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-   -   Navigation display a distraction while driving? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/192815-navigation-display-distraction-while-driving-4.html)

I find the android auto and also the position of the HU in my baleno alpha quite useful and also at the most convenient position.
What I usually follow is
Take a quick glance at the maps for unfamiliar routes and for some confusuing road intersections(if any) along the route where a missed lane change might result in a deroute of several kms.
Look for the small direction header in the Google maps on AA it also shows the intersections ahead and highlights the one that should be taken as per the route.
I find the voice based navigation of android auto very overwhelming esp when it says the ultra long street names (esp here in pune ) while taking a turn and it doesn't complete till the intersection arrives and is still in the middle of the name in the command.

Above is how my Gps is set. It's at almost the level of the speedo etc. Min distraction while driving. I switch to speed display mode while not using the Gps.

I recently drove my cousin's new Duster. What I noted is that the display is placed little lower in the center console. Glancing at the display and looking straight up is harder than doing that in my car. Another observation was the light reflections on the panel during a bright day is making is less viewable, the display wasn't bright enough to counter all the ambient light inside the cabin.

I guess the car makers are to be blamed here. Most cars do not have the head unit at the right height ie at the eye level. You are forced to look down.

The old custom of having the AC vents on top
of the HU is to be blamed. For me at least, Hyundai was the first mass market manufacturer and probably the only one to have got this right. From the Neo Elantra onwards all HUs were placed right in line with the eye.

Maruti ,TATA and now Ford are beginning to take the tablet approach a la Mercedes and it does make a lot more sense.

The best is to to be guided by voice prompts. If you do need to check the traffic and do not have the HU at your line of sight, the best thing would be to stick your phone right up on the windscreen or on the dash.

I'd say navigation per say is not really a distraction even if the HU is not right at eye level. You just glance down occasionally and voice points are present too. However the touch screen controls definitely are distracting. Most cars have steering mounted controls which are convenient, but using menus and scrolling on a touch screen while driving? Risky!

Considering the sheer unpredictable nature of Indian traffic manners and road conditions, even an occasional glance down could cost one dearly.

I'm using the Navdy HUD system that I bought from Amazon for around 50k. It's mounted just above my car dashboard and is pretty cool.

agree: This is the ideal position. Head Up Displays are a real boon. And this combined with voice instructions ensure you are not distracted.

I also was searching for a solution where the screen is mounted just in the line of sight. However also did not want anything to jut out above the dash. Hate the windscreen mounts as they give that cluttered look.

I have a spare Yu Yureka lying around and was using it in the car for OBD, Navigation, Wifi and other misc stuff however did not have a good place to mount. Was eyeing the space between steering column and the meter console as I set the steering quite low. Tried couple of mounting options but nothing worked good until I stumbled upon the magnetic Coin mount on Amazon. Link



Here is the result:



Now I don't have to take my eyes off and just a little glance, the same as we do for the speedo/Tacho, does the job. Aesthetically too it looks like a OEM solution. I am trying to get a good right angled charger cable which will complete the solution.

This looks really good and keeps the display at a decent height. Could you share the link from where you ordered it from please?

Please check post #44 of this thread for details.

Cheers,

Jay

I have a Skoda Rapid 2016 model without the new RCD 330 HU. I always wanted to upgrade to the RCD 330 Plus but was not sure if i would use the Touch Screen and Apple Car Play feature in it. Buttons in my current HU give me the flexibility of not turning my head away from the road since the button placements are now known to me.

For Google maps, this is what i do: Since the phone is anyways connected to the bluetooth, i make sure that i play songs from my phone without playing out the radio and switch on the navigation on Google maps with voice assistance on. Whenever there is an instruction from the voice command, it lowers the voice of my media and passes on that information. This way, i hear what my next action should be and i don't even need to bother looking at any screen. The only catch is that it might take 2-3 times to get used to this setup but once you get a hang of it, you don't need the screen because the voice controls are pretty accurate and also alert the driver well in advance on the next move.

How does this look during the daytime? Can you please post a day light picture?

I personally find GPS extremely useful to use and it has been my constant companion in 55000kms of interstate driving. This is how I have fixed it. At this position, it's not a major distraction and just a glance at the phone serves the purpose. Audio facility further aids driving in running traffic.

It is extremely bright and crisp. I'll post a pic when I'm able to.