I know the road safety rules 2009 prohibits any P plate driver from using a mobile phone in the car for any purpose, including as a GPS hands free.
But what if you were to use an iPod touch connected to your phone via a personal hotspot?
Effectively the iPod would function as a GPS unit (which is legal), but it would have google maps and therefore be infinitely better than every Garmin gps in existance.
Yea it is definitely entering murky waters.
Guess I'll visit the local police this week and ask them about it.
They will either think I'm an idiot or admire the lengths I will go to get google maps.
Hopefully the latter, most probably the former.
The iPod Touch doesn't contain a gps. It uses location services via wifi - in other words, it's not accurate
Really good point actually, completely forgot an iPod touch does not have a GPS.
Looks like my dreams of using google maps while on my P's is slowly drifting away :(
You can get Bluetooth GPS receivers.
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/ipad-gps-receiver
However, they are increasingly becoming uncommon and obsolete since almost every phone and tablet has GPS chips now. Most of them you find on ebay are probably manufactured sometime in the earlier 2010's.
If you're that desperate, you should buy a head unit that runs Android. Expensive however, around $230 dollars.
https://www.carjoying.com/au-warehouse.html
Don't buy an Android head unit. Just don't. It will be sloooooooooooow, prone to crashes, and will fail (I've had a couple voltage regs die, which even after replacement still causes radio reception issues.
I think a proper GPS is cheap now days even come with lifetime maps and traffic update, and u can buy 2-3 per ticket.
I think that if everyone votes "yep" then it must be legal.
Yes an iPod is not a mobile phone, see point 7 - http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/mobilepho…
Can I use a GPS device that is not a phone if I am a learner or provisional licence holder?
Yes. A GPS device that is not a mobile phone is permitted for all drivers, as long as the device is secured in a mounting fixed to the vehicle and does not obscure the driver’s view of the road. The device must not be placed in a location that will increase the likelihood of injury in a crash.
but it's a 'mobile device'
The term 'mobile device' does not exist anywhere on the page.
Use a 7" tablet. You could tether the tablet to your mobile phone for data.
Most likely NO.
Can Provisional P1 and Provisional P2 drivers and riders use GPS devices?
Use of a mobile phone’s GPS function is prohibited for Learners, Provisional P1 and Provisional P2 drivers and riders.
However, Provisional P1 and Provisional P2 drivers and riders can use dedicated GPS devices. Under the NSW Road Rules, a GPS device is an example of a driver’s aid and can only be used if it is secured in a mounting that is commercially designed and manufactured for that purpose and fixed to the vehicle as per the manufacturer’s intentions or is integrated as part of the vehicle design.
A GPS can only be used if it does not require a mobile phone to function.
Reference
http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/new-mobile-phone-rules-provi…
The iPod isn't a mobile phone, but in the police's defense (or offense?) they could say it is a communications device and you could be using it while tethered to a LTE Wifi dongle and be using Whatsapp / Messenger to call your friends….
Just saying. You should just ask the police.