Do you remove your Dashcam in sunny weather

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Jul 18, 2017
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But your quotes says “ as long as you don’t hold them at any time”. Doesn’t exclude touching a fixed or mounted screen. Not a good idea when driving but not illegal.
That was quoted from the govet website as per your link. To touch them to need to use your hands unless you have a long nose!
 
Nov 11, 2009
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But your quotes says “ as long as you don’t hold them at any time”. Doesn’t exclude touching a fixed or mounted screen. Not a good idea when driving but not illegal.
I know where it came from. But they come under “hands free” heading as long as you don’t hold”do not hold them”
 
Jul 18, 2017
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I know where it came from. But they come under “hands free” heading as long as you don’t hold”do not hold them”
Not sure what you do not understand about "hands free"? If you feel a need to argue about it, why not contact the authorities? However you are welcome to argue the toss with a police officer who has stopped you for fiddling with the phone or Satnav. Anyway only a fool would be wanting to touch a Satnav, phone etc while driving so it should not effect any of us on the forum.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Not sure what you do not understand about "hands free"? If you feel a need to argue about it, why not contact the authorities? However you are welcome to argue the toss with a police officer who has stopped you for fiddling with the phone or Satnav. Anyway only a fool would be wanting to touch a Satnav, phone etc while driving so it should not effect any of us on the forum.
Perhaps this excellent article from West Yorkshire Poliice might clarify the status between holding a device which is illegal or hands free which is not illegal. I am not arguing just stating the facts.

 
Jun 20, 2005
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There is an ambiguity in the Gov site imo.
“Hands free” “ don’t Hold” etc gets us into syntaxial semantics on the English Language.

Sam asked about using mobile phones or other hand held devices whilst driving.

See my#45. It really is weird it is legal to,use a massive tv screen oem 😉

So the mobile hand held phone or hand held device is illegal but touching and fiddling with the big fixed screen is ok🙀.
If it was illegal no one would drive a Tesla etc 😜

 
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Jul 18, 2017
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Perhaps this excellent article from West Yorkshire Poliice might clarify the status between holding a device which is illegal or hands free which is not illegal. I am not arguing just stating the facts.

I was not aware that Yorkshire police passed legislationon using mobile phones? Obviously every force will interpret the law to suit their agenda, but it your choice. However the issue here is using Satnavs and not mobile phones.

It would be interesting if a link to the actual legislation was posted for all to read and then to decide on a course of action.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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You are quite correct that the police don’t pass legislation, but they are required to enforce it. So I’d be surprised if there was much variation of interpretation between police forces, they do have working groups to discuss and decide their approach to legislatory changes.

The thread is about dashcam, and you introduced smart phones in your post at #42, and whether it’s agreed or not hands free devices aren’t illegal. But in certain circumstances using one could still lead to falling foul of the law. A web search should enable you to find the source legislation.


“In 2022, the Government introduced a Statutory Instrument (SI) amending the Road Vehicles Regulations 1986. This SI effectively introduces a zero-tolerance policy where mobile phones are concerned which means that even the act of simply holding a device will trigger an offence being committed”



 
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Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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My own interpretation of the government link is that 'touching is not holding' and hence it's ok to use a device that doesn't require you to have it in your hand.

None the less fiddling with any touch screen can be distracting.
 
Jun 16, 2020
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I think the legislation is clear and Sam’s interpretation clarifies it nicely.

I tend to think there is a problem with the interpretation of ‘while driving’. There are examples of people being fined for using a mobile phone stationary with the engine off. Because, though they are not driving at that time, they are deemed to be in charge of the vehicle.

John
 
Nov 6, 2005
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There is an ambiguity in the Gov site imo.
“Hands free” “ don’t Hold” etc gets us into syntaxial semantics on the English Language.

Sam asked about using mobile phones or other hand held devices whilst driving.

See my#45. It really is weird it is legal to,use a massive tv screen oem 😉

So the mobile hand held phone or hand held device is illegal but touching and fiddling with the big fixed screen is ok🙀.
If it was illegal no one would drive a Tesla etc 😜

Equally, some sat nav systems for smart phones are designed for interaction on the move - Waze invites the driver to confirm whether obstacles/police/cameras are still there by touching the screen
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I think the legislation is clear and Sam’s interpretation clarifies it nicely.

I tend to think there is a problem with the interpretation of ‘while driving’. There are examples of people being fined for using a mobile phone stationary with the engine off. Because, though they are not driving at that time, they are deemed to be in charge of the vehicle.

John
That’s pretty harsh as advice is to pull over if you need to use a hand held device. Wonder if they were on the Highway or in a lay by.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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I read that Euro NCAP will introduce new testing protocols in 2026 that will penalise car’s with everything controlled through a touchscreen
Does this mean English Law will change🤔
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I read that Euro NCAP will introduce new testing protocols in 2026 that will penalise car’s with everything controlled through a touchscreen
Does this mean English Law will change🤔
Quite likely as we tend to follow suit on safety and emissions. But unlikely to be retrospective.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I think the legislation is clear and Sam’s interpretation clarifies it nicely.

I tend to think there is a problem with the interpretation of ‘while driving’. There are examples of people being fined for using a mobile phone stationary with the engine off. Because, though they are not driving at that time, they are deemed to be in charge of the vehicle.

John
Wiltshire police website says it’s okay if safely parked with engine off.
 
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Sam Vimes

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One would assume that the car designers would ensure compliance with any specific legislation in the relevant markets.

If you think about it, we've been pushing buttons on radios to tune them or select a station of music track; turning knobs to adjust heating or cooling for a long while. These though IMO are less distracting than a touch screen on a display. Also less likely to pust the wrong thing :)
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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Fred Drift....

Anyway, today I tried a recording at 4k@30fps, with my smartphone. Number plates about 4/5 car lengths ahead still unreadable. So no difference from the 2k@30fps. I suspect that the compression algorithms are set high and detail is just lost.

One day I'll try my dSLR which is much more controlable than a smartphone or Dashcam
 
Jun 16, 2020
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I think image stabilisation would help a lot. I like my Nextbase 522, but it is the 622 that has it.

John
 

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