Category: the Rant Board
Ok, so I was in a cab on the way to work this morning, and the driver had this nifty little Sat Nav unit which was telling him where to go.
"Fair enough" you might think, "You can't expect the guy to know the whole of Oxford."
However, the sat nav would also say things like, "warning, speed camera ahead. speed limit 30MPH, and "Red light camera ahead," and other such warnings. Now, that begs the question, "Can this person actually drive safely?" For example, it doesn't take the mental aptitude of Einstein to realise that you need to stop at all red lights, regardless of whether there's a number plate recording camera present or not. And, don't they fail people on driving tests for not sticking to speed limits? If you are incapable of observing the limit by using your eyes to read and process the information on the prominent, abundant and easily visible signs, then surely you cannot trust those two same eyes to safely navigate the fast moving, sometimes difficult to see, obstacles which you drive around and through on the road!
Also, and this is a far more weighty point, aren't these warnings just making drivers more careless, more likely to break speed limits when they know that there are no cameras? For, after all, the smooth voiced lady in the 3 inch box on the steering wheel will give you fair warning to slow down in time to avoid criminal charges and fines for speeding. And, aren't red light cameras set up to catch drivers who are breaking the law? They're there for the safety of pedestrians, allowing the police to prosecute dangerous and careless drivers. Again, people will more readily jump red lights because they know that, if a tell tale camera is present, mrs friendly sat nav will tell them.
I do think this is a serious problem, and will become more of one as drivers start using sat nav more and more. You should only drive if you are a safe driver, and, if you are driving correctly, competantly and legally, those warnings would be superfluous and unnecessary.
Certainly hard to argue with any of those points and, indeed, one would think twice to start arguing with the Oxford inmates, quite a wild bunch.
But I am a bit surprised, I've never seen camera warnings as part of the Sat Nav system ever. So either this was an extended system where, perhaps, the cab driver had recorded the gps locations of said cameras himself or this was some modified version. And how did the system know the cameras are there? I guess either from experience where the gps locations were recorded and driver assumes cameras are not moved, or there is some sort of a radar detector system built in. There has been a raging fight bout the radar detection systems in the U.S. for years, some states allow them, some don't, apparently there has been very little difference between accidents in the states with and without those laws. In general I'm kind of surprised there's not a more clear cut regulation and I am certainly somewaht baffled at how, exactly, the system can keep track of said devices. Then again the additional warnings may, perhaps, enforce the presence of detection equipment and force drivers to be more careful, to present the flipside of your argument.
Either way, it's something one shouldn't need, but I am more curious how this system was developed in the first place and if this is a standard part of many systems sold in the UK.
Agree with the first post. I can understand using a gps to give you directions if you need them. But a gps warning the driver about speed limits and cameras? Come on! If the driver can't obey the law then he or she shouldn't be allowed to drive!
WB, glad to see that us Oxfordians still have a widespread reputation!
It's actually surprisingly common over here for the sat navs to warn about cameras, not so common about speed limits. For a yearly fee, you can subscribe to the traffic service. Police have to log camera locations here, and, amongst other things, the sat nav can access that info, together with noting areas of heavy traffic. The system is updated every 30 mins, so all the camera locations are accurate and up to date.
It just infuriates me. But, to be honest, I don't see how it could make drivers more careful. this automated warning negates the need for conscious thought. And then, ask yourself, how will that person cope if the sat nav goes on the fritz? If they can no longer think for themselves, doesn't that just increase the risk? I think it would be a sad thing if people were happily encouraged to forget what a red light actually means.
FM