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I guess everyone is different, my obvious route is straight down the M1. Alternatives are the M40 or the A41, both considerably longer. I have alternative routes planned from most junctions from J4 to J13, so can jump off at any given moment, realistically.
Quite often I leave work, knowing that there is a 15 min holdup in the roadworks. However, every time so far as I get nearer, TT reports a shorter and shorter delay, so I stick with it. If the delay got longer, I would bail out at the next junction, I wouldn't leave it until the junction before the holdup. To date, I have never got home more than about 15 mins outside of the regular journey time working this way.
I am fairly fortunate that I have the whole journey in one go, but if the M1 is closed, then the alternatives do require a different direction from leaving home, so kinda makes sense what you are saying. My concern with doing that would be the fastest route actually clearing by the time you get there, thus making the longer route even less optimal, and you arriving to find colleagues that went the usual route actually getting there first. There are several of us who commute to the same office at similar am times, less similar pm times, otherwise car share would be an option.
Perhaps the best thing TT could offer up is a user setting on the traffic ahead distance. For those like you who want more, you can have it at the expense of processing time, those like me that don't need it could leave it as it is. I think the traffic situation in this country is so fluid that basing your route on something several hours away in your case MrT is a bit haphazard. I guess if the incident is severe, then H&S keep it shut for hours on end, but most incidents are clear again within an hour or two. I would be more concerned with starting on one route knowing the other is blocked, only to then get held up owing to a new incident, knowing the other route is now clear. Lots of alternatives and links to varying routes is the way to go IMHO.
Just for info, what is the mileage limit on traffic on the 750??
They won't win with a one setting for all, they cant please everyone.
Joined: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 19991 Location: West and Southwest London
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:24 pm Post subject:
I can see both sides to this argument.
I tend to think the idea of a fifty mile limit is sound, but I can also understand you MIGHT want to change your whole route from the outset if there's a distant problem on one road.
What we need are some definitive results based on REAL LIFE journeys, not supposition, to prove it one way or another.
Unless two people set off to the same destination in two different cars though, I don't see how we can.
One thing I'm confused by... A couple of people have said, as potsy does here:
pottsy wrote:
It has the information downloaded, but just decides to not display it and not act on it.
How do you know that?
I totally agree with this bit though....
pottsy wrote:
On the 1005 .... there's no "browse map" any more, just "show route on map" and you get the map zoomed out to the whole route. You then zoom and pan in and look at the problem. Then you go back to nav. Then you want to look at the problem again, but you have to "show route on map" and zoom and pan again. Not a disaster, just very annoying.
One of the first things it says after connecting to live services is total number of holdups and total number of miles. I have taken that to be country wide, as generally I can get access to live services before sat lock. Try it indoors when it wont get sat lock, yet it still gives you all the holdups. Of course this could be setting your location based on the sim card, not totally sure, but believe when the live services tells you holdup number, it displays them all on the map.
Not sure if this is relevant but on my 540 Live it seems to show Traffic Info for the 50 mile radius around the last known position. Once i flew into Ireland, Cork to be precise, and when I switched on it was slow to get Sat lock (unsurprisingly), but it downloaded Traffic Info for 50 miles around Manchester! I was hopeful it would show Traffic in Ireland but once it got a Sat Lock the Traffic bar disappeared. I think that was last year sometime.
Joined: Jul 27, 2004 Posts: 86 Location: Midlands, UK
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:45 pm Post subject:
MRCC,
I reckon it's about 90 miles on my 750 and 1005. Just that the 1005 doesn't look at the traffic beyond about 40 miles.
For me it was no good - I need to see what state the M1 is in before I set off. After a massive session with TT customer services I took it back to Halfords, who didn't want to know because the unit was working "as designed". I managed to get TT to issue Halfords an RMA, so all was good.
In the interest of science, I swapped it for a Garmin 2390. It too has GPRS traffic and came with a promise from Garmin that it will look ahead "at least 100 miles".
After I have used it a few times I think I'll write a full review of all 3 units, because I guess there may be quite a few people with x50 units looking to "upgrade". Sneak clue though.... don't bother!
Joined: Mar 18, 2004 Posts: 789 Location: Midlands UK
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:38 am Post subject:
M8TJT wrote:
technik wrote:
What's wrong with using the Live Traffic web site?
Rather defeats the object of having live traffic on your TT doesn't it??
Not really.
I use the web site all the time before making a journey that may have traffic issues, so then I can plan a new route before I step in the car. _________________ GO 620, Tomtom Android EU,
Garmin 2548LMT-D; 2599LMT-D
Joined: Nov 14, 2003 Posts: 2143 Location: Surrounded by A1, M1 & M25
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:30 am Post subject:
technik wrote:
I use the web site all the time before making a journey that may have traffic issues, so then I can plan a new route before I step in the car.
Which is fine if you start from home or an office where there is a computer with Internet access but not much use when you leave a meeting to travel on. Yes you could carry a laptop with mobile access to cover up for HD Traffics inadequacies, but that rather defeats the point. _________________ Drivelux
Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 7149 Location: Reading
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:38 am Post subject:
In your case I would say it was 'not fit for purpose' and take it back.
One of my recent decisions when getting a SatNav for SCD duty and deciding on a Garmin was the forced changes by TomTom in some critical areas, ie third party POI's being stopped on newer models.
My built in unit has nationwide traffic and can be very useful when you have a number of alternative routes. _________________ DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
I can sometimes do that on the way to work, but not on the way from work (in my job, we have no internet). And what about when you're out and about? I regularly do Leicester-Grimsby-Leicester, and the return leg routing again is decided at the start but you are blind to most of the route in the 1005.
And why should I? I pay for the data on my PND and it's not there due to some arbitrary decision to cripple the new unit. But to those who don't pay, it's all there on a PC. Surely as a subscriber I should have it on my PND? "No, hold on folks, can't go yet, I have to pop inside and fire up the PC".
It should be selectable on a menu. "Traffic range". 40, 80 or 120 miles. TT could default it to 40 miles to save data costs, and everyone who thinks it's fine to use a PC or wait until you're 40 miles from the incident can leave it at that setting.
I would go back and buy the 1005 again if it had that.
Joined: Nov 14, 2003 Posts: 2143 Location: Surrounded by A1, M1 & M25
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:15 am Post subject:
Rather than user selectable distance it could just look at the route planned and download traffic data for a broad path (or local areas) covering the possible routes. _________________ Drivelux
I did try this yesterday at about 1000hrs. It was suggested to plan a route from Coalville to Luton which I did. This gave a time of about 84 minutes with no delays, despite the roadworks on the M1 showing a delay of 10.5 minutes. I then planned Northampton to Luton which gave a time but also quoted the delay as listed. It therefor appears that the livetraffic planning limits the routing delays to the same 50 mile radius as is being cpmplained about. Although you can see the delays, the travel time and so the required departure time is not including these known problems.
So, on the website you can plan any route you like but it will not include the delays or reroute for any road closure if this is more than 50 miles from your start point. I find this a problem when planning from Dundee to Edinburgh and the Forth Road bridge is closed, the route planned includes the closed roads until you start travelling when it will then offer diversion for the closure.
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