Placement of dash cams

[ArmyMedic2012]

Apologies if this sounds bone but where in peoples opinion is the best, and legal, place to fit dash cam on windscreen? I've seen numerous vehicles with cams fitted bang center just above sat navs etc. I placed mine right at the bottom centre of screen but the wife says it's obscuring my view and hence is illegal (bloody know it all haha). Cheers folks and have a great week.

[S26VE P]

I fitted 5 works vehicles behind the rear view mirror, 2/3 of these mean without knowing they are there you cannot see them. Guess it does depend on the size of the camera tho. The wife's discovery/mirror sze meat it wouldnt go behind so was placed just below with minimal obstruction.

[fangio]

And if it has a screen, it must not be visible to the driver.....

[paintman]

I stand to be corrected but I suspect it would fall under this although it does specify 'cathode ray tube' & was drafted before LED screens etc:
"Television sets
109.—(1) No person shall drive, or cause or permit to be driven, a motor vehicle on a road, if the driver is in such a position as to be able to see, whether directly or by reflection, a television receiving apparatus or other cinematographic apparatus used to display anything other than information—
(a) about the state of the vehicle or its equipment;
(b) about the location of the vehicle and the road on which it is located;
(c) to assist the driver to see the road adjacent to the vehicle; or
(d) to assist the driver to reach his destination.

(2) In this regulation “television receiving apparatus” means any cathode ray tube carried on a vehicle and on which there can be displayed an image derived from a television broadcast, a recording or a camera or computer."
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regul...

and Reg 104 of the same legislation:
"Driver's control
104. No person shall drive or cause or permit any other person to drive, a motor vehicle on a road if he is in such a position that he cannot have proper control of the vehicle or have a full view of the road and traffic ahead."
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regul...

[untakenname]

Another vote for behind the mirror, disguises it better when parked and you can't see if at all when you're in the drivers seat.

[R8VXF]

Up behind the mirror where it has the best view of the road. If I had my camera down low, then you probably would not be able to read the road markings in this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUUTXv5ivHk


ETA: Language warning on the youtube link!!

Edited by R8VXF on Monday 23 November 11:19

[ArmyMedic2012]

Thank you all, i shall place it behind mirror, its screen folds away so that won't be an issue. Thanks again folks :-)

[Jim1556]

Mine is placed just to the left of the rear view mirror almost as high as it'll go - can't see it from the driving seat unless you really look for it...

Nearly needed it once:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvDfl95ProU

[Bigends]

fangio said:

And if it has a screen, it must not be visible to the driver.....

How about reversing cameras - are they illegal

[R8VXF]

Bigends said:

How about reversing cameras - are they illegal

From above:

a television receiving apparatus or other cinematographic apparatus used to display anything other than information—
(a) about the state of the vehicle or its equipment;
(b) about the location of the vehicle and the road on which it is located;
(c) to assist the driver to see the road adjacent to the vehicle; or
(d) to assist the driver to reach his destination.

[Retroman]

Mines is located just under the mirror as it can't be fitted behind it due to the angle of the windscreen and how close the mirror is to it.

Thankfully the screen turns off after 3 minutes of inactivity.

[R8VXF]

From the regulations posted earlier, a dashcam does not fall under the screen regulations as it displays information related to where the vehicle is on the road. Don't Mercedes have a forward facing IR camera for night vision? That is basically a dashcam. And don't Range Rovers have camera's all round that Clarkson used to great effect in running over his camera men?

[ging84]

that legislation is effectively useless now because it specifically states crt
I imagine it's been nearly 10 years since any manufacturer has installed a crt screen anywhere

[paintman]

If you read it you will see it also refers to "other cinematographic apparatus".
CRT is specific to the "television receiving apparatus".

[JimbobVFR]

R8VXF said:

From the regulations posted earlier, a dashcam does not fall under the screen regulations as it displays information related to where the vehicle is on the road. Don't Mercedes have a forward facing IR camera for night vision? That is basically a dashcam. And don't Range Rovers have camera's all round that Clarkson used to great effect in running over his camera men?

This is the way I read it too. I'm in the process of buying a Mazda Bongo Campervan and plan on fitting at least 3 cameras, one will a low mounted reverse camera displaying automatically on the double din stereo, the other will front and rear dash cams, hopefully connected to a decent (4" or larger) screen mounted above the windscreen with the rear view (set high on the back) permanently displayed on the screen for a general view (and recording obviously)

[fangio]

Bigends said:

fangio said:

And if it has a screen, it must not be visible to the driver.....

How about reversing cameras - are they illegal

I thought they only worked when you're going backwards, so a good driver wouldn't be looking forwards anyway?

[Actual]

ArmyMedic2012 said:

Thank you all, i shall place it behind mirror, its screen folds away so that won't be an issue. Thanks again folks :-)

In UK with RHD it is probably desirable to mount a dashcam behind and to the left of the rear view mirror but many dashcams seem to be designed with the lens position/angle and the connecting leads optimised for LHD with the dashcam located on the right side which would be directly in front of the driver in UK.

Something else to be aware of is that many modern cars have a shaded area on the windscreen where the sun visors don't cover the gap around the rear-view mirror. If the dashcam needs to positioned below the shaded area then it may not be behind the rear-view mirror.

Some clever people have reduced their dashcam wiring needs by tapping in to the circuit that powers the automatic dimming rear-view mirror or automatic wiper sensor.

I have already purchased my dashcam which is an Thinkware F750 and I hope my new car arrives soon but until then I can't even comment my own answers !!!