| Motoring Discussion > Hope my “luck”continues | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Bobby | Replies: 12 |
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New Sun 18 Jul 21 23:14
Hope my “luck”continues - Bobby
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Drove down from Lanarkshire to Bishop Stortford yesterday. Although I have the BMW maps and travel I also run Google maps on my phone . When we were approaching Scotch Corner both had our ETA at around 14.15. Nipped in there for a Greggs then joined the A1 and my BMW nav traffic icon turned red and then my ETA started to climb up until it had reached 20.00 with a delay showing of 330 mins! My wife did some twittering and discovered a lorry had overturned just at BS and road was closed with air ambulance in place (sadly the driver died). Meanwhile Google maps plodded on as if nothing was wrong. As we neared the junction to leave the A1 towards M11 ( I think) both systems then directed me to stay on A1 and took me a different route that eventually joined the A10 and overall I think it only cost me 20 mins or so. Today we travelled to Dorking. And I have just seen the M25 was closed for 5 hours due to pipe work falling from under a bridge. Reckon we got through this about an hour or two before it happened. Tomorrow we head to Norfolk. Hope the 25 is fully open by then! And I think I have now got the BMW sat nav sussed. Ignore the directions that appear on the heads up unit and just follow the white line on map. Perfect example: I am on M25 for whatever the miles it was. However instead of just telling me to keep following signs for M25 it would do different routes. So at one junction I had the road off to left or the next junction was signed the A20. So rather than telling me to follow signs for M25 it told me to follow signs for A20. So a half mile or so ahead there is the cut off for A20. It would be easy to remember the last instruction and follow the A20 road. But a glance at the map shows the white route is the M25 but the HUD doesn’t say anything ! And another gripe, Google maps tells you well in advance of a roundabout which direction you are turning. BMW waits till about 200 yards or so to tell you by which time you are into “which lane should I be in” If I only had Apple CarPlay I think the BMW nav would be binned! |
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New Sun 18 Jul 21 23:31
Hope my “luck”continues - Terry
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I have a Tom-tom system fitted in my Peugeot with traffic. Generally it work well in signalling congestion but some judgement is still needed. I usually have it set to fastest route - not always but usually the shortest. However it has a tendancy to send you up single track roads (I live in Somerset). I assume this is because single track roads are de-restricted and the tom-tom assumes an average speed of 50-60 mph rather than 20mph actually achievable Ignoring the suggestion and staying on the main road often adds nothing to the ETA so the difference in distance may be only a few metres. Rather than issuing "a turn around" command when recalculating it simply accepts the revised route. It would be greatly improved with better defaults for small and narrow roads! |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 08:35
Hope my “luck”continues - carmalade
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Apple car play and Waze does the job great In my wife’s Vitara . All displayed on the media screen . |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 09:11
Hope my “luck”continues - martin aston
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The Golf satnav has a mind if it’s own outside built up areas. It will suggest weird diversions (the same ones every time on some routes I use so it’s not to avoid a jam). Knowing the right route I ignore the satnav direction. Inevitably the calculated ETA is then earlier than it was had I followed the satnav. It’s a well known problem on owner sites but there is no apparent solution from VAG. On long journeys I set the view for a wide area so if it suggests an odd route I can check if it’s appropriate or not. For example it always wants to take me off the M5 southbound to take me via Worcester. All satnavs have quirks but compared to previous systems I have had (Toyota, TomTom and Garmin) the VW is way worst. And my car’s full official VW name is 1.4 Nav. I don’t have a Smart phone so I haven’t that option. |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 22:44
Hope my “luck”continues - Bill Payer
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>> The Golf satnav has a mind if it’s own outside built up areas. Day to day, the nav in my late 2004 Mercedes works better than the Discovery Nav in wife's Tiguan. One of its annoying features is offering three routes in blue, red and orange, but the screen can't really differentiate between red and orange so they both look the same. The Merc one has poor indexing though, so it's often necessary to find where you want to go on its map, store it, then navigate to that point. I don't drive down south much but around the M25, it's thowing so much traffic info at you, and constantly re-routing itself. |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 08:58
Hope my “luck”continues - Zero
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Think the Sat Nav in my Beemer is an updated one from yours, it works very well (you have paid your subscription for traffic alerts haven't you?) and can be relied upon to be sensible most of the time. However, Google maps is utterly peerless, I doubt there is anything technical I use that is as well sorted as GM For example, yesterday I was out filming a train, In Berkshire and then out past Salisbury, timing is crucial the train wont wait for me. First shot at 09:30, then 60 miles to next shot - google maps said I had a 30 minute cushion on arrival. Set off, Radio blaring about the A303* being a mess with multiples and big jams, and Google maps pops up and says I'll be late. - big time. I have used it tons in similar situations, enough that I have faith, so we press on with me knowing it will re route me nearer the pile of poo. It does, within 5 miles of the pile of poo we are off the A303 and round the mess, arrival on time.** *For gods sake build that a303 tunnel, stop the terwats gawping at a pile of rubble and rear ending one another - repeatedly. ** Cant rely on the route diversions for a caravan tho, while it uses real roads, some of them might not be suitable for a caravan. Last edited by: Zero on Mon 19 Jul 21 at 08:59
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 19:31
Hope my “luck”continues - Bobby
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Yes I paid for another years subscription of Map updates and RTTI ( traffic updates). Today’s road to Great Yarmouth was straight forward. Except. 1. Google maps- why does it tell you that as you approach junctions there are alternative routes but they are longer? Happens constantly. I don’t need to know this. L 2. Google tried to take me off at one junction but I followed the BMW sat nav and when I did, the Google maps ETA fell back again. ie the diversion was going to be longer than the original route. Other than that, they were both pretty much in sync today for the journey. Haven’t checked on Google yet, must do it later after dinner and wine, but do the junction numbers on the M25 not follow a logical sequence? |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 19:57
Hope my “luck”continues - R.P.
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| BMW navigation is miles ahead of Volvo's - which is crap. |
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New Mon 19 Jul 21 23:05
Hope my “luck”continues - Zero
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>> Haven’t checked on Google yet, must do it later after dinner and wine, but do >> the junction numbers on the M25 not follow a logical sequence? They do, 1 at Dartford, clockwise round to Junction 30 at South Ockendon, Tilbury, A13. with some Junction number A where some have been added afterwards Ah you say, there are 31 M25 junctions - nope Junction 31 is on the A282 because the dartford crossing is NOt the M25 but the A282 >> |
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New Tue 20 Jul 21 21:04
Hope my “luck”continues - Netsur
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Those who don't have a smartphone, get a cheap, even secondhand one and use it purely for Googlemaps or Waze. Get a very cheap second SIM for a handful of ££ a month (maybe even £5) for the data. They are the absolute canines goolies for navigation. I am currently a long way from home, on the wrong side of the country and am sightseeing with the missus. Our accommodation is lovely but totally isolated in a hamlet in the middle of flat featureless countryside. The only way I can get us 'home' is to use the SatNav. We are in her Mini which is three years old and the SatNav is pretty good but, as said above, the level of detail at junctions is either late or inadequate. I have less confidence in it than GoogleMaps or Waze. Sometimes to be curious I run them simultaneously on two devices and they do occasionally differ, and Waze is more likely to encourage you to re-route or advise of changes in ETA. They are owed by the same business and in time will probably provide identical routing at the identical time, but I understand that as part of the purchase agreement, Waze retains the app sourced traffic data for at least 30 minutes before it can be used by Googlemaps. |
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New Wed 21 Jul 21 21:59
Hope my “luck”continues - MD
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I've eradicated the need for any of these systems. I stay near home:-) Don't get me started on Shepton Mallet. |
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New Sat 24 Jul 21 22:53
Hope my “luck”continues - Bobby
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Well, the luck ran out today. Travelling back from Great Yarmouth to Lanarkshire. Yet again, BMW nav advised from early in my journey that there were lengthy delays due to an accident in the A1 and also congestion at Scotch Corner. Google didn’t. Accident had cleared when we got closer but A66 Scotch Corner roundabout was gridlocked, worse I had ever seen it. We eventually got round to the services to find no vehicles could get in and none could get out. I parked on the verge of a B road diagonally opposite the entrance. Nipped into services, toilets had no queues, only one in front in Greggs. We were back to the car and noted that the car and boat in the queue to get in, hadn’t moved since we had parked ( no idea where a car and boat was going to park in there). Traffic queued back onto roundabout having a knock on effect on every junction of the roundabout. Traffic lights were turning to green and back to red with nothing moving. Took us best part of 25 mins to get from services side onto the A66. Then my BMW nav advised me of a problem on M74 at junction 10. Wife checked Twitter. Yip, road closed, accident involving car and two motorbikes. She quickly checked her own Google maps and suggested coming off at junction 13 and taking A73 cross country. It was junction 15 before Google woke up and advised me of the problems ahead and both it and BMW almost simultaneously suggested diverting off at 13. I think every other vehicle on road was also following Google…… Started our cross country detour but wasn’t long before we saw blue lights and came across an overturned Merc that had landed on its wheels. That led to more delays. And anyone who may know the road , you need to cross Hyndford Bridge which is single lane and 3 way traffic lights….. Eventually got home and although it was a long day ( not helped by little sleep last night) and I was grumpy and tired, I subsequently heard that sadly someone was killed in the accident. That gives you a reality check of how your inconvenience and delays pale into insignificance compared to what other families are going through. |
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New Sat 24 Jul 21 23:36
Hope my “luck”continues - Zero
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>> Well, the luck ran out today. >> >> Travelling back from Great Yarmouth to Lanarkshire. Yet again, BMW nav advised from early in >> my journey that there were lengthy delays due to an accident in the A1 and >> also congestion at Scotch Corner. Google didn’t. As previously described, Google maps wont be panicked into taking diversions till you are nearer the problem. |
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