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hampsteaduk Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 3
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject: Selecting speeds for calculating fastest route |
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Hi All
Complete Newbie on these forums so apologies if I am asking a FAQ, posting in the wrong place or making some other blunder.
I'm looking for an all-in-one sat-nav that can be taken from car to car. Is there one that lets you set the average speed you expect to drive on different types of roads?
I've read you used to be able to do that with the old TomTom Navigator 3, but later versions don't have the feature any more - maybe another brand has that feature.
Thanks,
Matt. |
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philpugh Lifetime Member
Joined: Dec 28, 2005 Posts: 2003 Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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Not that I am aware of. However this 'feature' of letting you know the time of arrival is overated in my (humble) opinion! I was a TT3 user and found I kept adjusting the speeds to fit the time it was taking me to get from A to B. At the end of the day I haven't missed the feature in later versions - I ignore the information in TT6 - I use the "distance to go" but not "time to go" as I am quite often not able to influence this to any degree. You can always driver more slowly but it is not usual to go much faster than you are due to road conditions.
Over many years of doing 30k+ years per annum in cars, I used to estimate long journeys (e.g. Home (Cheshire) to Reading) at 50mph average - this accounted for such things as local roads, the Birmingham M6 car-park (pre Toll Road) and a stop for coffee/loo etc. This 'average' seemed to hold true for many years. Even with the toll road I suspect that it hasn't risen by all that much - I gave up doing that sort of mileage a few years back (just as the toll road opened :D ) and don't miss it at all. |
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DennisN Tired Old Man
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 14901 Location: Keynsham
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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philpugh wrote: | Over many years of doing 30k+ years per annum in cars, I used to estimate long journeys (e.g. Home (Cheshire) to Reading) at 50mph average - this accounted for such things as local roads, the Birmingham M6 car-park (pre Toll Road) and a stop for coffee/loo etc. This 'average' seemed to hold true for many years. Even with the toll road I suspect that it hasn't risen by all that much - I gave up doing that sort of mileage a few years back (just as the toll road opened :D ) and don't miss it at all. |
Good on yer philpugh. I do exactly the same, 50mph average calculation, providing there's a reasonable amount of motorway en route. I'm driving 60-80K a year. OK, sometimes arrive earlier, but a whitevanman can't be too early (sit outside and wait), but can be too late (more than a minute). When TomTom introduced this "ask when you'd like to arrive", I could have had a continence accident with laughing at it. In my view, e.t.a. is either too soon when Fastest route is selected, or too late with Shortest. _________________ Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
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hampsteaduk Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 3
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks philpugh!
My reason for asking was not so much for the arrival time estimate as it is for calculating the route it takes you on. There are a couple of potential scenarios that have had me wondering about this -
I've got two vehicles, both can keep up with the traffic on motorways, but one of them is a bit slow when it comes to the country lanes, so when I'm in the slow one I'd like to factor in a lower average speed on minor roads.
I travel on motorways at different times of the day - a higher average speed is possible late at night than in the rush hour, say, so I'd like to be able to plan accordingly.
Still, if it can't be done, it can't be done!
Cheers,
Matt. |
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DennisN Tired Old Man
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 14901 Location: Keynsham
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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There is ONE thing you can do with the TomTom Go, which is plan type of route from the following choices ...
1. Fastest
2. Shortest
3. Avoid Motorways
4. Walking Route
5. Bicycle Route
6. Limited Speed
That last one can be set to, say 50mph. But it's a very limited option - the whole journey would be planned not exceeding 50mph, so you might never see any A roads!
Fastest is according to the TT calculation - extra 30 miles on "faster" roads could save you 1 minute.
Shortest can take you via some small runs, saving a yard in distance at the cost of several minutes' time.
All very computer logic I'm afraid. _________________ Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
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hampsteaduk Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 3
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks DennisN
I guess the field is wide open - no doubt I will have some more silly questions about particular models soon!
Matt. |
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Border_Collie Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 2543 Location: Rainham, Kent. England.
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | Fastest is according to the TT calculation - extra 30 miles on "faster" roads could save you 1 minute.
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With TT I usually do a quick 'find alternative route', fairly often the alternative will be a better route but not chosen originally because it takes a few minutes longer, although several miles shorter. If that's not the case then 'recalculate original' . _________________ Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar. |
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DennisN Tired Old Man
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 14901 Location: Keynsham
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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hampsteaduk wrote: | no doubt I will have some more silly questions about particular models soon! | It wasn't a silly question - I asked exactly the same one a year ago!!
You will find that on this forum, those who know, treat newcomers with respect in the full knowledge that everybody started off knowing nothing, so newcomers are just on the way up. And you never know what new stuff you're going to learn. For example, the reply from Lost_Property tells me something I've never tried before.
That's an interesting trick too. I just did fastest route from here to Birmingham and then calculate an alternative fastest route. First one gave 89.8 miles, one and three quarter hours. The alternative gave 99.5 miles and two and three quarter hours. The third attempt gave me 2hrs 48mins and 137 miles via Oxford! What fun. As a whitevanman I get paid by the mile, interesting thoughts!! _________________ Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
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Skippy Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: 24/06/2003 00:22:12 Posts: 2946 Location: Escaped to the Antipodies! 36.83°S 174.75°E
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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hampsteaduk wrote: | I've got two vehicles, both can keep up with the traffic on motorways, but one of them is a bit slow when it comes to the country lanes. |
There are some Garmin units that allow you to specify that you are driving a Truck and it favours major roads slightly more, but I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Get a Sat Nav, sit back, relax and follow the directions. :D
Be prepared for the occasional odd route, instruction to make an illegal manouvre, map errors etc but overall they are pretty good.
In spite of what people say about the ETA, considering that it is notoriously difficult to calculate, the systems have a pretty good attempt. They aren't going to know about every hold up on the roads so they can be optomistic. In London it can be wildly optomistic unless the roads are very quiet (ie midnight). _________________ Gone fishing! |
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oddsock Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: May 01, 2004 Posts: 706 Location: Monmouthshire
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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philpugh wrote: | Not that I am aware of. However this 'feature' of letting you know the time of arrival is overated in my (humble) opinion! I was a TT3 user and found I kept adjusting the speeds to fit the time it was taking me to get from A to B. At the end of the day I haven't missed the feature in later versions - I ignore the information in TT6 - I use the "distance to go" but not "time to go" as I am quite often not able to influence this to any degree. You can always driver more slowly but it is not usual to go much faster than you are due to road conditions.
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Are you saying that customizing roads speeds is to get more accurate arrival times?? My understanding of the feature is for setting the speed for type of road to allow for better route planning eg setting Mway speeds to 10 mph will exclude them from the route ..I have read on a forum that there is a Garmin unit where the same thing can be done with the road speeds ..I think it may have been ... http://www.ukgser.com/forums/
Dave _________________ TomTom one v1,tomtom one v 3,TT Start20,Garmin Oregon 300,Nuvi 300
Garmin Quest |
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Skippy Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: 24/06/2003 00:22:12 Posts: 2946 Location: Escaped to the Antipodies! 36.83°S 174.75°E
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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oddsock wrote: | I have read on a forum that there is a Garmin unit where the same thing can be done with the road speeds .. |
In the Mapsource program on the PC you can change the road speeds or move a slider bar to choose a preference somewhere between "Prefer Motorways" and "Prefer Minor Roads".
This will change the route it calculates on the PC (which you can upload to the Garmin unit), but this does not change the routing preferences for routes calculated on the Sat Nav unit.
Not all Garmins come with Mapsource and the ability to plan routes on the PC though so check before you buy if this is important to you. _________________ Gone fishing! |
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