I got a new sat nav over weekend, Garmin and not a truck one just a standard car one, and it comes with lifetime free live traffic.
Now ever had anything like this before so when I put in my route from Leeds to Wirral it came up with 75min delay due to traffic incidents I thought cant be right?
Anyway set off and slowly it started creeping up and by time I hit Saddleworth it was at 118min.
Now I could see standing traffic so I chose to leave at Saddleworth and go alternative route.
I’ve looked when got home but can’t find any reference to any accident that would cause that size a delay?
If I hadn’t had sat nav I might have stayed on M62 and found out hard way and missed my timed delivery.
Anyone found so called live traffic to be accurate or is it a pinch of salt what it says?
I found the tom tom quite good ,sometimes it might have the odd glitch but that’s down to the operators passing information to the system ie HA…but in general quite good .
It’s early days, well one day really! So I’ll keep judging it as goes to see how accurate it can be.
Couldn’t chance a 2hr delay today and stay on M62 just to see if it was right so took an alternative route that saved my day. Still can’t find reference to anything on Google re traffic delays this morning so was it exaggerating a tad!
Last year my Snooper warned me of 5 suspect packages, an avalanche just outside Wisbech and heavy snowfall at South Mimms (in June ffs!), so I treat them with the contempt they deserve.
the maoster:
Last year my Snooper warned me of 5 suspect packages, an avalanche just outside Wisbech and heavy snowfall at South Mimms (in June ffs!), so I treat them with the contempt they deserve.
the maoster:
Last year my Snooper warned me of 5 suspect packages, an avalanche just outside Wisbech and heavy snowfall at South Mimms (in June ffs!), so I treat them with the contempt they deserve.
you hadn’t changed the language had you
Lol, good point Nick. I think it’s picking up signals from Radio Basque!
Tomtom one is pretty good, I think it picks up delays through the info it receives from other tomtom devices as well as HA which lets face it can be a wee bit behind the times. i.e. if there’s a whole load of devices sitting static on the M6 J15 for a while then it figures there must be a delay and suggests an alternative route. Have to go into settings and set everything up though. Thats on my 7150 trucknav. Just bought a basic one for my van a couple of day ago so haven’t really had time to set it up and try it out but I did make sure it had live traffic
I’ve just got a garmin & so far the traffic has been pretty accurate, told me the big delay yesterday m6 south Stafford bang on, my older tom tom was far more prone to false jams. Tho it has come up with a few false road closures in last few days.
I’m finding it hard work to use tho, after 3 dif Tim toms, this isn’t close to as user friendly & I can’t for the life of me work out how to plan a future route from a to b to work out mileage etc when I’m sat at c
From Google maps to the radio , the results are variable, bit like the weather! Travelled along way on the M50 a few months back, only to hear it anounced on the radio that it was shut! and me saying to myself, Oh no it isn’t the road signs are constantly changing with little or no warning Google isn’t doing much better, shows roads open, and on getting there , road closed follow the diversions the road signs were out in place the week before a full weeks closure, Monday to wed, it ended up still open, closed on Thursday and Friday, & a couple of odd days the following week
And to cap it all , some of these road works guys just dart out from nowhere in the pitch black and on unlit roads in their hi viz , which doesn’t show up very well on a very dark road, but when they aren’t near any road working areas and ambling across the M50 like they’re out for a stroll, & barley visible for one example. It’s a wonder they don’t get seriously injured or killed.
I’m using Tomtom Truck and I find the traffic to be reasonably accurate mostly. It has got me out of a few spots where I’ve been able to get around accidents, but occasionally it woefully under-estimates the length of the delay.
My worst experience was a Friday evening on the M25 near the M4, solid stationary traffic, Tomtom said 25 minute delay but it was over an hour before I eventually gave up and found my own way off down the M4 and up through Slough instead.
It does drive me mad, though, when it detects traffic, offers a faster route which I reject, then repeatedly offers me re-routes even though I keep saying no. Why can’t it just belt up and stick with the original plan if that’s what I tell it? Grrr…
I do find knowing what to expect in traffic to be a calming influence, rather than the frustration of the old days where you simply didn’t know what the problem was, how long the queue was, or when you might get on your way again. The luddites may disagree, but I do love my gadgets.
Well used it more today as criss crossed every which way. God know what office monkey planned my route but was told must be done in that order so fair enough.
It came up with traffic delays on my routes a few time and there was heavy traffic every time so beginning to think it actually might be somewhere near the ball park.
Not had any more major delays as yet as only second day with it.
Think will be very useful to decide when and where I could divert if necessary or take a break early and see if it changes.
Yes, this rocks.
Many think that because the actual imagary is “old hat” data - the green blobs are “old hat” as well.
They are about 15 minutes behind, I’ve found. Not quite live, but for free - it’s close enough.
TomTom is hit and miss. While on many occasions it’s flagged up the exact length of the delay almost to the nearest yard as I’ve hit the back of the queue it’s also tried to get me off the M6 saying it’s closed when it clearly wasn’t.
Another time it presented me with a phantom 28 minute delay at spaghetti and I was running close to my 15 hours. It suggested getting off the M42 at J9 and head for the A38 into brum that way. I ignored it and there was no queue. Ejected card in the yard with 8 minutes to spare. Almost certainly wouldn’t have made it had I followed the sat nav.
Live traffic is w##k! Take the last couple of nights for instance…heading back to base (from the West) just off j11/M4…I knew it was closed 14-13 and TomTom5150 was showing 33 minute delay (odd for early hours) and wanted me to exit at j15, head into Marlborough and pick up A4 to Newbury then up to j13. I’d already planned to exit at 14 but after passing j15, it rerouted me to come off at Membury Svcs and then ‘turn right and continue’ down a country/service road! The best was saved for last night…above scenario was repeated and joined A339 to rejoin M4 at j13…how ■■■■■■■ wrong! 339 to j13 was closed so me and dozens of others were forced North up A34 and diverted into East Ilsley and back through the narrow streets of snobbery & race horse owners to rejoin the 34. It might’ve been handy if someone had actually put some signs up saying 'for M4 EB follow (insert symbol here) along A4 to j12, as we all know, some of the signs they put out warning of a pending closure of a slip road etc, never actually happen until 3 months after the signs have been removed! I know TomTom can only relay the info given but 'kinell…don’t turn it all off when you go home at 5pm…some of us work after the hours!
They really don’t cope with motorway closures due to roadworks very well at all. Crashes seem fine. When that artic was hanging off the top of the roundabout at J16 last year my TomTom took me off at 15a up the side of the services and towards Northampton back to J16. No queue whatsoever. Everyone else headed for the car parked A5.
Give it some roadworks though and it all goes wrong. It tends to tell you there’s a huge delay like an hour or so but that the road is still open. Had that happen to me several times.
and me saying to myself, Oh no it isn’t 
Google isn’t doing much better, shows roads open, and on getting there , road closed follow the diversions 
the road signs were out in place the week before a full weeks closure, Monday to wed, it ended up still open, closed on Thursday and Friday, & a couple of odd days the following week 
