Speed Camera/Speed Limit Alert Devices..Help please?

[The Moo]

I discovered over the weekend that my Father in Law has picked up more points for speeding and if he gets anymore will lose his license which will make life difficult. From what Mother in Law says, and I would agree with her, that he's not a bad driver, certainly doesn't drive fast and each time he has been caught on camera he has only be marginally over the limit in a restricted area. I guess its down to minor lapses of concentration commensurate with his age.

I said I would have a look for camera alert devices for them. I think for the motoring they do a standard Sat Nav system would be a waste of time and money and the operating of it would be more hassle to him than trying to work his way round a mobile phone which is definetly an alien concept! The device does need to remind him what the speed limit is so he can adjust his speed and it doesn't need to do a lot else.

Has anyone had experience with http://www.novusgps.com/index.php?page=novus-gps-rider? Its needs to be something he can just plug in and forget without having to setup each time he wants to use it. I can sort out downloading updates and the like but it has got to be simple otherwise it won't get used.

From wathcing the videos I think some of the Novus product range might fit the bill, but any thoughts on these devices or others would be most welcome

 

[cj10jeeper]

No idea on this piece of technology, but if someone cannot recognise they are exceeding the speed limit then questions need asking.

Any more points = loss of licence, so I assume 9 points already and that over 3 years. Given that few cameras are really operational and most set to a tolerence factor, it implies driving too fast in restricted areas on a regular basis. I conjur up a picture of a common if not typical older person who drives at a 'safe speed' of 40mph open road and village centre, somewhat regardless of actual limits or hazards. My small village is full of them. 60mph main roads and 30mph in our village and they hold 40mph all the way :thumbsdown:

Might seem a little harsh and of course a generic comment, but a device that simply warns of actual cameras may just supress the lack of observation and awareness and permit more problems. For just such reasons my father in law before passing away and at least 2 of my neigbours have sold their cars and now use taxis.

 

[Rolf-Dieter]

I recommend that he maintain speed of all other drivers (go with the pack so to speak) I think for him that be the best solution. Fancy devices will not save him from the ultimate destiny of loosing his license, so he should slow down to me is the best solution.

 

[The Moo]

Interesting points made which I do understand. However, I'm not sure that forming a generic view about a particular group of drivers is helpful. I would like to think the "generic" view of BMW drivers could not be further from the truth and that it does not apply to us as Z drivers at all!

I guess the fact of the matter is we have an ageing population who like it or not are not going to give up their motor cars easily and we need to facilitate people with different driving abilities.

It would be easy to poo poo the multitude of safety features cars have traction control abs etc and say they are unecessary if we drive properly, but generally we welcome them. In future we can expect cars to be fitted with systems that alert us if we drop off and there is even talk about devices that control our speed from outside of the car. I therefore think there is some merit in having a simple device in the car which alerts of driver error.

Hopefully the 9 points on his drivers license will be a wake up call and will lead to a change in driving style, but in this instance I can't help thinking and additional pair of electronic eyes in the car will be such a bad thing...............

 

[Dev]

Hi Moo, just read your post and I understand you want to help keep your dad on the road, but I have to say I agree with CJ10jeeper on this one - if the 'momentary lapses of concentration commensurate with age' led to 9 speeding points being allocated within the totting up period, one has to seriously ask themselves why it happened, on anywhere up to 3 occasions - after all, just one should have been a wake up call. Has he been offered a driver speed awareness course, or can he volunteer to take one? I know that some local authorities and police areas do this, but it's not standard practice across the board. It might give him some kind of assessment (an informal alternative that you could organise might be a 'retest' with a driving instructor) as to whether he should continue driving or not.

Now dependent on the circumstances, he could be a great driver, just a bit unlucky, say he's been nabbed going slightly over the limit on an unfamiliar road (say, travelling at a fair speed, but the limit has been posted lower than you'd naturally expect for the type of road/conditions and he's been caught by a camera he wasn't aware of, or one of those variable speed limits). Or, he could have been nabbed on roads which he is totally familiar with, he knows the camera is there, and he's been caught. In which case, why did he get caught? If he's losing his concentration there, will he now have 'woken up' to the fact, or will he get progressively worse? What happens if his concentration lapses enough that he goes through a red light, or a zebra crossing? What if the consequences next time are worse than 3 points on his licence as a result?

I'm not trying to be some kind of horrible pessimist, please don't think that. I'm just trying to say he needs to know why this has happened as it has, and in the worst case, if it turns out he's not fit to drive, he needs to accept it before he becomes a liability to himself or someone else. The ability to drive is a privilege, not a right. I know that sounds a bit self-righteous, but how it sounds makes it no less valid.

 

[Banedome]

cj10jeepers comments :-

I conjur up a picture of a common if not typical older person who drives at a 'safe speed' of 40mph open road and village centre, somewhat regardless of actual limits or hazards. My small village is full of them. 60mph main roads and 30mph in our village and they hold 40mph all the way :thumbsdown:

Might seem a little harsh and of course a generic comment, but a device that simply warns of actual cameras may just supress the lack of observation and awareness and permit more problems. For just such reasons my father in law before passing away and at least 2 of my neigbours have sold their cars and now use taxis.[/quote]


A basic TomTom will not only advise on speed camaras but can be set to warn when exceeding the speed limit and will not require any set up for each journey, just switch on and off you go. The idea that this type of device should not be required if the driver is fully aware and observant is rubbish as you can take that approach to any safety device fitted to a car. Drivers are human beings and are not perfect and any aid to safety is helpful. As far as "Older Drivers" are concerned he is way out if he thinks they are all creep around on the roads. There are plenty of idiots aged about 25 who should not be trusted with a mobility scooter let alone a car. You just cannot apply statements like that to any group (All women are poor drivers for instance.) I am 79 years old and have been driving motercycles and cars for about 58 years and have never had any fines or points and it may look therefore like I creep on the roads but be assured if you meet me the problem will not be how to get past but how to keep up. And don't forget, with a little luck you may join the Older drivers one day.

 

[cj10jeeper]

The Moo - the only reason I used the term 'generic' was that I cannot possibly know the exact circumstances of his driving ability. Health, eyesight, age, reaction ability, if he self certifies himself fit to drive, etc. etc. 3 fines in less than 3 years indicates to me a motorist who repeatedly breaks the low speed limits, hence the constant '40 in a 30' reference.

Cars will continue to get ever safer with more devices, but on crowded roads for everyone there has to be a time to hang up the gloves. I'd just hate him to have one more device warning of speed limits (that are themselves just a maximum, not a safe speed) for his next lapse to be on a pedestrian crossing where the consequences will be morte than 3 points and only then can the law step in to take the licence away.

 

[cj10jeeper]

cj10jeepers comments :-

I conjur up a picture of a common if not typical older person who drives at a 'safe speed' of 40mph open road and village centre, somewhat regardless of actual limits or hazards. My small village is full of them. 60mph main roads and 30mph in our village and they hold 40mph all the way :thumbsdown:

Might seem a little harsh and of course a generic comment, but a device that simply warns of actual cameras may just supress the lack of observation and awareness and permit more problems. For just such reasons my father in law before passing away and at least 2 of my neigbours have sold their cars and now use taxis.

A basic TomTom will not only advise on speed camaras but can be set to warn when exceeding the speed limit and will not require any set up for each journey, just switch on and off you go. The idea that this type of device should not be required if the driver is fully aware and observant is rubbish as you can take that approach to any safety device fitted to a car. Drivers are human beings and are not perfect and any aid to safety is helpful. As far as "Older Drivers" are concerned he is way out if he thinks they are all creep around on the roads. There are plenty of idiots aged about 25 who should not be trusted with a mobility scooter let alone a car. You just cannot apply statements like that to any group (All women are poor drivers for instance.) I am 79 years old and have been driving motercycles and cars for about 58 years and have never had any fines or points and it may look therefore like I creep on the roads but be assured if you meet me the problem will not be how to get past but how to keep up. And don't forget, with a little luck you may join the Older drivers one day. [/quote]


I hopefully clarified my comments in the post above that I typed as posted as you posted.

There are of course many excellent older drivers and many poor younger drivers. My father is in his mid 80's and is an amazing driver and former motorcyclist and still handles his high powered car with skill. My mother lost her nerve and surrendered her licence in her mid 50's after 30 years of motoring.

The one we are referring to here though has mometary lapses of concentration and is getting a decent crop of speeding points. :thumbsdown:

 

[The Moo]

Apparently the latest penalty was for passing a camera at 35 in a 30mph limit. Clearly he needs to look at his speedo a bit more frequently, but I guess we should be thankful that at present he is looking where he is going!

To be fair I'm not sure if I was driving without reference to a speedo on a clear road (which is what he seems to be doing) I could necessarily differentiate between 30 and 35 mph and I guess some people who have corrected vision for the distance required for driving might actually struggle to read the dials on the dashboard if they don't have variofocals or such like. (though not the case with father in law!) so a bit of technical assistance on board might not go amiss.

I also look forward to becoming a fully fledged member of the Elderly Gentlemen's Zedding Society in due course.

 

[Taz]

i could easily drive at 35 in a 30, 30 feels like i have stopped

 

[chris]

Not reading all that But tomtom and speed alert set to max volume! Then it will annoy him so much he will slow down

 

[iwatchlive]

Hi The Moo, been using Safe Speed that is built into a tracker I had fitted to a car when I bought it new 6 years ago, saved me many a point I feel, (not that I am a fast driver) and i would definately recommend this.

It beeps several times (loudly) to identify when you are coming into the proximity of a speed camera and then if you do not slow down to the correct speeds it emits a loud annoying beeping until you DO slow down to the correct speed, you would be very clear if you were speeding past a camera with this system, personally recommend it.

would pay for itself in no time by the sound of things

RAC Trackstar Safe Speed - The Trackstar Safe Speed option that comes with this tracker alerts you on the approach to the sites of fixed cameras, variable safety cameras and Spec multi cameras. The alert is via an audible warning as you approach and again immediately before the monitored zone. The Trackstar Safe Speed option is active for every journey and the database of safety camera zones is automatically updated on a regular basis

 

[a11y]

Rather than an electronic warning device, what about suggesting he joins his local IAM group and goes out with an observer. He wouldn't necessarily need to do the full thing, even an assessment drive would be a good idea though.

Better than relying on an electronic warning device as that's not really solving the problem - it's just providing a false solution without improving his driving...

 

[The Moo]

Ally. It's a nice idea but I'm not sure that he would buy into it. I think the family will help him as best as they can over the current hurdle which might include the purchase of a device and encourage him to start thinking about his future as a driver (which I suspect he already is)

 

[AlanJ]

Moo - I thinks its all been covered but if not then with CJ on this; address the real issue of your FiLs driving ability/capability rather than seeking a solution which fails to rectify the real problem. It's always a difficult decision to hang up your driving gloves but better than coping with the consequences of a catastrophic accident where it is usually an innocent road user that suffers.

 

[driveforward]

I can thoroughly recommend a Snooper MySpeed Aura.. other than the internal speaker being a bit weak; it's by far the best device I've ever owned (previously had a Snooper Sapphire, Micro RoadPilot, RoadAngel and Origin B2). It does speed limits and camera notifications all over Europe too (they work).

Aside from the obvious momentary lapses, it just helps you keep track of what you're doing and whether you've got a bit too excited.. :roll: