Jump to content

Beeeeeep beeeep beeeep


Wazat

Recommended Posts

I was amazed the other day when a long time cacher found I had a warning beep on my Etrex Vista. What is that he asked and I had to explain the traffic camera warning on the GPS. It shows you you are never too old to learn. So head on over to Garmap and look on the page at the bottom right. There is a link on the page to Garmin POI Loader Data. This data includes POI's for all the road camera and safety hazards as well as toll gates throughout South Africa. You will need to install the POI loader software to get the data to your GPSr. Once there it is a matter of just driving along the route and as soon as there is a camera nearby it warns you via audible beeps and a warning text on the screen. The whole database gets updated on a regular basis by contributions sent in by the GPS users. It is very handy not only for the obvious speed traps but also road hazards. Try it it might just save you a lot of money on fines....

Link to comment

Just to add to what Wazat said...

 

I transfer the Road Safety POI's to my GPSr every week, and it has saved my bacon many a time - not only money-wise (in terms of speed traps) but also safety wise (in terms of hazards such as sudden severe speed-bumps and inverse cambers).

 

There's even a free little application on the site that you can download, which will modify the data so that you will continue to hear a beep for as long as you are exceeding the speed limit in the proximity of the POI. It can also be modified to incorporate a grace speed limit, i.e. if the limit is 120km/hr, the beep will continue if you are exceeding, say, 132km/hr (10% grace).

 

I regularly contribute to the database - it's as easy as saving a waypoint on your GPSr and emailing it, in Mapsource format, to the relevant person at Garmap.

Link to comment

Just to add to what Neville said...

 

That customization to the data can be annoying if like me you go and adjust the warning to 105 kph on all the traps and end up going to JHB for the weekend. Now all is good and well till you get on the highway and now you are allowed to go 120 kph it was really annoying to hear the constant buzzing and only way I was getting it off is by slowing to 104 kph.... I soon took it off. But set to 132 will work I guess. Neville don't let the 10% grace fool you, they work on 10 kph above your set limit. I know a lot of Traffic cops and none have confirmed the 10% grace. And don't always trust the GPS to be 100% with their trapping devices.... OBEY the law don't speed.... (Says I, owner of a few speeding fines).

 

On a positive note the hazard warning is great as you never know what may be ahead and if someone has been kind enough to update the road conditions then it is a great help to us. I also make sure that temporary hazards are updated when fixed. We had one here just the other day and although I didn't up load the hazard I knew about it. They have since fixed it and I mailed Peter at Garmap and had it removed....

 

It is interesting to see as I travel along roads behind say a GP registered car and he has a Nuvi on the dash how he will be hitting his brakes and 2 seconds later my GPS beeps to warn me of a trapping spot I uploaded some time back.... Sort of want to stop the guy up the road and say hey was that your GPS warning you to slow down back there and let him know it was thanks to me.... Might get a milkshake for my contribution who knows.... I pity the dude the other day who went tearing past me at well over the limit (must have been doing about 160 - 180) and got caught up the road at a spot I know very well. His fine must have been really high. He eventually caught up to me way down the road again. And overtook on a blind rise. Not at high speed though. I followed him pulled out the phone grabbed a photo and wagged a finger. He actually slowed down to 80 - 100 for the next 10 kilos.... and I sat and watched him like an eagle.... I must stop and check with the RTI and see what they caught him at... Idiot.

Link to comment
That customization to the data can be annoying if like me you go and adjust the warning to 105 kph on all the traps and end up going to JHB for the weekend. Now all is good and well till you get on the highway and now you are allowed to go 120 kph it was really annoying to hear the constant buzzing and only way I was getting it off is by slowing to 104 kph.... I soon took it off. But set to 132 will work I guess.

 

What you can do is set the grace limit to, say, 10% above the preset speed limit - this means that a 100km/hr POI will beep at you if you exceed 110km/hr and a 120km/hr POI will beep at you if you exceed 132km/hr.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...