Recommendations for a baby monitor for in the car

Just get a car seat mirror x

I got one of those camera, we just picked an affordable one from amazon, way better than mirror, I couldn't see anything at night with a mirror. The camera I had has infra red for the night

Yes we have one off of Amazon. 1000% better than a mirror you can see in the dark and much easier than having to faf with a mirror x

These are not actually legal to use. The legislation for screens in the car limits the use to things like informing you of your car's position on the road (reversing cameras). Stick with a mirror, they're much bigger and you can see a lot more

We got ours from amazon, definitely worth getting as you can see much clearer & in the dark!

@Charley oh really, are you sure? Didn't see that when I researched mine but I'll double check. Mirror, i really couldn't see anything at night, which in winter was useless during morning and afternoon pick up. Thanks

when we researched them we didn't come across this can you link it please?

we swapped from a mirror to one of these as it's much better for seeing baby and in the event of an accident it's a much smaller item to become a projectile than a mirror

109.—(1) No person shall drive, or cause or permit to be driven, a motor vehicle on a road, if the driver is in such a position as to be able to see, whether directly or by reflection, a television receiving apparatus or other cinematographic apparatus used to display anything other than information—

(a)about the state of the vehicle or its equipment;
(b)about the location of the vehicle and the road on which it is located;
(c)to assist the driver to see the road adjacent to the vehicle; or
(d)to assist the driver to reach his destination.
(2) In this regulation “television receiving apparatus” means any cathode ray tube carried on a vehicle and on which there can be displayed an image derived from a television broadcast, a recording or a camera or computer.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/109

thank you x

@Charley oh no, I really liked mine😞...thanks for sharing this

so just looking into this they aren't illegal as the legislation you've linked is 40 years old and mentions not having the old crt TVs in cars. So they're perfectly legal to anyone who's worried

I’d still use it anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

oh yeah didn’t think about driving in the dark

just because it's old doesn't mean it's not valid. If there's no update to it then it is still current

I think unless it’s blocking your view of the windscreen etc a police officer is very unlikely to enforce this even if it is current.

By this logic surely dash cams are also illegal as they’re filming to a screen in the car?

To be honest I think, it's so convenient, we might just still use ours with the new baby, we don't use it anymore as my son is older and forward facing. Knowing my husband he will say it's fine but I'm more of a chicken than him 😅...if we have an accident that could play against us though 🤷🏾‍♀️

yes dashcams would fall into this legislation if the screen was on. Lots of dashcams go to a blank screen with a blinking light to show they're recording for this reason.

I think it's a really tricky area, it's likely that the law hasn't quite caught up yet and named these cameras specifically, but the wording of the legislation certainly makes it sound like they would fall into this category.

Unlikely to be picked up by a police officer in the road, but not impossible. Could also invalidate an insurance claim if you needed to make one and your insurer is on the ball.

People have emailed their local police commissioners to ask in car seat seat safety groups and posted their replies, they usually just quote this piece of legislation and say that the cameras fall into it.

we made an insurance claim with one in the car and had no issues. Like you say is probably very dependent on who deals with the case etc though.

As someone with a baby who despises the car and screams and holds his breath for me it’s imperative to be able to see him properly day and night. Until they are outright named as illegal I’d be inclined to take the risk.

I think the main issue with them from a legal standpoint is if it’s causing an obstruction/ distraction. If it’s placed correctly I actually think it’s less dangerous than a mirror which you have to focus and look away from the windscreen to see x

yeah it's not a definite but I know of people who have had claims rejected for that reason (also things like having stickers/decals on the car that weren't declared as a modification).

Your baby can also be in the front seat if that would help, some of them are happy if they can see you next to them.

makes no difference to him unfortunately. I’ve sat in the back with him since birth when my partner is driving and he screams just the same.. he just hates the car 😅

Dash cams the cameras have to be out of your eyeline to be legal. It's about being distracted while you're driving. You're not actually meant to be looking at any screen while driving so these if used as designed would be illegal and distracting. The difference with Dash cams is that you're not meant to be actively watch the screen so you can hide the screen. Later dash cams the screen switches off while the car is driving anyway to make them safer. I wouldn't chance it.