front of the
radio/heater controls as happens when using a central mounting point is
even more irritating. On my own vehicle I've fitted an extra power point
on the RHS.

On 21 May, 13:46, "Scraggy" <scra...@abuseisgoodforyou.org.be> wrote:
> Erica Nurney wrote:
> > Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> > satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> > maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> > I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> > gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> > and forward visibility is hardly affected. *Also it is convenient to
> > my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> > Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> > excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> > A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.
>
> Good idea, increasing the width of the RH screen pillar just to help mask
> those annoying motorbikes at T junctions. Well done.

It is neatly contained within the width of the pillar in my vehicle.
In any case with wide pillars do you not move your head to make sure
that there is not a hidden motorbike?

> A satnav in the middle of the screen in no way, IME, cuts down forward
> visibility.

A 100x100mm blind spot in the middle of the windscreen. If you had an
equivalent blind spot on your retina you might have difficulty getting
a licence.

>
> --
> I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as
> members. Groucho Marx

On 21 May, 13:57, "Paul - xxx" <notcheckede...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Erica Nurney wrote:
> > Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> > satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> > maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> > I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> > gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> > and forward visibility is hardly affected. *Also it is convenient to
> > my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> > Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> > excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> > A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.
>
> On my Disco the Sat nav is in the middle of the screen, low-down next
> to the dashboard top and doesn't impede vision at all ... indeed I can
> still see the end of the bonnet. *When I tried to fit it to the right
> of the dashboard the instrument binnacle gets in the way and the satnav
> intrudes into the space directly above and to the right of the steering
> wheel. *It simply doesn't fit due to the steepness of the screen and
> lack of depth to the dash top.

My Citroen C3 has quite an upright screen and it would be almost
impossible to mount it centrally on the windscreen without significant
loss of forward vision. I can see how it might be more convenient on
some vehicles to fit it centrally, especially if it can be mounted
below windscreen level.

>
> --
> Paul - xxx
>
> '96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi
> Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp

On Thu, 21 May 2009 07:24:24 -0700 (PDT), Erica Nurney
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 21 May, 13:57, "Paul - xxx" <notcheckede...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Erica Nurney wrote:

>My Citroen C3

That's YOUR problem, with a decent vehicle a central position, low
down, does not obscure anything. A drivers eyes automatically go to
the central position to check the rear view mirror occasionally, don't
they.

"Erica Nurney" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:fe9240f5-715d-40be-bed0-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Why does it seem that nearly every driver apart from me plonks their
> satnav slap bang in the middle of the windscreen so as to obscure the
> maximum amount of forward visibility?
>
> I have always mounted mine to the right of the screen and bend the
> gooseneck so that the bulk of the satnav is in front of the pillar,
> and forward visibility is hardly affected. Also it is convenient to
> my right hand for setting and adjustment purposes.
>
> Saying that the cigar lighter connector is in the middle is not an
> excuse - I just drape the lead over the top of the steering column.
>
> A concerned observer of the other drivers' habits needs to know.
>
What car do you have where you sit in the middle?