WRONG SPEED SHOWN THROUGH AVGE SPEED CHECK ROAD WORKS

[VIDEO MIKE]

This is a problem I've experienced since soon after I bought my GO 750 LIVE but has never been resolved. I've had 4 very long threads with TomTom Support over 4 years and it's still not been resolved. Two of the threads were closed by TomTom whilst I was waiting for a response from them! On 2 other occasions we had to close the thread because the road works had finished and the problem didn't show anymore.

When I'm driving through roadworks covered by average speed cameras the device will 'stick' at unforseen points and for an indefinite time it will show the wrong speed. As my GO is at eye level it's easier to check your speed on the device rather than look down at the cars speedometerwhen driving on 2 or 3 cramped lanes with lots of other traffic. It is really frustrating when you find that your actual speed is perhaps 10mph above the speed shown on the device as you've very slowly increased speed whilst the device is still showing the wrong speed. It can also happen in reverse. Having increased speed (perhaps to get past an adjacent lorry) the device speed has not decreased as my true speed has.

I have never experienced the problem during driving on normal stretches of roads.

TomTom have stated that there's nothing wrong with my device but none of their many recomendations (many illogical and others plainly wrong) have made any difference.

 

[canderson]

Having not seen this (we don't so 'average speed zones' here), can you elaborate by describing what you meant by "...the device will 'stick' at unforseen points..."? Do you mean the navigation screen stops moving, or ???

 

[VIDEO MIKE]

In the UK, when major road works are being carried out (particularly on motorways) they now use a number of average speed cameras spread along the route which can identify number plates and measure each vehicles average speed, and they fine you if you exceed the average speed set - usually 50mph.

I tend to dive at 50mph if I can and monitor TomTom (which should be the mpost accurate) to make sure I don't go over, except briefly to get past a lorry going slower. When I enter the road works the car's speedo and the TomTom are in sync, but at some indeterminate stage TomTom's speed indicator will freeze whilst the cars actual speed can go up or down. You don't usually spot when the problem occurs unless your actual speed is very different from TomTom's. I first noticed it years ago when we had almost come to a stop but TomTom was still showing 45mph. It continued to show that speed for about 10 minutes whilst we were continuously changing speed.

The rest of the device worked perfectly, only rhe speed indication stopped working properly.

 

[canderson]

Understand how your average speed situation works on the road, but have not experienced how it operates on TomTom. What I was wondering is whether the device is trying to indicate your average speed over some distance?

 

[VIDEO MIKE]

TomTom have also stated the same thing (amongst about 100 other ideas), but I haven't been able to find any option on my device regarding average speed indications. Nor have TomTom advised me how I can locate this setting and perhaps alter it. As I've pointed out to them, that idea is illogical. From various situations I've experienced this is an example:-

I could be driving at the limit of say 50mph for a number of miles and then had to slow down to say 40mph because of traffic. After a few minutes I've been able to go back to 50mph but my device still shows 40. I can then drive for some miles at 50 but TomTom still shows 40. That's just an example but similar situations prove that TomTom can't be trying to show my average speed which would have been nearer 50mph and definitely not my lowest speed for miles.

When I first reported this problem I was told it was a technical problem and was being investigated by TomTom. They later came back and told me they thought they had fixed the problem but unfortunately the roadworks had been completed and I couldn't check it. When more roadworks were started I experienced it again but I had to start a new thread and they just kept coming up with many new and often ridiculous ideas and wouldn't once confirm the existance of the previous thread, nor a technical problem. At that stage I was told that I was the first to report it so I claimed that my device had a fault and should be replaced but they just avoided it with yet more bright ideas.

 

[VIDEO MIKE]

I'd really appreciate anyone letting me know if they've experienced this problem. Or just as important if you've not, especially within the UK.

 

[Arno]

Sorry, Mike, but most of the moderators are North American where we do not have 'average speed' sections.
Hopefully some of the other GB, D, F posters can give you an answer.

 

[Montalbano]

I have just found this forum and have the same problem as VIDEO MIKE. I see he lives in the same county as me - Essex; and this is where I have experienced the same problem on a regular basis. I bought my Start 25 Europe only recently (my fourth Tomtom device) and since then have been doing a weekly 120 mile journey which begins very near a section of road that has a 50 mph limit and AVERAGE SPEED CAMERAS. Before entering this section the speed limit is 40 mph.

As VIDEO MIKE says, this is when it is safer to watch the eye level dispaly than the car's speedometer. I emailed TomTom and was advised to do a soft reset. I did this twice and the problem remains. All other functions - position on road, etc - seem to be working as they should. Same problem occurs on the return journey.

My way of resolving it has been to turn off the device and turn it on again. It takes a few seconds to reset then works correctly. But why should I need to?

 

[dhn]

And what happens if you try a drum reset on the unit by holding the power button about 20 seconds till you hear the drum sounds?

 

[Montalbano]

Hi dhn.
That is what I did - twice: held the button down until I heard the drum sound.When using it the next time it had exactly the same problem. As I said, I only bought it about two weeks ago and have not yet had a chance to try using it for any other journeys that have similar road speed conditions (average speed cameras). But on my return journeys where the speed
limit drops from 70mph to the 50mph the display 'sticks' to the 65-70 I was doing before I slowed and very slowly drops to the true speed. As my position on the road and all other functions seem to work correctly I cannot understand why this part does not.

 

[dhn]

Well, you may wish to touch base with cust suppt:
United Kingdom
02079 490 134

Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

[Montalbano]

I have called a few times already but gave up after long waits 'on hold': but will try again. My previous experience with getting through has been very good and I found them to be very helful. Perhaps this is a very busy time of the year..

 

[canderson]

Two 'peak' times -- post-Christmas, when they arrive from Santa, and the beginning of everyone's summer vacation.

 

[VIDEO MIKE]

MONTALBANO
Hi, after 4 years of fighting TomTom they finally escalated the problem to a supervisor recently and din't cut off the thread this time. They have finally admitted that it is a problem with my GO 750 and I am the first to report it - over 4 years! They admit they can't replicate or cure it and finally offerred me a GO 1000 Free of Charge but it still needed updating for maps and traffic etc at a cost of around £107 per year. Alternatively they offerred a 25% discount on a new product. After all this time and frustration I didn't think 25% was reasonable but they wouldn't budge and told me that it was the biggest discount they could give. In the end I decided that the GO 5100 (a new model) with the discount came to £195 and it has free maps and traffic for life which means it will have paid for itself in under 2 years. They also gave me a carry case which apparently costs £19.99 but that turned out to be only big enough to take the device, not the holder and cable etc! In the end I think they still made a profit out of me.

For your information I regularly experienced the same problem on the M25, M1 and the motorway junction near Bristol twice, as well as the recent roadworks on the A12. In fact. as far as I can recall, everywhere I encountered road works with average speed cameras. I think there is a technical glitch between the TomTom and the signals from the cameras. I've not been able to set up and use my new one yet so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The following information might be useful to you regarding my most recent dealings:-
Rishabh, Supervisor - TomTom Customer Care Team.
Incident No. 150314-003810

 

[Montalbano]

Hello fellow Essex resident!

4 years is a very long time to endure what is a minor, but annoying glitch. As I have said, I have only been using my Start 25 for about 3 weeks now and it aggravates me each time it occurs. My previous device was a XL2 europe and the main reason I have got the new one is because I could not fit in all the updates because it only has a 2GB internal memory.
Right from the start I had another problem in that I could not link the device to the new My Drive Connect. I tried on two PCs and a laptop before phoning (two or three times before getting to a human) and it took the guy I spoke to about 30 seconds to do it from his end!

I have been travelling from Southend to North Norfolk each week and the fault first occurs on the 50mph section of the A127 up to North Befleet and then the 70mph stretch - both with average speed cameras. I have turned it off on on to 'reset' it and notice that while the normal screen quickly returns showing my position on the road, the road speed window takes a while longer to appear. It has the little revolving clock face thing like a Windows PC until it comes back.
The same problem occurs on the return journey. from the M25. Speed seems to show correctly until I slow in either the 70 mph section or, on reaching the 50mph bit. I have not noticed this problem on any other part of my 120 mile journey where there are no average speed cameras. It must be linked to them. I am waiting to use it on another road to confirm this.

Thank you for the name and incident number i am going to call them again and suffer the long wait. I have had minor problems in the past and aways managed to get through quickly and had excellent help. I hope this time the service gets back to where it was!

 

[VIDEO MIKE]

Personally I'd put it in writing via the TomTom Support website. If they suggest half the ludicrous ideas that I have received you'll be on the phone for about 6 months. Also, you do get the same person whilst the thread is ongoing. Best of luck!

 

[Montalbano]

I actually got to speak to someone at Tomtom yesterday. I explained the fault and also gave them the details of your incident. There was a long wait while the person went to talk to someone else. She then said would I report the 'fault' as a
map update, or correction as you do when finding a unmarked speed camera. I argued that this was NOT a map fault but
a problem that appeared to be caused by the average speed cameras. I asked if there had been many other reports of this problem and she would not - or could not - tell me; but repeated the report request.

I will report it as advised by them and then do as you suggest and write to them.

Once again, I admire your tenacity in enduring this for four years. I will not do the same!

 

[Montalbano]

I recently posted the same problem on another (UK based) forum. The answers I have received have made some sense.
For those not in the UK I will explain how the average speed cameras are set up. A stretch of road will have the cameras
placed along the entire length of the designated speed zone. A camera will located wherever there is a junction (off ramp) along that stretch to measure your average speed between the start of the section to where you leave that road. But if you are driving the entire length of the designated road you could pass 5, 10 or more cameras depending on its length. The forum I went on said that the problem was caused by the TomTom trying to calculate the average speed between the very FIRST and very LAST cameras - not between individual the cameras - and failing.

Like VIDEO MIKE I was unaware that it was trying to give me an average speed and would prefer it to show my true speed at all times. I think I will try and download and use the camera database suggested on this other forum that I am assured measures BETWEEN cameras and is altogether more accurate.

 

[droyls]

Just to record that I am experiencing the same issue with the wrong speed being shown on my GO 630 satnav, especially when trying to stay at a lower speed to conform with motorway average speed camera limits. I was thinking that it was just my TomTom device which had developed a problem, but from reading in this forum thread, that is obviously not the case and this issue affects different TomTom models.
The symptoms either show a significantly higher or lower speed than that shown on my car odometer - in one case that comes to mind, the TomTom was showing almost a walking speed after sitting in traffic whilst the car was travelling at 40 or 50 MPH when the traffic got moving again.

 

[Master.of.Mischief]

I can confirm that my GO 950 didn't have this issue and neither does my 6000. I can imagine that this is an annoying issue. It worked fine as I was going up the 15 or so miles of ruddy 50mph ruddy average ruddy speed cameras.