Distance to next 'exit only' lane

[mandelbrot]

Am I the only one who really dislikes the 'Distance to NOT EXIT'? On highways, my Tomtom 720 tells me when the next 'exit only' lane ends, NOT the distance to my next exit. This is good for people who drive in the slow lane, but USELESS for the rest (most) of us.

This is beyond an annoyance, it is downright dangerous, because if my exit is right after an 'exit only' lane, I don't get adequate warning of my upcoming exit, sometimes only 10-15 seconds. A couple of times I took exits immediately BEFORE my desired exit, because the distance counted down.

Any similar stories? This is a 'feature' that would make me buy a different brand, even though I love everything else about Tomtom.

 

[brownbutgreen]

You might try adjusting a speech settings and see if it helps.

Under "Change Preferences"
"Voice Preferences"
"Speech Preferences"
1st or 2nd screen of check boxes look for and put a check mark in:
"Disable 'keep to highway lane' instructions."

I don't know if that will help or not but it sounds like what you might be looking for.

 

[dhn]

But you CAN have the name of the next exit show at the top of the screen, so a match of that with the sign post on the road will assist in taking the proper exit.

 

[mandelbrot]

'exit only' lane

This is exactly what I am looking for, but it doesn't work. It's the same checked or unchecked. This appears to be a software malfunction, and I have reported it.

I hope that does the trick.

 

[paspossible]

What about slowing down and going to the proper lane when you are, let's say half a mile before the exit?

That's what I do, now...

 

[mandelbrot]

'exit only' lane

I would get ready to exit, IF I knew when my exit was. The problem is it tells me useless information instead of what I need.

 

[mvl]

That preference was supposed to shut off the instructions, but numerous people have posted that it is broken.

Personally, I like the warning, better knowing more than less in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

 

[Ian Epperson]

Am I the only one who really dislikes the 'Distance to NOT EXIT'?

I just created an account on this forum so that I may totally agree with you! Yesterday, I drove on a 150 mile trip and got VERY VERY tired of alerts every few minutes telling me to essentially do nothing.

"Keep left. In 800 yards, keep left . In 200 yards keep left then keep left. Keep left. In 200 yards, keep left" GOT IT! Already in the left-hand lane and have been there for the last 50 miles! Shut up already!

I've got the TomTom One and there is no voice preferences option.

 

[canderson]

This can be a major PITA in metro areas with a lot of exit-only lanes. You never have any clue what the distance is to the next maneuver you're really supposed to make (i.e., the exit you're supposed to take) and in the interim, it's nag, nag, nag. No one has ever found a way to shut this feature off, even though there's one option in the voice setup that appears to be designed specifically for this. The problem has been there for as far back as I can recall (Navcore 7.221) and remains today.

What's WORSE is that the indication is sometimes a real problem when your exit occurs immediately following an exit-only lane. You may, for example, be advised to "keep left" just at the time you should be heading for the lane on the RIGHT adjacent to the exit-only lane. Problem is, you have no distance indication except to the exit-only lane you're supposed to avoid, and wham ... you find out that your exit is a 1/10 of a mile beyond it.

I'd vote +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 for being able to configure this nuisance out of the picture.

And don't even get me started on the fun this can create when there's a left side exit-only lane!

 

[mandelbrot]

How do we get Tomtom to listen?

I've tried MANY times to get a meaningful answer from Tomtom about this, but most often I get nonsense answers because the tech support crew didn't understand the problem, or they say there is nothing that can be done.

Again, I feel is is beyond an annoyance, it is downright dangerous, since your exit is immediately after an 'exit only' lane, you often get exit information without adequate time to respond, so you either miss your exit, exit too soon (which I have done) or make a radical maneuver, all of which are bad.

Does anyone know how to talk to a Tomtom person that can do something about it? The prefs promise this feature, but it doesn't work.

How about a class action lawsuit? Does someone have to get in an accident because of this to get it fixed?

Any good ideas?

 

[canderson]

I suppose we could stage a weekly campaign to have the forum members here who are really annoyed by this start calling in to tech support to report the "bug" - at least 1/2 the problem is a bug, I believe.

It really seems to be a two pronged problem. The voice preferences issue is a true "bug" since there appears to be a configurable option that does not work. OTOH, I find no configurable option to shut down the distance display to the 'next exit to be avoided'. That's important, too. While the two are tied together in terms of the function of the firmware, there's no reason why fixing the former will change the latter. I'm afraid the voice option would just shut down the nagging voice without fixing the root problem.


If everyone who finds this a problem would report the broken "Voice Preferences" "Speech Preferences" "Disable 'keep to highway lane' instructions" option, perhaps they'd get so tired of hearing from us that someone back in the Netherlands would actually hear about it and consider doing something about it. We'd need to be sure that the 'distance to next maneuver' display was also showing the next thing we should do instead of what we should avoid.

Once the initial call is made, should they blow it and send you a "closed" email, make the phone call again and open up a new ticket.

We've got enough folks here such that it wouldn't escape the attention of the tech support folks. Reminds me of the old Arlo Guthrie line in Alice's Restaurant ... "They might think its a movement". I think he set the threshold at "fifty people a day".

So that they're absolutely clear about the problem, I'd recommend the following pitch over the phone:

-------------------------------------
The Voice Preferences" / "Speech Preferences" / "Disable 'keep to highway lane' instructions" option does not work, and has never worked back at least as far as Navcore 7.221. Our units continue to nag us to "keep left" for right-hand exit-only lanes when this option is selected. Further, we have no idea when we should begin to move over so that we CAN exit a highway because the distance to next maneuver display shows only the distance to what the unit is asking us to avoid.

We want the configurable option to shut off the voice "keep left" lane warnings to work correctly, and additionally, for the display to show us ONLY the distance and direction of our next correct maneuver, not the next incorrect maneuver.

The firmware causes especially unsafe conditions when we are told to "keep left" to avoid an exit-only lane, only to discover after passing it that we must quickly move to the right to achieve our actual exit immediately thereafter.
-------------------------------------

That about describe the problem and requested change?

 

[canderson]

Just started my email blitz quoting the paragraphs above at their web site url Support Login . Will stay at this until I hear something positive. If they close my ticket, I'll just keep re-opening new ones.

Will follow up with the same thing by voice tomorrow.

 

[dhn]

Good suggestion, canderson, and I've stuck this thread for (hopefully) greater visibility

 

[spook45]

In addition to opening an email support case, it wouldn't hurt to give them a call on their support line.

 

[Michael Quinlan]

I agree that the instructions intended to help you avoid an exit-only lane are annoying. But if you think they're annoying on your TomTom, try a Garmin. This annoyance is one of the reasons I ditched Garmin. In my area it was especially annoying due to the brief (200' or less) exit-only lanes that appear in place of the shoulder as you approach each intersection on a (non limited access) highway.

However, if the "real" follows the "turn to be avoided" that closely, it should appear on your map display. I have also noticed that with ALG, it sometimes (I don't think always) shows the proper lane to be in during these situations (i.e. the rightmost straight-through lane), but I certainly understand that ALG availability and quality varies widely from one area to another. I mention this only as a way to deal with the issue, not to diminish the severity of the problem.

 

[gatorguy]

But if you think they're annoying on your TomTom, try a Garmin. This annoyance is one of the reasons I ditched Garmin.

Hmm... I hadn't noticed the frequent "keep left" notifications on any of my Garmin's.

 

[canderson]

However, if the "real" follows the "turn to be avoided" that closely, it should appear on your map display. I have also noticed that with ALG, it sometimes (I don't think always) shows the proper lane to be in during these situations (i.e. the rightmost straight-through lane), but I certainly understand that ALG availability and quality varies widely from one area to another. I mention this only as a way to deal with the issue, not to diminish the severity of the problem.

Sadly, even that isn't much help. Often, UNTIL my unit (and I assume anything else with an ALG capable Navcore) actually PASSES the exit that is to be avoided, the ALG and real distance-to-exit don't even kick in. By then, it's getting a bit late to make the appropriate lane shift in heavy traffic.

The most extreme cases of the problem occur when a highway is built such that all or nearly all of the exits have exit-only lanes. When passing through a town with that configuration, I receive constant nags at every turn. You don't get any distance warnings that are helpful. Especially in heavy traffic, it can be difficult to shift lanes, and an advance warning of the correct exit in as much as a 0.5mi can be very helpful to start moving towards the exit. As things stand, that's never going to happen in a dense urban area with exit-only lanes at every opportunity. But even ONE such exit ahead of the correct one will cause the unit to display the "avoidance" distance instead of the actual distance ... and the "Keep left" garbage continues (sigh).

I can see and read the overhead signs to avoid exit-only lanes. I cannot guess at the distance to my exit unless they've been nice enough to post that overhead, too. The signage is often more helpful than the GPS.

 

[canderson]

What about slowing down and going to the proper lane when you are, let's say half a mile before the exit?

That's what I do, now...

I'm with Mandelbrot on this one. The only way you'd know you were 1/2 mile from your own exit would be to use the signage provided by the local DOT. The TomTom only wants to discuss the next exit-only lane NOT to take. Distance shown is to the exit NOT to take. Little line in the lower left indicating direction of maneuver is for the exit NOT to take. Voice prompting is for the exit NOT to take. No clue is given about the actual distance to the correct exit until you've passed all exit-only lanes between you and the correct exit... which may be a tad late in the game.

 

[dhn]

Distance shown is to the exit NOT to take

When Reality View kicks in, do you not see a count down by distance to the proper exit, even if RV appears PRIOR TO the previous exit?

 

[canderson]

When Reality View kicks in, do you not see a count down by distance to the proper exit, even if RV appears PRIOR TO the previous exit?

If the spacing is sufficient, I need to get past the exit-only lane before the ALG RV kicks in. ALG doesn't always appear early enough to make the necessary lane shifts, especially in heavy traffic -- assuming, of course, that the current maps even have ALG for the area in question -- they're getting better at that, though.

None of which helps with the voice prompts -- the point of which is to be able to keep your eyes on the traffic instead of on the GPS. If we could even get them to shut off the nags and stick to the itinerary with the voice prompts, I'd be 100% happier. Just need for that one silly check box to actually work for once.

It would be an interesting exercise to figure out "when" the ALG actually kicks in. Is it strictly distance to the correct exit, or is it perhaps time based upon current speed and distance to the correct exit? Current traffic situations would certainly make a huge difference in the latter case.

The latter is how my Garmin handheld works. It projects from not just distance but current speed as well and provides the turn warning accordingly. Seems to provide about a 30~40 second warning based upon current speed. The faster I'm going, the sooner I hear about it so that I've got adequate time to make my move. Makes sense, although it's kinda early most of the time.