The Indiana State Police CMV enforcement division recently shared a little-known rule that some truck drivers say is “nearly impossible” to comply with.
In a Facebook post, the Indiana State Patrol Commercial Vehicle Enforcement explained that they’re cracking down on commercial truck drivers with devices mounted more than 6 inches below the top of the windshield. They explained that according to current rules, a mounted device must be placed outside of the windshield wiper area, as well as outside the driver’s sight lines.
The post surprised many truckers, who are used to placing their GPS devices in the middle of their windshields; an easy-to-see location which would be in violation of the rule.
“Prohibition on obstructions to the driver’s field of view—(1) Devices mounted on the interior of the windshield. (i) Antennas, and similar devices must not be mounted more than 152 mm (6 inches) below the upper edge of the windshield. These devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver’s sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals,” the Facebook post read.
Truck drivers immediately voiced their concerns with the ISP’s post, claiming that following the rule would make it difficult to use the device.
“Outside the swept area of wipers? And no more than 6″ below the top edge of the windshield? The only place that fits those requirements on most trucks would be the extreme upper right of the window by the passenger door. That would be utterly impossible to read or use. Am I wrong?” wrote Facebook user John Kingsley.
“Wait so pretty much any windshield mounted GPS is a violation?” commented another Facebook user.
“That law is a joke, and you guys know it. I am not installing my GPS way up at the top of my windshield. It will stay exactly where it is and has been since I bought this truck. Which is on the bottom of my windshield just above my dash… Reasonable compromise: any obstructions to a drivers view added to a windshield should have to remain within a certain distance of the edge of the window all the way around,” commented user Steve Macisaac.
The Facebook post has received more than a hundred comments from drivers who are surprised, and unhappy, with the rule, however the ISP’s CMV Enforcement Division has yet to respond.
