Best Legal position to install dash cam in UK?

[CliveR]

Hi all,
Just about to install my shiny new Viofo A229 duo dash cams in the wifes Ford Fiesta.
Just a question for all you experts as to best legal positioning.
I read somewhere that it is illegal here in the UK, to install it with any part inside the windscreen wipers area.
Is this true?
It seems somewhat counter intuitive to me as that means the cam will not get a clear view in bad weather or when the window is dirty.
With that in mind would I be better mounting it to the right of my rear view mirror? As in picture 1 attached. This would mean the lens is covered by the wipers giving as clear a view as possible.
Or:-
Should I mount it to the left of the rear view mirror? As in picture 2 attached. This would allow it to be mounted behind the mirror so less obtrusive and it can be lowered slightly to be covered by the wipers or mounted higher to be out of the wiper blade range.

Obviously my first priority must be legality, closely followed by the best for performace without making it to obvious or intrusive.

Any and all thoughts and advice greatly appreciated by this dash cam newbie.

 

[Kremmen]

With that wide angle V3, make sure you view the sides of the screen before mounting. Power it up temporarily and slide it around the screen, in it's mount.

I made the mistake of mounting it too close to the central housing and it was clearly in view as a black 'blob'. Where you've got it on the right looks too close and if you move it any further right it may be illegal.

Update: I've just been out and measured and the minimum distance from cowl edge to lens centre needs to be 4 inches otherwise you get this, black cowl on the right :

But with the 4" gap, all OK, just :

 

[CliveR]

With that wide angle V3, make sure you view the sides of the screen before mounting. Power it up temporarily and slide it around the screen, in it's mount.

I made the mistake of mounting it too close to the central housing and it was clearly in view as a black 'blob'. Where you've got it on the right looks too close and if you move it any further right it may be illegal.

Update: I've just been out and measured and the minimum distance from cowl edge to lens centre needs to be 4 inches otherwise you get this, black cowl on the right :

But with the 4" gap, all OK, just :

 

[CliveR]

Brilliant shout, thanks Kremmen, I hadn't thought about that.
So is it definitely illegal for it to encroach on the wiper blade area?

 

[Nigel]

So is it definitely illegal for it to encroach on the wiper blade area?

No, it is allowed to intrude by up to 4cm beyond the edge of the swept area, which means your dashcam view can make use of the wipers.

It should not impede the view of the driver though, so don't put it somewhere stupid.

 

[IAmATeaf]

I have my A119 V3 mounted to the left of the rear view mirror.

Have to admit I wasn’t aware of this wiper nonsense, I just mounted it where I could as central as possible and as high as it could be mounted.

 

[Dashmellow]

I have my A119 V3 mounted to the left of the rear view mirror.

Have to admit I wasn’t aware of this wiper nonsense, I just mounted it where I could as central as possible and as high as it could be mounted.

If it's anything like where I live there are all kinds of rules & regulations about what can be mounted on a windscreen and where, but with the advent of GPS units, toll transponders, radar detectors and dash cams nobody seems to pay any attention to them anymore and the police no longer seem to enforce any of these statutes even though they are still on the books.

You likely have nothing to worry about. Certainly, if the UK police were enforcing a law that it is illegal to install a dash cam with any part inside the windscreen wipers area we would have heard about it here on the forum by now.

 

[Nigel]

Certainly, if the UK police were enforcing a law that it is illegal to install a dash cam with any part inside the windscreen wipers area we would have heard about it here on the forum by now.

In the UK, our vehicles get checked once a year for safety and emissions. If you put a dashcam in a stupid place then it will fail the annual test and the issue will have to be rectified before the vehicle can be used. Checking for obstructions to the driver's view is one of the checks that must be ticked off.

Nothing to do with police, and nobody gets fined, it just gets rectified. The police can also check vehicles, but it is very rare for them to check non-commercial vehicles unless you are already breaking laws and they want to add to the fines.

The actual rules are here:

In practice, the annual test will check that items placed in or stuck to the windscreen or surface damage, cracks or discolouration in the windscreen do not seriously obscure the vision of the driver.
...
Zone B is the remainder of the swept area of the windscreen... Windscreen stickers, or other obstructions, shall not encroach more than 40mm.

View to the front and windscreen obscuration

www.gov.uk

 

[Dashmellow]

In the UK, our vehicles get checked once a year for safety and emissions. If you put a dashcam in a stupid place then it will fail the annual test and the issue will have to be rectified before the vehicle can be used. Checking for obstructions to the driver's view is one of the checks that must be ticked off.

Nothing to do with police, and nobody gets fined, it just gets rectified. The police can also check vehicles, but it is very rare for them to check non-commercial vehicles unless you are already breaking laws and they want to add to the fines.

The actual rules are here:

View to the front and windscreen obscuration

www.gov.uk

We have safety and emissions inspections too, Inspections are performed by state authorized car dealerships and mechanics garages. Laws are enforced by the police however, not private businesses. The police keep a sharp eye out for cars that do not have a valid inspection sticker and other infractions such as windshield obstructions. While they no longer seem to ticket devices attached to windscreens, they will ticket people for decals and signage that does belong or is not in line with the regulations. They will also ticket you for having something hanging from your rear view mirror such as an air freshener or other object, which is illegal in my state.

Is putting a dash cam lens within the sweep of the windshield wipers a "stupid place" in the UK?

 

[Kremmen]

The thing to watch in this occasion is mounting the V3 4 inches to the right of the cowl on a Fiesta will more than likely push it into illegal territory. Other, wider cars may get away with it.

 

[CliveR]

I have my A119 V3 mounted to the left of the rear view mirror.

Have to admit I wasn’t aware of this wiper nonsense, I just mounted it where I could as central as possible and as high as it could be mounted.

I think that's probably the best spot as it can be partly behind the rear view mirror, far enough from the cowl to not impede the lens' view and low egg mouth to just be in the wiper range.
Mounting it to the right it has to be out from behind the mirror or it catches and I think that puts it to far into the wiper area and therefore illegal.

 

[joe384]

When I had my A129 I had it on the left and had it so the lens was in line with the swept area, and the rest of the cam body was obviously above this. With my A139 I have this on the right though, this is because the lens in on the right side of the body, the main body then sits further left towards the middle of the wind screen (and out of the swept area again)

I am tempted to see if I can move it up higher though.

You may want to get the live view up on your phone so you can make sure the central housing is not in view. I also pour a little water on the windscreen and then use the wipers so I can see the sweep area of the wipers and make sure the lens has a clear view.

This is what I mean A139 is horizontal rectangle, A129 is vertical one. Red is where the lenses are.

 

[TonyM]

I've had multiple cameras installed during the annual MOT, and I've never had any comments about their placement on both sides of the rear view mirror. The only question was from one mechanic who wanted to know more about the Mobius 1 camera I was using at the time.

So long as you're sensible I think it's fine to have a camera at the top of the windscreen, just inside the wiper area for a clear view. I usually install a dashcam just left of the mirror so that it is almost completely hidden by the mirror. Similar to Joe, I have my A139 on the right side of the mirror because the lens is on the right edge of the main camera body.

 

[IAmATeaf]

Where I have mine mounted I can’t really see it or see the buttons which is annoying but I listen for the startup chime which lets me know that everything is OK, hopefully.

 

[Mio NoVue]

Wasn't aware of any law on it myself.

I figure, as a UK guy myself, if I put it behind the left side of the mirror then it's not really blocking my view any - the mirror does that already, and it'll record fairly central - therefore no problem.

I obviously wouldn't put it somewhere where it's going to be right in front of me for example.

 

[thomas-dash]

I keep my to the right side of my rear view mirror and for the same reason @Mio NoVue said, the mirror is already blocking that part of the windshield.

 

[CliveR]

Thanks all, seems to be sensible to put it behind the rear view mirror on the passenger side. Which side depending on if you drive on the right or wrong side of the road

 

[CliveR]

At last I have got the opportunity to get this installed. I powered it up via the 12v socket and connected to it's wifi to check positioning.
If I mount it to either the left or right of the internal mirror I have to move it right to the center of that side in order to not get any of the center cowling in the view (positions 2 & 3 in attached picture.
I wasn't expecting to have to move it so far away from the center.
The only way I can have it reasonable (in fact dead) center is to mount it directly under the cowling as in position 3 on the attched picture.
Is position 3..

1. Legal in UK
2. Sesible in terms of view obstruction.

Or should I accept some view of the cowling to mount it up and to the left of the mirror?

Appreciate any advice on best way forward here.

 

[Kremmen]

For me, pos 3 would be out because it would likely be illegal and fail future MOT, plus would be annoying when looking forward.

Pos 1 would be OK for the camera but you'd have an unsightly lead up the cowl.

For me pos 2 is the best choice as it'd be higher up so a shorter visible lead.

What I didn't mention on mine is the visible cowl made a difference to the auto EV setting and made the footage darker. Once I moved it so the cowl wasn't in shot it brightened up.

Your choice though.

 

[Nigel]

Can you put it on the cowl, with the lens looking underneath?
That should be legal...