Spped Limit POIs

[christheancient]

Yes, I agree that any sensible driver should know what the speed limit is when they are out on the road.

However, I (and I presume many others) have been in the situation on the road where speed limit signs, and repeaters where applicable, are less than obvious. How often have many of us found it difficult to see a speed limit sign when it is partially (and even totally) obscured by a hedge of other vegetation where the local authority or the Highways Agency have been less than able to keep signs visible or in good condition. And where there are very many speed limit changes (try the A38 between Bristol and Bridgwater or Bristol and Gloucester!), it can be easy to 'forget' what the present speed limit is - especially when the road seems to be of similar style and character most of the time.

When I was a driving instructor, there was one particular road on a test route where the national speed limit signs were virtually impossible to see (on a bend and in a hedge!). And more than one learner on test who missed spotting them and carried on down the road at 30 mph was failed for so doing. However, most local instructors did make sure that their pupils were aware of that 'trap'.

It is also possible when on a road where there are several changes of limit, or other distractions to forget or be unsure what the current limit is. A reassurance, from the sat nav, that one is not breaking a speed limit is not necessarily a bad thing.

p.s. I would also add that an examiner asking a candidate on test what the speed limit was on the road they were on was more likely a 'polite' way of prompting them to drive at an appropriate speed rather than looking for a reason to fail that candidate.

[wimorrison]

^^^^^^

In your post you bring up the reasons why I would look for such useful information.

On a recent holiday in Wales I was on a stretch of road where in the space of 2 miles the limit changed 5 times from 40 to 30 to 40 then 50 then 40 and finally 30 again - and in common with most rural roads there were no speed repeaters at the side of the road. In the middle of this was a 'Safety Partnership' van, clearly it was a rather permanent fixture as it was the everyDay I travelled that same section of road - I wonder why that was, perhaps because most people were completely confused by the signage and lost track of what the speed limit was!

Now I know that smartar5e5 would say that if there is a street light then you should assume 30, but down my way as an example my road has no lights or pavements yet it is a 30, nicely bounded by national speed limit and as the 30 signs are completely overgrown there is no indication that the limit is 30 - the police do make a lot of money with the little gun though

The XC60 demonstrator that I drove last year had this information on the SatNav, my shiny new one doesn't and Volvo is currently at a loss and unable to explain why the demo had it and I don't - no matter I would like it, hence my reason for asking the question.

[Dchant]

Had a look at both my14 sensus navigation and the rti manual. The rti manual describes and shows speed limit info, sensus navigation doesn't. Agree it's a useful indicator to have and seems at odds with the other enhancements that sensus navi is supposed to bring. Maybe it'll appear in the online updates?

[wimorrison]

Hmmm, thanks for that info - it does at least prove that I wasn't imagining things.

I wonder of the demo car was a hybrid, it had the Connect aspects with a web browser and apps yet it appears to have had the old RTI navigation rather than the new version going by the manuals.

Will call the dealer and see if I can clear this up, I also hope that the next update provides this functionality - great pity to be going backwards in this respect - though as they have now included speed cameras in the database I hope that they have not replaced the speed limit with the speed camera as I know which I would find more useful.

[Marty Dolomite]

Why the need for a satnav to tell you the speed limit, road signs and lamp post spacing are a big clue.

[wimorrison]

Originally Posted by Marty Dolomite

Why the need for a satnav to tell you the speed limit, road signs and lamp post spacing are a big clue.

Might be worth your while reading the other posts in the thread

[Stevepvolvo]

Yep - I agree. In the "old" days you knew based on street lights etc. what the standard national speed limit was. Plus you drove to the road condition and didn't need to be constantly speed managed. Now every road changes its speed limit almost every 10 feet (yes slight exaggeration) and you spend so much time looking for the tiny speed signs buried in bushes etc that you happily plough over all those animals and children and cyclists that are attempting to be protected by these speed variations cos you cant focus on the road ! When I had the tomtom with the speed limit it made it much easier to focus on the road as the tomtom kept an eye on these sub-speed changes.
whilst some may say that people didn't keep to the speed and drive according to the conditions and hence the need for all these new speed alterations, looking at driving now I still don't see those who don't drive to the conditions driving any differently? All that they do is top up the coffers of the council if they get caught.
Ok I am ready to be lambasted

[Simon Jones]

I find there are plenty of roads on my TomTom where the speed limit displayed does not match the signage on the actual road. Relying on the sat nav instead of keeping an eye on the road ahead would be no excuse when receiving a fixed penalty notice.