Does owning a Dash Cam affect MOT?

Since dash cams were introduced into the UK, journalists have trumpeted the use of suction mounts, as used by sat navs. Why having your car look like it is equipped for a Top Gear photo shoot beats me? Besides introducing vibration into the footage and dropping off the windscreen in hot weather or an accident, there is a more serious issue. The law related to dash cams states that they should not obstruct the field of view of the driver by more than 4cm in the swept area of the windscreen. If it does, the vehicle will fail its MOT. The other law relating to dash cams is that if it is equipped with a screen then the screen has to be switched off while driving, as video or a reflection of a video should not be visible by the driver. I couldn’t believe it when I saw an RAC branded dash cam where the screen couldn’t be turned off. You might ask why sat navs are allowed and that is because they are not showing video and because they are a driver aid, they are allowed. To avoid any issues, the solution is to have a dash cam without as screen that can be mounted behind the rear-view mirror without obstructing the field of view at all. Additionally, if they are securely mounted with 3m tape mounts rather than large suction mounts, their discreet mounting is all the easier. Thinkware dash cams and their mounts are also coloured black, to avoid catching the attention of thieves.