legal position of GPS unit in vehicle

Lastnight whilst driving through Hammersmith I was pulled over by a cop and asked why i needed my satnav unit in the middle of my screen. He went on to say that i have a big screen so i have high visibility and by placing my satnav unit in the centre of the screen i would be liable in any accidents and suggested that the right hand side is where it HAS to be and you could get between 6 to 12 point for an obscured view!!!

If this is true why does TomTom come with such a short cable since it would mean that everyone would have to place the unit on the right hand side of the wheel and the cable is way too short - which is great for right handed people but what about us lefties?

Was it just a bored cop?

just cause they sell something don't make it legal. just because the cable is too short etc etc.
prob was just a bored cop but the facts are that if it blocks your view then you break the law. if you get distracted by it you break the law, if you have an accident because of it etc, it's not a specific law against gps units just standard driving without due care or careless or dangerous driving. it's a distraction just like eating or shaving would be. or reading a newspaper.

[Charlie]

Like nobby.nobbs said.....this isn't particular to GPS systems as any item that distracts your view and can be attributed to the cause of an accident will be included such as air freshners etc.

Does anyone have a good suggestion for the positioning of a gps system in a car?

well somewhere where you can see it without having to look away from the road. a clear view that's not going to distract you or give you a blind spot. then you're just limited with the size type of unit and length of the leeds. sorry not more detailed but it depends on your car and the unit and on 100 other factors.....