Discussion
Just picked up another 3 points at the weekend, taking the tally up to 9. The time has come to lighten the lead foot however I'm looking for some technical support in the form of a sat nav or radar detector that will tell me the speed of the road that I'm on and will beep like made at me if I'm going too quick.
I have been looking at the Tom Tom One Europe but I'm not sure if it will do what I want, any advice is gratly appreciated
I have been looking at the Tom Tom One Europe but I'm not sure if it will do what I want, any advice is gratly appreciated
In my experience with a TT 910, you can't really rely on the speeds database it holds. For a some of roads, it reports the wrong speed limits, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Sometimes on a duel carriageway, it will be reporting a 30mph limit, and sometimes on 30mph roads it will say you can do 60. Its really not precise enough to trust a driving licence with.
I'm not sure about other makes and models, however I would imagine they could be open to the same problem.
Its annoying since we've all been down roads and spotted a camera ahead, but have no idea what the limit is. If I ever got a ticket in such a case, I would make sure that the stretch of road was signposted in the official way, ensuring the speed limit and repeater signs were all present and correct. If not, then there could be grounds for the case to be dropped?
I'm not sure about other makes and models, however I would imagine they could be open to the same problem.
Its annoying since we've all been down roads and spotted a camera ahead, but have no idea what the limit is. If I ever got a ticket in such a case, I would make sure that the stretch of road was signposted in the official way, ensuring the speed limit and repeater signs were all present and correct. If not, then there could be grounds for the case to be dropped?
If the road has no speed signs, then its a 30mph max. I think you need to assess your driving really before you contenplate a safety device. Sorry to sound patronising, but not knowing what the speed limit is on a road, is poor knowledge of the highway code. Problem is today, modern cars are so quiet and powerful, that unless you watch your speed constantly, its far to easy to go over the limit and not know it.
Andy.
Andy.
That's exactly my point!!! Modern cars are powerfull yet very quiet and I want to avoid spending all my time watching the speedo - which would be more dangerous than occasionally creeping over the limit but having full vision of the road! Hence the need for a gadget that tells me when i'm at the limit.
www.tomtom.com/products/features.php?ID=234&Category=0&Lid=1
Yes, the TomTom One does have the feature you are looking for, or at least the new ones do. I couldn't comment on the older models should you buy second hand. The reported speed is quite small on the screen though, about 1cm tall. It tells you what your current speed is and what the maximium speed for the road is, when the map data is present. If you go over by about 5mph, its starts flashing red.
I must admit, I'm not really 100% sure that the highway code rules always reflect the actual reality of the roads. The road near me for example has no speed signs on it anywhere. It leads from an A-road (dual carriageway) onto a single carriageway which then goes through the countryside, all without a sign advising the speed. There are no street lights to suggest its a 30mph. However, about 3 miles further down the road, there is a large 30mph sign (plus further repeater signs), and on the back of this there is a NS speed limit sign for the other direction, suggesting that the previous stretch of road I've just travelled on is 60mph. Using the suggested highway code theory, that stretch of road would be 30mph...
I always thought that roads with no signage were 60mph, and that street lights normally suggested that the road is 30mph, even if signage wasn't present. I think it just gets more and more complicated when you also have 20, 40 and 50mph limits scattered around everywhere. Try going from Ipswich to Norwich on the A140 and this is a classic case. You go from 60 to 50 to 30 to 40 to 50 to 30 to 40 to 60 to 30, and they have the cheek to put up a camera and monitor the over head bridges/laybys with mobile units ready to catch the people who aren't paying 100% attention to the ever changing limits. I think its unrealistic for people to remember which limit they are in based on a sign they may have passed a few miles ago on roads which have forever changing limits.
Im amazed that Ive not got a speeding ticket yet. Not because I go out to speed, but because of the number of times I have found myself doing 60 in a 40 because I just didn't see the sign. I guess that I pay more attention to the surroundings than the signs, and if I see a built up area or set of junctions I slow down automatically and become a lot more observant. I don't need a sign to tell me to do this, I know that houses mean people and junctions mean cars pulling out. The 40 and 50mph limits seem to be cropping up on pieces of road which have a couple of bends in them, and these are the ones I tend to miss. I can't belive some people need a sign to help them slow down for a bend! Its these areas which always seem to be monitored by cameras too...
Yes, the TomTom One does have the feature you are looking for, or at least the new ones do. I couldn't comment on the older models should you buy second hand. The reported speed is quite small on the screen though, about 1cm tall. It tells you what your current speed is and what the maximium speed for the road is, when the map data is present. If you go over by about 5mph, its starts flashing red.
I must admit, I'm not really 100% sure that the highway code rules always reflect the actual reality of the roads. The road near me for example has no speed signs on it anywhere. It leads from an A-road (dual carriageway) onto a single carriageway which then goes through the countryside, all without a sign advising the speed. There are no street lights to suggest its a 30mph. However, about 3 miles further down the road, there is a large 30mph sign (plus further repeater signs), and on the back of this there is a NS speed limit sign for the other direction, suggesting that the previous stretch of road I've just travelled on is 60mph. Using the suggested highway code theory, that stretch of road would be 30mph...
I always thought that roads with no signage were 60mph, and that street lights normally suggested that the road is 30mph, even if signage wasn't present. I think it just gets more and more complicated when you also have 20, 40 and 50mph limits scattered around everywhere. Try going from Ipswich to Norwich on the A140 and this is a classic case. You go from 60 to 50 to 30 to 40 to 50 to 30 to 40 to 60 to 30, and they have the cheek to put up a camera and monitor the over head bridges/laybys with mobile units ready to catch the people who aren't paying 100% attention to the ever changing limits. I think its unrealistic for people to remember which limit they are in based on a sign they may have passed a few miles ago on roads which have forever changing limits.
Im amazed that Ive not got a speeding ticket yet. Not because I go out to speed, but because of the number of times I have found myself doing 60 in a 40 because I just didn't see the sign. I guess that I pay more attention to the surroundings than the signs, and if I see a built up area or set of junctions I slow down automatically and become a lot more observant. I don't need a sign to tell me to do this, I know that houses mean people and junctions mean cars pulling out. The 40 and 50mph limits seem to be cropping up on pieces of road which have a couple of bends in them, and these are the ones I tend to miss. I can't belive some people need a sign to help them slow down for a bend! Its these areas which always seem to be monitored by cameras too...
Which is pretty much how I got caught - country lane, no signs, no street lights, just off a fast A road with national speed limit. Copper says it's a 30mph road. It's a Sunday morning and he's got nothing better to do, I'm not going to argue until I've gone back and double checked that the road signs are wrong. Only then I'll argue in court.
A little bit of advice. If you get caught by a mobile camera, first thing at the road side, is never offer your documents including driving licence. Ask the Officer for the calibration certificate that must be done every day to that camera. If he cannot produce, he will generally give you a warning and let you go. This is the loophole so many footballers have got off with. Fixed cameras must be located in a known blackspot and be properly lit at night and sign posted with correct road markings. They must not be hidden and clearly visable with yellow paint. if they are not, they are illegal. Did you know, over 1/3 of all cameras are illegal??!!
Andy.
Andy.
They don't have to be Yellow, only cameras that belong to the safety camera partnership have to be painted!
Anyway, Yeah TomTom 1 Has it, just make sure when you buy it it has the latest map version on it, Uk & western Europe is v660.1219 (i believe!) Can't remember what the basic TomTom1 version is!
Anyway, Yeah TomTom 1 Has it, just make sure when you buy it it has the latest map version on it, Uk & western Europe is v660.1219 (i believe!) Can't remember what the basic TomTom1 version is!
Buy a Garmin Nuvi then pay a nominal fee and download a database (updated monthy) of around 8,000 fixed and 3,000 mobile cameras from the following site. The Garmin will tell you about the speed limit upon the road you are travelling.
www.pocketgpsworld.com/
www.thenavigationcompany.com/index.htm
www.pocketgpsworld.com/
www.thenavigationcompany.com/index.htm
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