Speed Camera Detectors / Speeding Warnings

[Chris Oldroyd]

Hey guys, need some help and advice, I have just received my third speeding fine and I am now on six points after missing the points on the first offence as I did a speed awareness course.

Each time I have been caught it is for doing around 35 in a thirty, not silly speeds on motorways etc. It is purely down to a loss of concentration on my part so I am looking for solutions that will remind me of the speed limit, bleep at me if I go over the limit and if possible warn me of speed cameras.

I have a 2013 F-Sport with the built in pop up sat nav. That does display the current roads speed limit but doesn't warn you when you're going too fast. I can't find any way for it to warn you of speed cameras either so it looks like that's a no go.

I have explored various Iphone apps, the TomTom one appears to be the best but again it does not warn you audibly when you go over the speed limit, just on the phones screen. Another downside to all of these apps is the need to run them every time you start a journey; I would forget!

So that leaves me with a purpose made detector like a Snooper or Road Angel, anyone used one before? Will they do what I want and can they be set to automatically start when the car is started?

Anyone can offer any help and advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

Chris

[Wass]

I had a similar problem. I had worked abroad for some time in a country which very much encouraged the driver to regulate his speed to the road conditions ( I'm no being sexist when I say "his " because at that time in Saudi, women weren't allowed to drive).

The way I solved the problem worked very well. I went to my local BSM ( british school of motoring) and asked them to train me to pass the institute if advanced motorists test. The test lasted for 2-3 hours during which it is almost impossible to pretend that you are a good driver whilst hiding a myriad of bad habits.

My instructor gave an initial assessment which was quite flattering stating that I was a good safe driver but who had absolutely no regard for speed limit signs and would drive with purely the road conditions which I could see to regulate my speed against.

He gave me a very simple exercise which I should carry out whilst driving:

I should direct my eyes following the pattern ROAD>MIRROR>ROAD>SPEEDO>ROAD>MIRROR>ROAD>SPEEDO. I should never ever look at my passenger whist talking,I should alternate which mirror I looked at. He would test me by suddenly asking me to identify the colour of the car following me without taking my eyes off the road. Another useful thing he would suddenly ask me to do would be to tell him what the last 2 road signs I passed said. ( they could be a blue P sign, a bus stop sign, a road narrows sign for example) This would be so that I wouldn't pass from a 40mph zone into a 30 mph zone without noticing.

Whilst there may be electronic speed reminders on the market which work very well, my somewhat limited experience of them as a passenger is that they get very tiresome; I would imagine they aren't exactly enjoyable as a driver either.

I do love to smile at police people with hand held speed cameras ( especially when it's raining) or camera van operators though.There I am, not getting caught for speeding and holding up a queue of other people who won't get caught for speeding either! How frustrating it must be for them who should dedicate their efforts to be policing criminals rather than softer targets !

[PaulWhitt20]

I have to agree with Wass. Check your speedo frequently (every 10 seconds). Remember what they told you on the speed awareness course. If the road has street lights it's 30 unless indicated.

Think about contacting your local Institute of Advanced Motorists for a driver check.

Use your satnav to show you the speed limit but don't rely on this it's not 100% accurate.

Try giving a commentary to yourself to help concentration. Eg. "Weather conditions good. Road dry. Straight road. Mirror, one car behind gaining. Country road, no street lights. Speed limit 60. Speedo. My speed 64. Better ease off a bit. Right hand bend ahead. Ease off for bend. Houses up ahead on the left. Expecting speed limit to reduce. Mirror. Car still behind a bit close. Yes there are the street lights and speed limit reduces to 30. Ease off. Show brake lights for car behind. Speedo, now doing 32. Ease off a bit more, car behind impatient expecting them to overtake. Yes there they go. Speedo. Still doing 30. Speed camera ahead. Flash. We'll at least they won't get me I'm doing 30."

[DanD]

There are some apps that allow the use of your mobile phone as a Head Up Display. Basically, the whole screen displays your speed and if you put the phone behind the instrument binacle, the speed is then reflected in the windscreen. YOu just have to position the phone where most convenient, and you will probably need to purchase one of these anti slip mats to stop it sliding around. GPS needs to be enabled, but the apps should not interfere with making/receiving calls.

I remember coming across one of these apps, where you could build in warnings that would translate in the display flashing or changing from green to red if you went above the pre-programme speed.

For instance: if you pre program the speed limit to 30, the display will change between 30 and 34 and then go back to normal above 34 assuming that you do want to drive above that speed.

I'm afraid I can't remember the app I used in the past, but look for "dashboard", "speed monitor", "speed limiter" or "car dock".

Sorry... it's been a couple of years and I can't remember which I used.