sat nav with speed camera detection

[chatterdog]

I have just read on another web site that it is now illegal to use any sat nav which has speed camera recognition in Germany , Switzerland and Ireland. If your sat nav does have this function it must be deactivated. the fine in Germany is 75euros. A fellow vanner came accross this info on a german tourist information site. www.germany-tourism.co.uk.

 

Just incase anyone is planning a trip to germany and isnt aware of this new traffic ruling.

[Philman]

Sat Navs do not normally have camera detection facilities.

 

Phil.

[chatterdog]

Have to say that my tomtom720 tells me when there is a speed camera and it bleeps with the speed highlighted in a circle to make sure i check my speed, and this is not a programe that i have put on. It has done it from being taken out of its box when new. I asume its built in with the mapping information and things are updated everytime i connect it to my computor

[Philman]

It is a detector that is illegal in several European countries. The tomtom is not a detector so you are ok in using it.

 

Phil.

[chatterdog]

[GPS or sat navs which give warnings about fixed speed camera locations are not permitted either, this function must be deactivated before the navigation system can used.]

 

This has been taken from the info page on the above web address if you look at it then click driving in germany once on that page scroll down to GPS and Scanners.

 

Sorry Phil - Im not a techy person and have to admit that i cannot do links so i have copied and pasted what it says.

Maggie

[locovan]

Philman - 2008-11-29 11:46 PM

 

It is a detector that is illegal in several European countries. The tomtom is not a detector so you are ok in using it.

 

Phil.

You are correct it is a Detector not a Tom Tom unless the rules have been changed?? 8-)

 

Ray

[Philman]

I stand corrected, sorry. I wonder if other countries will follow suit. Or I wonder if someone has misinterpreted the requirements.

 

I have been to Germany 3 times this year and have not heard anybody mention it. You would think lots of people would be talking about it as the majority of sat navs have camera locations built in to the pois and warnings of when you are exceeding the speed limit. I would imagine this would help to cut down accidents and would be in every ones interest. Unless it's the loss of revenue that is giving cause for concern.

 

Phil.

[chatterdog]

I too was supprised when i saw it but it also applies to Switzerland and Ireland at present and I wonder also if our other European neighbours are contemplating a similar change. Have to admit that my reply on the forum it was posted on was - well in the present economic climate they have to fill the coffers from somewhere and where better than tourists that wont be fully conversant with all the rules and regs.

[Derek Uzzell]

This might be of interest to forum-members concerned about speed cameras:

 

http://www.coyotesystems.co.uk/img/upl/Image/press/Autocar%20-%20Legal%20mobile%20speed%20trap%20alert_1.pdf

[Miami]

You cannot use a SATNAV (TomTom Garmin etc) with camera positions on in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. Look at this months CC magazine.

If you go you must turn off the option or better still remove them.

[GJH]

Why all this obsession with speed camera detection on sat nav devices?

 

A sat nav is (as the name suggests) for navigation.

 

We all have speedometers built in to our vehicles which are perfectly capable of telling us when we are in danger of exceeding the speed limit.

 

Perhaps if everyone accepted that speed limits apply to them as well as to everyone else many of us would have a happier and less fraught life.

 

Graham

[Miami]

Dead right Graham!!!

[RupertGS]

GJH - 2008-11-30 9:58 AM Why all this obsession with speed camera detection on sat nav devices? A sat nav is (as the name suggests) for navigation. We all have speedometers built in to our vehicles which are perfectly capable of telling us when we are in danger of exceeding the speed limit. Perhaps if everyone accepted that speed limits apply to them as well as to everyone else many of us would have a happier and less fraught life. Graham

Oh dear! Here we go again! Someone posts on a motorhome site for advice on satellite TV and some 'holier than thou' idiot is guaranteed to pop up asking why anyone would want to watch TV when there's all that lovely scenery or uplifting literature to read.

Likewise with speed camera locators - some of us, whilst not wishing to speed purposely are grateful for the reminder that there's a camera ahead as, when abroad in particular, you can easily be distracted by route finding, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road etc. and accidentally find that you may not have noticed a speed limit sign.

I realise that there are perfect people out there, such as GJH, who never ever accidentally break a speed limit, but for us ordinary mortals who are not God's gift to mankind, please allow us our little electronic aids to better driving.

Oh, and if you've nothing material to add to the debate then please don't pollute it with, as I said, your 'holier than thou' interjections.

And as for a less fraught life, mine would be less fraught if everyone had a GPS speed camera locator because they tell you what your speed is much more accurately than a speedometer, which can by law over-read quite a lot. Manufacturers are not allowed to have a speedo under-read but have an interest in setting it high. That way you think you're getting better mpg.

Yesterday, I was stuck behind a 'holier than thou' twit for five miles in motorway roadworks. It was very quiet and the limit was fifty. This prat sat in the outside of the two lanes and refused to move over, confident that he was doing the limit. He was actually doing 43 mph and eventually, the large number of drivers queuing behind got sick to death and started to pass him on the inside. (Not me by the way.) Was it you by any chance GJH?

[Hopesy]

As i understand it if your sat nav has the capability of warning the user of an approaching fixed camera site then this must be turned off in most euro countries. There has been a couple of threads earlier in the year about this. If caught it,s an on the spot fine.

 

[RupertGS]

Hopesy - 2008-11-30 11:25 AM As i understand it if your sat nav has the capability of warning the user of an approaching fixed camera site then this must be turned off in most euro countries. There has been a couple of threads earlier in the year about this. If caught it,s an on the spot fine.

This is not the case. People seem unable to differentiate between speed camera detectors and speed camera locators. A detector reads the (usually radar)  emissions from a fixed or a mobile speed camera. In this country both are currently legal. I say currently because it is the government's intention to eventually ban detectors.

Speed camera locators, which use the same GPS data, used by sat nav devices, are not illegal in most European countries. France, whilst having draconian fines for detectors, allows locators. Fixed speed cameras are already in the public domain and their locations are listed in atlases and in websites.

I am very surprised to learn that Germany has banned speed camera locators as these are a fixture of nearly all sat navs. I will only believe it though, when I see the firm evidence.

I'm not saying by the way that I don't believe it, only that I'd rather not take the word of a tourist site. Many people are still confused about the two systems.

[Porkbrain]

Mmmm, I didn't believe that this covered GPS as well as detectors but the blurb on this German tourist site is quite specific that sat nav/GPS are also included.

 

http://www.germany-tourism.co.uk/EGB/practical_information/13597_13602.htm

 

[Miami]

Oh dear Graham! I think you have upset Rupert Bear!

[GJH]

Miami - 2008-11-30 1:10 PMOh dear Graham! I think you have upset Rupert Bear!

Big Ah for Rupert (lol)

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AMOh dear! Here we go again! Someone posts on a motorhome site for advice on satellite TV and some 'holier than thou' idiot is guaranteed to pop up asking why anyone would want to watch TV when there's all that lovely scenery or uplifting literature to read.

Satellite TV?

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AMI realise that there are perfect people out there, such as GJH, who never ever accidentally break a speed limit, but for us ordinary mortals who are not God's gift to mankind, please allow us our little electronic aids to better driving.

Oh, and if you've nothing material to add to the debate then please don't pollute it with, as I said, your 'holier than thou' interjections.

Actually, it isn't easy being perfect you know, takes a lot of effort (lol)

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AM

And as for a less fraught life, mine would be less fraught if everyone had a GPS speed camera locator because they tell you what your speed is much more accurately than a speedometer, which can by law over-read quite a lot. Manufacturers are not allowed to have a speedo under-read but have an interest in setting it high. That way you think you're getting better mpg.

So speedometers over-read? Is that really such a bad thing? Does anyone actually lose anything because of it?

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AM

Yesterday, I was stuck behind a 'holier than thou' twit for five miles in motorway roadworks. It was very quiet and the limit was fifty. This prat sat in the outside of the two lanes and refused to move over, confident that he was doing the limit. He was actually doing 43 mph and eventually, the large number of drivers queuing behind got sick to death and started to pass him on the inside. (Not me by the way.) Was it you by any chance GJH?

The guy was confident that he was doing the limit was he? Must admit I couldn't have told that - but I don't do mind reading (lol) Are you sure it wasn't the prats who were undertaking?BTW - wasn't me, I surely wouldn't have gone over 40, just to make sure I could be holier than everyone else (lol) Graham

[RupertGS]

Dear Mr GJH,

This is an automated response from RupertGS's computer as he is unavailable at present. However, Mr GS has activated his 'Pompous Idiot Alert' facility, which means that I cannot respond to your post.

Please try again later.

Yours etc.

Mr GS's PC

[Derek Uzzell]

If I remember correctly, an article in the current issue of Autocar magazine deals with the various different types of ' anti speed-camera devices' (jammers, sensors, GPS identifiers, etc.) and discusses their legality.

[GJH]

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 1:54 PM

Dear Mr GJH,

This is an automated response from RupertGS's computer as he is unavailable at present. However, Mr GS has activated his 'Pompous Idiot Alert' facility, which means that I cannot respond to your post.

Please try again later.

Yours etc.

Mr GS's PC

(lol) (lol) Mind it don't go into a loop (lol) (lol)

[donna miller]

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AM#1.........Oh dear! Here we go again! Someone posts on a motorhome site for advice and some 'holier than thou' idiot is guaranteed to pop up. #2........some of us, whilst not wishing to speed purposely are grateful for the reminder that there's a camera ahead as, when abroad in particular, you can easily be distracted by route finding, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road etc. and accidentally find that you may not have noticed a speed limit sign.

#1........Aint that the truth, and who holier than the sad old troll, aka RupertGS#2......If you are that distracted driving abroad, then maybe you shouldn't be driving at all, All GJH was trying to say, before your pathetic attempt at riddiculing him, was that we shouldn't need to have camera detectors, if you're driving within the law, what does it matter where they are.

[Guest Tracker]

RupertGS - 2008-11-30 10:54 AM

Oh, and if you've nothing material to add to the debate then please don't pollute it with, as I said, your 'holier than thou' interjections. G

 

Please for all our sakes, Rupert do please learn to practise what you preach.

 

Could you try to master the art of making your point succinctly and without insulting anyone else please?

 

Many thanks.

[Keith T]

Why,oh why,on a topic, which -like most on this forum - is of considerable interest to most of us, do we have to suffer from a few contributors, such offensive and unecessary comments. It really is a shame that we have to endure these,and that the moderator does not simply remove them. They add nothing to the discussions, and indeed make reading of the whole topic very wearying.

 

My own contribution to this subject is simple -

 

1 can we have the real truth about what is,or is not,legal, and where?

 

2 I find the use of the SAtnav helpful, and where possible, the use of the speed camera data is also helpful, as are the actual speeds (although my Garmin is not great in this respect), and more and more we are having to resad the speedo rathing than looking at what is happening around and about us on the road. So any 'warning' is equally useful

 

3 Can we get definitive answers puiblished in MMM and CC Magazine /C&CC equivalent?

[twooks]

you've got my vote Keith

 

we have an option in the car to sound an audible warning when we go over a certain speed - unfortunately it only allows you to set 1 speed and doesn't relate it to the actual speed limit. Get round this by using cruise - altho I'm not a big fan of it.

 

TomTom can be set to buzz if you exceed the limit - [i think by 5 miles] but you're dependent on it having correct limit recorded for the road you're on and only seems to have an option to warn if you're 5mph over the limit

 

there are a lot of things to concentrate on when driving - particularly in a new place - it is all too easy to go over the limit, anything that helps provide reliable useful information has to be good.

 

 

BUT - blaming speeding is an easy option - it isn't speed that kills and maims - it's inappropriate driving by prats, usually but not always exacerbated by drinks or drugs or excess testosterone

 

 

B-)