Is it illegal to adjust your sat nav while driving in the UK? Has the law been passed?

Question

I always zoom in and zoom out of maps especially when approaching junctions, roundabout, etc on my sat nav. Will that make it illegal for me to do so?

The irony is that I am not adjusting my sat nav but making it easier to see

Answer 1

Not yet. The current ban only prevents holding a phone (it's ok if it is in a mount on the dash), so there is no specific rule. However there is always "Not having proper control..." and "Driving without due care and attention"

If some people had their way you couldn't drive a car because you have to move your hands off the wheel to change gear, apply the handbrake &c. &c.

Answer 2

any activity deemed by a officer to be 'dangerous driving' or 'not driving with due care and attention' will be illegal. If you are not fully in control of your vehicle then you are liable to have an accident - the seriousness of which is only dictated by the amount of traffic you plough into or cause to plough into you! Seriously....learn to use your sat.nav sensibly...too many sat.nav accidents will bring about law changes until people like you make people like us have to stop using sat.nav's altogether because they are deemed distracting like MOBILES were!!!

Answer 3

When the law passed for the ban of mobile phones while driving it also included the ban and the prosecution for adjusting/playing with your sat nav and in some cases the police can do you for adjusting your radio/CD player.

This ban is pathetic when there is no police around to enforce it (Hiding in some doughnut shop) and for some reason CB radios are not included in the ban??

Answer 4

The law is getting too out of hand.I think it is illegal to do that. Yeah it is. Like Mobile Phones. Even if you are on the motorway in the morning and there is nobody there you can go to prison for being on your phone!!! Everything has gone a little crazy. People just want to make new laws to make the world "a better place".But in a small way they are making it worse.Say if someone was seriously ill and your family are calling you to tell you,you can get arrested. Its crazy!!!!

Answer 5

It isn't illegal to adjust your satnav, but if you are involved in an accident whilst adjusting it, the Police may charge with driving without due care and attention.

Answer 6

Adjusting your SatNav or talking on the phone means you are not "driving with due care and attention". This is an offence and the punishment is far from hard enough.

Rip the bl**** thing out and use the road signs. They are there for a reason.

Do you realise that most accidents happen at junctions....hmm, I wonder why.

Answer 7

Any action within the car whilst driving can be taken as driving without due care and attention - or reckless, careless or inconsiderate driving.

By all accounts - to drive you must be in control of the vehicle and by making adjustments to even the radio - you could be done.

The law hasn't changed - it has always been this way - in theory, they could even pull you over for picking your nose whilst driving or smoking and not having both hands on the wheel.

Answer 8

dont know bout it being illegal, but mine actually tells you not to operate whilst driving, and it makes it difficult to do so, as you have to click a screeen to change it, once its been set, but think if you are distracted, you could be in trouble, cos you are not concentrating on the road