FMCSA offers more options for mounting GPS units
Posted September 10, 2018
Motor carriers and their drivers now have more options when it comes to mounting navigation systems to their windshields.
Under the terms of a new exemption, global positioning system (GPS) devices can now be mounted:
- Up to 4 inches below the upper edge of the area cleaned by the windshield wipers, or
- Up to 7 inches above the lower edge of the area cleaned by the wipers.
As with other devices, GPS units must remain “outside the driver’s sight lines to the road and to highway signs and signals.”
The new policy from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, effective August 22, 2018, applies to all commercial motor vehicles and will remain in place for five years.
Under current regulations in §393.60(e), drivers are normally prohibited from installing GPS units and similar devices lower than six inches from the top of the windshield or within the area swept by the windshield wipers.
This article was written by Daren Hansen of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
J. J. Keller's FMCSA Compliance Manual helps companies operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) comply with DOT regulations.
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