Adhesive Mounts on Heated Front+Back Windows Help

[2000rpm]

But the position I outlined looks legal in the UK according to this?

Check your wiper sweep area.

On my car, on the driver's side the wiper sweeps all the way to the top of the windscreen so there isn't an unswept area on the driver's side. But the wiper on the passenger side does have an unswept area at the top.

I've actually heard of someone changing to shorter wiper blades so that a significant chip in their windscreen was outside the swept area and therefore not illegal or MoT fail.

Also consider whether mounting high in an unswept area will result in the cam looking through persistently dirty glass.

 

[RobS89]

Check your wiper sweep area.

On my car, on the driver's side the wiper sweeps all the way to the top of the windscreen so there isn't an unswept area on the driver's side. But the wiper on the passenger side does have an unswept area at the top.

I've actually heard of someone changing to shorter wiper blades so that a significant chip in their windscreen was outside the swept area and therefore not illegal or MoT fail.

Also consider whether mounting high in an unswept area will result in the cam looking through persistently dirty glass.

My wipers cover pretty much all the windscreen. They don't wipe parallel side to side. They wipe by crossing each other left and right if you get me.

 

[RobS89]

 

[2000rpm]

My wipers cover pretty much all the windscreen. They don't wipe parallel side to side. They wipe by crossing each other left and right if you get me.

Yes, my wipers are the same - instead of both sweeping left, then both sweeping right, mine sweep both outwards then both inwards. However, on mine, the passenger wiper doesn't sweep as high up the screen as the driver wiper.

It's not easy finding a legal place to mount the cam with large mirror lumps, shallow windscreen angles and wipers which cover the whole windscreen. You may just have to go for the least bad mounting position and in the rare event of being questioned about it, argue why you feel it wasn't impairing your view.

 

[2000rpm]

From your picture, I think the most legal position would be on the passenger side of the rear view mirror, but you'd be better with a squarer shaped cam than a wide cam.
Mounting to the passenger side of the mirror means the mirror itself will block your view of the cam, so you can argue that positioning it there had no impact on your view.
Or mount it high on the driver's side and insist that your view is so far beneath it that it doesn't affect your view.

 

[RobS89]

Yes, my wipers are the same - instead of both sweeping left, then both sweeping right, mine sweep both outwards then both inwards.

It's not easy finding a legal place to mount the cam with large mirror lumps, shallow windscreen angles and wipers which cover the whole windscreen. You may just have to go for the least bad mounting position and in the rare event of being questioned about it, argue why you feel it wasn't impairing your view.

My argument would be that my sun visor when being used is an obstruction too? And the sensor housing.

My Sun visor is down and never up so the camera will be behind that all year round. I won't see the camera at all.

 

[2000rpm]

Or consider mounting as I have with one of my cams; on the top of the dashboard. In that low-down position the cam is not affected by any windscreen reflections.

Below are pictures of where the cam sits (legal because it's not on the windscreen and not a significant obstruction to my view) and a picture of what the cam 'sees'.

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[RobS89]

Or consider mounting as I have with one of my cams; on the top of the dashboard. In that low-down position the cam is not affected by any windscreen reflections.

Below are pictures of where the cam sits (legal because it's not on the windscreen and not a significant obstruction to my view) and a picture of what the cam 'sees'.

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I did think about that but my camera lens would then be upside down as the mount is positioned on top of the camera for it to stick on the window

 

[2000rpm]

My argument would be that my sun visor when being used is an obstruction too? And the sensor housing.

My Sun visor is down and never up so the camera will be behind that all year round. I won't see the camera at all.

I agree with you and it sounds like common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense is not very common, and in court sometimes the letter of the law is applied rather than the spirit of the law.

Which is why I have been cautioning on where to mount it, so that you're at least aware of any legal criticisms which might come your way if you ever need to rely on your cam's footage.

 

[RobS89]

I agree with you and it sounds like common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense is not very common, and in court sometimes the letter of the law is applied rather than the spirit of the law.

Which is why I have been cautioning on where to mount it, so that you're at least aware of any legal criticisms which might come your way if you ever need to rely on your cam's footage.

I'll see how it looks from passengers side by the mirror. But I think it will have the sensor casing in it too blocking view from the drivers side.

 

[2000rpm]

I did think about that but my camera lens would then be upside down as the mount is positioned on top of the camera for it to stick on the window

The cam on my dash (Cobra 840) has a quirky multi-adjustable mount which I could turn upside down. But as it happens the cam will also allow me to turn the image (and its screen!) upside down too. Some media players/editors can flip video for you.

The cam is definitely an oddball but it's a good oddball. Video quality is average but it has a very narrow field of view so in daylight the cam captures more detail than most, at the expense of not seeing much to the sides.
The cable is too short to run around the windscreen pillars, and it's an unusual 5.5V adapter rather than 5V, which can make the cam fussy about using a different power supply.

 

[2000rpm]

I'll see how it looks from passengers side by the mirror. But I think it will have the sensor casing in it too blocking view from the drivers side.

Wide cams on the passenger side tend to annoy the passenger, and the passenger will ask 'Is that blocking your view?'

 

[Deleted member 46308]

I agree with you and it sounds like common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense is not very common

Could not agree more

 

[RobS89]

I tried seeing what mounting on the passenger side was like by the mirror and I totally forgot that to remove the camera from its mounting, it slides off to the right. Which would then be blocked by the sensor housing, as well as the power cable.
I could mount it more to the left but I don't think I'll see any view of the drivers side.

I feel as if I've caused a headache buying a camera built in this way. Rear camera is tip top though and mounted. Just the front now.

 

[2000rpm]

....I feel as if I've caused a headache buying a camera built in this way......

Most cameras are difficult to squeeze into the legal areas of my current and previous car due to the exact problems we've been discussing regarding wiper sweep area size and the huge mirror/sensor housing.
I'm still not entirely happy with the positioning of the front cams in my car (not helped when a cam dies and needs replacing with something else) and I'm continuing to experiment with different cams in different positions.
That's why I was encouraging @JooVuu to supply a mount with lots of adjustment when their new X-cam arrives in a few weeks time because a compact cam like the JooVuu X could tuck away nicely near the rear view mirror block and get both a good view of the road and not be questionably legal in its position.

Pics below of the current experimental position of two cams around the rear view mirror (Mio Mivue 538 on the left and Panorama on the right, both on modified DOD mounts). The stippling has to be avoided because most suction mounts won't stay put for more than a few minutes.
The Cobra will stay on the top of the dashboard because it is legal under my interpretation of the law, and the ability of it to avoid windscreen reflections results in better video quality than higher-spec cams mounter higher up the windscreen. The horrible reflections can clearly be seen in the second picture.

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[RobS89]

Most cameras are difficult to squeeze into the legal areas of my current and previous car due to the exact problems we've been discussing regarding wiper sweep area size and the huge mirror/sensor housing.
I'm still not entirely happy with the positioning of the front cams in my car (not helped when a cam dies and needs replacing with something else) and I'm continuing to experiment with different cams in different positions.
That's why I was encouraging @JooVuu to supply a mount with lots of adjustment when their new X-cam arrives in a few weeks time because a compact cam like the JooVuu X could tuck away nicely near the rear view mirror block and get both a good view of the road and not be questionably legal in its position.

Pics below of the current experimental position of two cams around the rear view mirror (Mio Mivue 538 on the left and Panorama on the right, both on modified DOD mounts). The stippling has to be avoided because most suction mounts won't stay put for more than a few minutes.
The Cobra will stay on the top of the dashboard because it is legal under my interpretation of the law, and the ability of it to avoid windscreen reflections results in better video quality than higher-spec cams mounter higher up the windscreen. The horrible reflections can clearly be seen in the second picture.

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Going to fiddle around with where to mount again. Not that I'm sure it will be much difference but I am going to try to get it on the passenger side with still have access to remove the camera. Not sure if it can be done without not being able to capture most the drivers side though.

 

[RobS89]

This is the view from passenger side behind mirror out of my view.
I can see the bonnet on both sides which ideally what I need.
I get a similar view from the drivers side but the camera is not behind the mirror.


Problem is I wont be able to remove the camera from its mount unless I remove the adhesive mount with it.
Not that I plan on removing unless it breaks etc.

Does that view look good in the case I needed to use footage as evidence as well as more legal than drivers side not behind the mirror?

Thanks

 

[DT MI]

...
Does that view look good in the case I needed to use footage as evidence as well as more legal than drivers side not behind the mirror?

Thanks

Just a personal idiosyncrasy but having that sensor housing in the frame would really irritate me. That in itself would be enough for me to come up with some way of mounting to the housing itself.

 

[RobS89]

Just a personal idiosyncrasy but having that sensor housing in the frame would really irritate me. That in itself would be enough for me to come up with some way of mounting to the housing itself.

I can mount it to it but it sticks out too much and afraid it could be illegal to have it there. I'll get a pic after work to post on here to show what it looks like mounted to the sensor housing.

 

[kamkar]

Over here in Denmark its pretty much illigal to hang anything off the windscreen, at least if you put it up high on the windscreen.
Things like NAV unit is okay, but you have to put it down low on the windscreen and in the mittle of it or in the far left corner beside the A-pillar

Judging from police programs on TV here it dont seem to be a law thats beeing used, you often see a cop pull over a car for somthing, and they never mention the NAV unit placed right smack in the middle of the windscreen.
And driving around you often see ppl with NAV unit and Phone holder in the middle of the windscreen, so it more or less look like they have a third illuminated A-pillar down the mittle of the windscreen.
Its allso illigal to have stuff hanging from your rear view mirror, again it dont look like its a law thats beeing used, you actually see that pretty often, and not only in the cars that is beeing driven by the 250.000 ppl here that originate from the south shores of the mediterranean sea or even further south and east.

The law in this matter is pretty vauge here, just like so many other things are.

In General the law say, anything that hinder the outlook for the driver is illigal, and this can be as little as a wire to somthing on or above the windscreen.

Even the up and comming heads up displays may be on the limit here, cuz even if the film you put on the windscreen is clear it is proberly illigal, the fact that there is numbers and maps reflecting on that clear film dont seem to be the problem to Danish law.
Factory installed heads up displays are OKAY, though i assume they work in the same way.

Denmark

EDIT:
I really think those sensor housings are stupid, and i dont see any reason for them, if ppl cant turn on ther vipres or light when it is needed, those ppl should not be allowed to drive.
And some sensore housings are huge and take up a lot of real estate on the windscreen, leading me to think that the ppl that allow them is in the pockets of auto makers, they surely cant have the safty of ppl in mind.

My little Suzuki dont have stuff like that, and i can hide a lot in front of and higher than my rear view mirror, what can be seen of my current 2 dashcams there can only be seen above the mirror, and that is okay in my book.