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Mainly because laws. Refer to CA Veh Code § 23120 (2022) > No person shall operate a motor vehicle while wearing glasses having a temple width of one-half inch

Mainly because laws. Refer to CA Veh Code § 23120 (2022) > No person shall operate a motor vehicle while wearing glasses having a temple width of one-half inch or more if any part of such temple extends below the horizontal center of the lens so as to interfere with lateral vision. FWIW, I think this is entirely legitimate, since your peripheral vision is definitely impaired. That wouldn't be the case if the information was on a HUD instead. But even if there was some hypothetical VR headset that has perfect peripheral vision pass-through, it's still at best ambiguously legal until the legislature takes action. By the way, a HUD is probably illegal too, CA Veh Code § 26708 (2022) > (2) A person shall not drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows. There is a list of exceptions to this, but none appear to apply.

adolph 3y ago
So no safety goggles?
- nwiswell 3y ago
  Yep. No ridiculous sunglasses either.
godelski 3y ago
IANAL but that doesn't sound like a HUD would be illegal. Unless it is illegal to have dash cams, phone mounts, or even my car's distance sensor since it is behind my review mirror. Probably depends on the precise definition of obstruct and "clear view" though I think you can make a better case for a HUD since it is transparent and a lot of the markups I've seen do away with a lot of the dashboard so you'd end up with actually an increased view. But laws are weird, so I'm just curious if others know and can clarify this for me. I'm more writing asking to be corrected than writing to assert what the law is.
- nwiswell 3y ago
  > dash cams, phone mounts, or even my car's distance sensor since it is behind my review mirror. There are actually carve outs for these, although I agree the fact that the HUD is "transparent" makes it ambiguous (still, I think you can argue it "reduces" the driver's "clear view"). Without those carve outs, yes, they'd clearly be illegal. Here's the relevant provisions: > (b) This section does not apply to any of the following: > (1) Rearview mirrors. > (11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that is not greater than five inches square, if the device provides either of the following: > (A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped with the device. > (B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on public or private roads or facilities. > (12) A portable Global Positioning System (GPS), which may be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone, if the system is used only for door-to-door navigation while the motor vehicle is being operated. > (13) (A) A video event recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to improve driver safety, which may be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver, in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone, or in a five-inch square mounted to the center uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield. As used in this section, “video event recorder” means a video recorder that continuously records in a digital loop, recording audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when operated by the driver to monitor driver performance.
  - godelski 3y ago
    Thanks! That helps clarify things. Something didn't sit right given how vague the initial description was and seemed to make fairly normal things illegal.

adolph 3y ago

So no safety goggles?

nwiswell 3y ago
Yep. No ridiculous sunglasses either.

godelski 3y ago

IANAL but that doesn't sound like a HUD would be illegal. Unless it is illegal to have dash cams, phone mounts, or even my car's distance sensor since it is behind my review mirror. Probably depends on the precise definition of obstruct and "clear view" though I think you can make a better case for a HUD since it is transparent and a lot of the markups I've seen do away with a lot of the dashboard so you'd end up with actually an increased view. But laws are weird, so I'm just curious if others know and can clarify this for me. I'm more writing asking to be corrected than writing to assert what the law is.

nwiswell 3y ago
> dash cams, phone mounts, or even my car's distance sensor since it is behind my review mirror. There are actually carve outs for these, although I agree the fact that the HUD is "transparent" makes it ambiguous (still, I think you can argue it "reduces" the driver's "clear view"). Without those carve outs, yes, they'd clearly be illegal. Here's the relevant provisions: > (b) This section does not apply to any of the following: > (1) Rearview mirrors. > (11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that is not greater than five inches square, if the device provides either of the following: > (A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped with the device. > (B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on public or private roads or facilities. > (12) A portable Global Positioning System (GPS), which may be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone, if the system is used only for door-to-door navigation while the motor vehicle is being operated. > (13) (A) A video event recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to improve driver safety, which may be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver, in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone, or in a five-inch square mounted to the center uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield. As used in this section, “video event recorder” means a video recorder that continuously records in a digital loop, recording audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when operated by the driver to monitor driver performance.
- godelski 3y ago
  Thanks! That helps clarify things. Something didn't sit right given how vague the initial description was and seemed to make fairly normal things illegal.