jogi_c
Race Dog
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2008
- Messages
- 509
- Reaction score
- 187
- Location
- Gangsta's Paradise
- Bike
- Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom
I was sitting behind a car on the N1 today. Smallish car, smallish windscreen.
As I do not have ABS and all the other good stuff, and I drive a Landy which is heavy and not known for stopping on a dime, I always try to look "through" the windscreen of the vehicle in fron of me, as well as "over" the vehicles to anticipate what the traffic up front is doing.
So trying to look "through" this guy's window, I notice I cannot see the car in front of him. He has a GPS unit mounted on the windscreen, plus his rearview mirror, plus windscreen wipers.
Now given that the angle he sees are way different than the angle I see, it still got me worrried. Even from the driver's point of view a huge portion of his sight are obscured by the GPS device, the rearview mirror, the front posts of the car, the windscreen wipers.
As I see it there is already a big risk of this guy not seeing a big object, like another car, if it approaches him from the wrong angle. The risk of this driver not seeing a bike is huge. Now add the guy on a cellphone, smoking a ciggie, the wife nagging in his ears - recipe for disaster.
I will be on the lookout for cars with windscreen mounted GPS units, and I will assume that he cannot see what is going on in front of him. It is not a danger if I am behind him, but I will be anticipating the "groot skrik" when he all of a sudden realises there are something in the road in front of him and hitting the brakes.
Your opinion on this?
As I do not have ABS and all the other good stuff, and I drive a Landy which is heavy and not known for stopping on a dime, I always try to look "through" the windscreen of the vehicle in fron of me, as well as "over" the vehicles to anticipate what the traffic up front is doing.
So trying to look "through" this guy's window, I notice I cannot see the car in front of him. He has a GPS unit mounted on the windscreen, plus his rearview mirror, plus windscreen wipers.
Now given that the angle he sees are way different than the angle I see, it still got me worrried. Even from the driver's point of view a huge portion of his sight are obscured by the GPS device, the rearview mirror, the front posts of the car, the windscreen wipers.
As I see it there is already a big risk of this guy not seeing a big object, like another car, if it approaches him from the wrong angle. The risk of this driver not seeing a bike is huge. Now add the guy on a cellphone, smoking a ciggie, the wife nagging in his ears - recipe for disaster.
I will be on the lookout for cars with windscreen mounted GPS units, and I will assume that he cannot see what is going on in front of him. It is not a danger if I am behind him, but I will be anticipating the "groot skrik" when he all of a sudden realises there are something in the road in front of him and hitting the brakes.
Your opinion on this?
