RSA(Road Sign Assist) Issue

[Amir-Naji]

11 hours ago, Timmon said:

I agree it should be more accurate. But until we got the Corolla, we didn't have it, or I didn't anyway. The get out clause is that Toyota say the driver should be aware of their surroundings. In other words, don't blame us if we get it wrong.

Of course, I want to keep to the speed limit and observe the road signs. I always have. Touch wood, no points on my licence. But that's not thanks to the Corolla, I've only had it 9 months. Mind you, the Corolla is also very generous on the speedo, I think I am travelling about 4 - 6 mph slower at 70 on the speedo. Useful if you do creep a bit over on the motorway, speedo shows 75 but you are probably doing 69!

If we commit a driving offence, we can't tell the law that it happened because the display was wrong in the car. I agree the technology should not be there to confuse us. I guess just use it as a second point of reference, or if confusing, switch it off.

I think this technology is not to be relied upon,by all the comments we know that. It is work in progress, useful as a tool to warn you that you might have missed something, and make you double check.  In the future, when we have driver less cars, hopefully the technology will be 99% accurate.Which is probably better than even the best drivers are now.

So all I'm saying is that in my view, we always had to drive a car with little help from technology. I for one will enjoy carrying on like that, and use the tech as a back up curiosity only. The most useful thing in the Corolla for me is the built in Satnav and parking sensors! I would not want to lose those!

I totally agree with you. Rarely happens that I over speed, and I always try to pay attention to the road signs, and I always complain about people who over speed, or not paying attention to the signs, but as I mentioned, it happend here and there that I missed the signs not because I wasn't paying attention, but I had to check lots of other things at the same time, which sometimes makes me miss a sign.

My issue generally is as a foreigner I don't want to drive in a wrong way, and try to respect the laws to the best of ability, so for that I really like to have the technology on my side, and not to confuse me. The way that I see people are not very patient while driving, so I don't want to be a cause of an accident or such. Since I had an Avensis before, I could really rely the sign recoginition of that, and I was hoping Corolla would be even better which kind of disappointing.

[AndrueC]

I've noticed an uptick over the last week of impatient drivers. I know that a lot of people would rather drive the A422 between Brackley and Banbury at 60 mph (the limit is 50) but generally speaking most seem to just resign themselves to sitting behind me. But this last week there seems to be more people who tailgate and overtake. I'm beginning to wonder if fear over COVID-19 is starting to affect how people drive.

[Catlover]

remember to keep a smile on your face when they get stopped by the men in blue for speeding and you just go at your 50 mph.

[AndrueC]

8 hours ago, Catlover said:

remember to keep a smile on your face when they get stopped by the men in blue for speeding and you just go at your 50 mph.

Lol, yeah. I often mutter 'See you at Farthinghoe!'. That's a small village half way along. If they overtake before then I usually catch them up at that point. It's sad that so many don't seem to realise the futility of trying to exceed the speed limit. Even averaging the limit isn't a given since a lot of people can't drive the bendy bits at a decent speed.

In rush hour it's far better to just relax and go with the flow. You know it's going to take around 25 minutes so just call it half an hour and accept it.

[Catlover]

Completely agree Andrue

[Timmon]

11 hours ago, AndrueC said:

I've noticed an uptick over the last week of impatient drivers. I know that a lot of people would rather drive the A422 between Brackley and Banbury at 60 mph (the limit is 50) but generally speaking most seem to just resign themselves to sitting behind me. But this last week there seems to be more people who tailgate and overtake. I'm beginning to wonder if fear over COVID-19 is starting to affect how people drive.

Yes. I find the standard of driving generally is pretty poor. Don't get me started on mini roundabouts. speeding in town, especially in the housing areas and school areas, and general aggression towards fellow motorists! Tailgaters are a nightmare, it is basically bullying. I sometimes slow down even more. At least if they do overtake you, they are in front so if you keep back, you can keep an eye on them and be in less danger yourself.

[Timmon]

11 hours ago, Catlover said:

remember to keep a smile on your face when they get stopped by the men in blue for speeding and you just go at your 50 mph.

Men in blue? That would be something to see! I have not seen anyone stopped in town for many years, where most serious speeding offences occur. Remember the days when you were stopped for having a light out on your car? Or making a bad manoeuvre, or going down a one way street the wrong way? Never seen it in Brackley!

[AndrueC]

41 minutes ago, Timmon said:

Men in blue? That would be something to see! I have not seen anyone stopped in town for many years, where most serious speeding offences occur. Remember the days when you were stopped for having a light out on your car? Or making a bad manoeuvre, or going down a one way street the wrong way? Never seen it in Brackley!

Brackley probably doesn't have enough serious crime to attract serious officers. Around me it's mostly a handful of ASBOs. But I do think the Police could make a killing by putting a few temporary cameras on the A422. It's supposed to be a red route so I say make the fastards pay.

[Timmon]

4 minutes ago, AndrueC said:

Brackley probably doesn't have enough serious crime to attract serious officers. Around me it's mostly a handful of ASBOs. But I do think the Police could make a killing by putting a few temporary cameras on the A422. It's supposed to be a red route so I say make the fastards pay.

Yes, agreed. They do have mobile camera's on the A43 sometimes. On the A422, they used to have them on the bypass bit, where you can see a hedgehog crossing half a mile away, but not where it is really dangerous to speed. The Banbury road in Brackley could do with a mobile camera. With a school there and drivers hammering down there, a bad accident will happen soon.

[Roy124]

Late to the party, do I have RSA?  My Corolla Design certainly displays speed limits though I have not driven many different roads. 

I am not sure the utility of a system that tells you a road is No Entry.  If the camera can see it, why can't you see it? 

I had the oddest speed limit experience today, A43 I think, with a temporary 30 limit.  This was shown with full size 30 signs but so far apart as to be of questionable legality. On a straight stretch passing one the next was not immediately visible, perhaps 600 yards apart.  I didn't check what the car displayed as the limit. 

Regarding actual speeds, I have a POI Pilot, this displays the speed so setting plus 5 gave me 51, 60, and 69 mph. 

[st901]

Mine seems OK unlike my previous Auris Hybrid which would often display the 70mph speed limit sign driving around town and once indicated a 100mph limit when driving through school grounds

[Roy124]

First time looking for it I found the RSA did indeed spot a temporary speed limit. It is a 70 zone with extensive road works and a temporary 50 zone.  I have driven this stretch many times but only actually checked the RSA function today.  While it worked it was not exactly a startling alert.

As I entered the 50 zone, marked by large 50 signs either side, nothing happened on the display.  Shortly after there was a further 50 sign on the left, only then did the RSA change the speed display to 50.  It later correctly displayed the change to 70.

[Catlover]

What you have to realise, and pretty quick, is that this is Road Sign Assist.

You cannot rely on it 100%. If the sign, for example, is not in line of sight of the camera (in the centre of the windscreen) the sign is not seen and therefore will not assist you. The other thing you will see….is speed sign of 80 or maybe 100. Usually this is when following a foreign truck or trailer and represent speed limit on foreign roads in km/hr.

[Roy124]

CL, I think for the average user looking out they will note what's out there rather than on the dash. 

I am used to using a Satnav that frequently does not have the latest speed limits on its database. 

The only time I find the speed limit display useful is when the road markings are irregular.  There are some stretches near me at 50 mph but then none visible even when it is still 50.

[GeoffG16]

The RSA on my 2020 Launch Edition Yaris is so often wrong and misleading, I ignore it now. The speed limit road sign is mostly shown with a solid red background, regardless of the vehicle speed being considerably less than the road sign limit.

On one occasion, the speed limit sign display showed “80” and on another occasion, it showed “100” implying it’s working briefly in km/h, not mph. I can’t remember if there was a foreign vehicle in front at the time.

On rare occasions it works as designed and shows the road sign correctly, changing to a solid red background as the vehicle exceeds that limit, and then displays the road sign correctly as the vehicle reduces speed below the limit. But this is very rare behaviour!

According to my local Toyota dealer, the RSA software is standard across their vehicle ranges and is a bit basic. From earlier posts in this topic relating to RSA in Corollas, nothing has improved in a Yaris model and is not likely to. Has anyone experience of a similar facility on a different manufacturer’s cars? Do those work consistently or are they all as bad as Toyota’s?

I fully accept that some roads have no signage and a sign may be missed by the camera occasionally, but the system software has to be comparing the vehicle’s actual speed with the speed limit it’s just read to decide when to display the red background correctly. Why is that such a difficult comparison to program (and get right every time!) given everything else modern cars’ computer systems do?

This is a good idea from Toyota, but the system on my car is inconsistent, just plain wrong most of the time, and therefore serves no useful purpose. It needs updating.

And, of course, it is the driver’s sole responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle at all times, and be aware of its speed and external conditions.  This is, after all, as Catlover recently reminded us, Road Sign ASSISTance.

And why is a SatNav system not available on the Launch Edition Yaris? It’s almost standard equipment on many cars these days – what were the designers thinking? And why no audible warning connected to the reversing camera? Two big errors, Toyota! Having said that - it’s a joy to drive!

[Roy124]

I have found the red speed disc to be pretty good but based on mapping not RSA.  As for RSA, now that I am aware I consciously cross check temporary roadworks signs with the display.  At a guess it picks up less than 10%.  One occasion it missed a double 30 but picked up the next single 30 on those works.  On another occasion it ignored every road chipping 20 limit (proper 20s not advisories).

I also found a setting that changed the CC speed display.  originally I had the speed limit shown as normal or red and the CC speed as white on black.  With the new settings the speed limit is shown in a green box it my selected cruise speed is less than the permitted limit.  The CC speed reverses to black on white if my actual speed if above the selected speed.  Again, like the lane assist display, this is NOT where you should be looking while driving.

While they have added more and more information to the display I suggest it reduces road safety rather than increases it.  he audio warnings can also be uninformative with various beeps etc.  At least they don't have voice warnings.  I have one speed warner on my satnav that we nicknamed Bitching Brunhilda as she would chime in "Slow down, you are exceeding the speed limit" all delivered in English with a heavy German accent.

[Mikw]

One issue mt RSA has is the signs round here. The authorities have left the old speed limits signs up during roadworks, but put put new signs up above them.

So my RSA sees BOTH 20/40mph signs on top of each other.  Sometimes it displays the speed as 20mph, and sometimes 40mph.

I can't blame it for the confusion.

[Roy124]

Mike, cracker.  In this neck of the woods they paint out the one with a special temporary grey paint.

[Invitrospud]

my Corolla has the same problem.  On a trip down the A9 which has a limit of 60 or 70mph it would fluctuate constantly between 60 and 50 where no signs were present!

also, the Satnav on this model is dreadful, whereas the Yaris was good.  How can two cars be so different?

[Dylanfan]

I set the system up to only change the speed limit colour to red when it gets to 33, 63 & 75. I forget how I did it but I read about it in the pdf download manual. Work a treat. 

[Roy124]

On top of any failings on RSA many signs are now obscured with vegetation.  A look at Google Street View often shows clear signage above low hedges.  Today the same signs are concealed in mature trees. 

Best case, you see the signs at the last minute. Worst case, you don't see them at all.  Either way, RSA can get confused which will become significant if automatic speed limiting is introduced. 

Some councils will clear such vegetation, others (mine) say it's the land owner's responsibility.  I contend it is the council's as anyone has the right to cut back overgrowing vegetation.  Please report hidden signs using Fix My Street. 

[Roy124]

Came on cracking signage last night.  I forgot to see what RSA made of it.  On a normal 60 road were temporary 40 signs. There were no road works and no obvious reason. 

After a short distance there was a white square board with a thick diagonal across the middle about 2/3 the width.  Its companion face down on the other side. 

[Obsidian Estate]

Mine often misreads. 

Hey ho.

[Tech429]

Yes mine is the same.

It tells me speed limit on bypass as 70... but then go under a fly-over or raised roundabout and it switches to 30 but then once passed it goes back to 70.  But there are no signs anywhere near.

I do not feel it actually "reads" signs" and more than likely just goes via GPS and whatever info is up-to-date at that time on all roads covered.

[Roy124]

Tech, both. One complicated, in sign terms, reads a 20 sign for a branch road as it is twisted.  Immediately after it recognises a 50 but before you notice it changes to 60 as it passes under a 70 carriage way.  Definitely both.