Q: What’s the law on mounting GPS devices on your windshield? Greg
A: The law, which took effect Jan. 1, 2009, specifies that a GPS device be mounted within “a 7-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver (the passenger side) or in a 5-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver (the lower left corner of the windshield).” That means the front-and-center GPS windshield mount is banned.
About.com’s Fred Zahradnik noted that the passenger side mount is useless to the driver and the lower left corner mount forces the driver to take eyes off the highway in an awkward way.
“Also, many standard GPS power cords are not long enough to reach from a power port, all the way to the lower corners of a windshield (not to mention the increased wire clutter created by these corner mounting locations),” he said at About.com.
Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano said officers are not seeing improperly mounted GPS devices as any big problem.
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Q: I would like to know if the speed limit on Fountain Grove … on the last hill before it hits Brush Creek Road and becomes Montecito, could be changed from 35 MPH to 40 MPH. There is a sign that flashes your speed coming down the hill, and nearly all drivers I have observed are driving at more than 35, and don’t bring their speed down to 35 by the time the sign registers their last speed. I realize that approaching a stoplight intersection there is concern that everyone slow down in time, but there are almost no pedestrians on that hill (too steep to climb!) and no driveways going out on that stretch of road. A warning sign about the approaching signal light and increasing the speed limit to 40 MPH would be a relief to a lot of drivers. Thanks for any insight you can give me on the process of changing speed limits. Patricia
A: The short answer from the city seems to be no.
Robert Sprinkle, Santa Rosa’s traffic engineer, said the city every seven years surveys certain roads to determine whether they’re eligible, or still eligible, for radar enforcement of speed limits by police. That stretch of Fountain Grove Parkway you mentioned was surveyed three to four years ago, Sprinkle said, so it’s not due for a survey anytime soon.
In the survey, he said, city workers check on the number of crashes that have occurred on the stretch of road, the prevailing speed of motorists there (if 85 percent or more are going 35 mph or slower, that qualifies), special circumstances of the road and such, based on standards set by the state.
In general, Sprinkle said, keeping speeds lower is better.
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