Speed limit sign in multi-function display.

[Haliotis]

Normally, when driving my C-HR (2021 Dynamic bought this April), the MFD is set in such a way that it shows the prevailing speed limit.  But a couple of weeks ago, when driving locally in the 30 mph limit, it suddenly changed to 70 mph, and then reverted back to 30 mph after about a quarter of a mile. The correct 30 mph limit is in operation for quite a distance in all directions in this area, and has applied for many years.  It has never happened again.  Fortunately, through habit, I try to remember the speed limit wherever I am driving, and keep my eyes open for any changes in the permissible speed limit.

My only concern is if there is a glitch in the system where something else could be waiting to happen !!!  Having started driving when cars had none of the toys on today’s models, I still rely on my own self discipline, using only the gadgets that are truly useful (e.g., cruise control) but still give my own judgement priority.

I have deliberately tried out the auto stop when approaching a stationary vehicle in front.  It does work, but I wouldn’t put my trust in it, any more than I would blindly follow satnav directions if they took me off a route that was expecting to take.

[Roy124]

Albert. Nothing wrong with your car, it's a Toyota thing. Plenty of tales here.

Picking up a limit sign on a truck. 

Picking up a sign from a side road or slip road.

Map limit overriding camera sighting.

Correctly sighting a sign but misreading the numbers.

It agurs well for automatic speed control based on speed signs.

[philip42h]

The speed limit displayed in the MFD is determined by image recognition - the car 'reads' the displayed speed limits. And all things considered it is remarkably good! But it is a long way from perfect.

I suspect in this case it read a 'speed limit' off the back of a lorry or similar ... such things do happen.

But, as you say, these things are driving aids - not excuses for lack of attention ... 😉

[Roy124]

5 minutes ago, philip42h said:

But, as you say, these things are driving aids - not excuses for lack of attention ... 

True, however there is one road,  A43 IIRC, where the limit is 50.  After a significant distance you wonder is you missed the derestricted sign.  Eventually you will see a repeater 50.  This is within a few yards of the derestriction sign.

As the system is frequently wrong you do doubt your observation. 

Any single carriageway that is 20, 40 or 50mph will be shown by repeater signs that occur either approximately every 200 yards or on every 7th or 8th lamp post.

I think the interval in this case is at least a mile.

[Haliotis]

There are no speed signs in the vicinity - never thought of my car picking up a sign off a nearby vehicle.  On reflection, not surprising though.

In October 2021 a Surrey couple received a fine for driving in a bus lane in a city in Somerset, although they weren’t even in the area.  Their car reg. plate was KN19TER.   The bus lane camera had picked out a woman walking along wearing a jumper with the word KNITTER on it.

Cannot help but wonder if anyone else has been caught in a similar fashion and paid the fine. -  EEK!

[Cyker]

Yeah the system is kinda rubbish. You're not doing to badly so far, we were having a competition to see who'd had the highest speed limit - My car has flashed up (120) quite often but I someone quickly beat me with a (130)   IIRC the highest was a 180??

And the (120) wasn't even from a foreign lorry like you might think - Some are from (20) signs, but on one I reviewed Dashcam footage on, I just could not see anything that would make it think it saw 120!

I'm just glad I'm not one of the poor smeggers who'll get this system tied to a mandatory speed limiter in newer cars...!

One of my work colleagues is planning to get a t-shirt with (20) written on it to troll everyone...  I can imagine cyclists and bikers doing similar things when more cars have such a system...

[Roy124]

5?

Or is that too fast for DOBs like me?

[Haliotis]

11 minutes ago, Cyker said:

 

I'm just glad I'm not one of the poor smeggers who'll get this system tied to a mandatory speed limiter in newer cars...!

Hi Cyker,

Our daughter has a BMW X3 with a speed limiter, and she uses this more than the cruise control, but it is selectable.  From your comments, am I to understand that mandatory speed limiters will be permanently live?  Would that mean  a driver was unable to use acceleration to get out of trouble?

[Cyker]

20 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

5?

Or is that too fast for DOBs like me?

You know, that's the one speed sign I don't think mine's recognised yet!!  

 

15 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Hi Cyker,

Our daughter has a BMW X3 with a speed limiter, and she uses this more than the cruise control, but it is selectable.  From your comments, am I to understand that mandatory speed limiters will be permanently live?  Would that mean  a driver was unable to use acceleration to get out of trouble?

Yes, the idea is it will act like a permanent-on speed limit that's tied to the recognised/known speed limit. However, like the currently selectable speed limiter on our cars and your daughter's X3, you will be able to override it by flooring the accelerator.

I'm not sure if it's something the driver can disable like e.g. lane keeping or automatic emergency braking, as there's been talks for and against.

 

[Roy124]

Highways authorities will definitely need to up their game.   The system will also need to adapt for intercontinental traffic.  Your foreign car reading a 60 kph sign is going to cause a few frustrations in UK.

I say this, as it is said some foreign Toyota do not have an MPH option.

[Cyker]

That's partly one of the current problems with the RSA in a lot of our cars - It keeps thinking the signs are in Kph, not Mph. The tell is, it'll say (40) but if you do 40mph it'll go red, indicating overspeed, until you drop to 20-something.

Some members have said there's an update for it, but my dealer keeps saying there isn't...

 

[philip42h]

44 minutes ago, Cyker said:

That's partly one of the current problems with the RSA in a lot of our cars - It keeps thinking the signs are in Kph, not Mph.

That's not a problem in my car ... In the UK with the car set to miles and mph it interprets the numbers as speeds in mph and 'derestricted' as 60 or 70 mph depending on the road type. On the continent with the car set to kilometers and kph it interprets speeds as such and knows, for example, that on a derestricted section of the German autobahn there is no speed limit. That much works perfectly ...

[dannyboy413]

Every few weeks, I drive from home, in Ireland, to Enniskillen, in Northern Ireland. As I cross the border, the SatNav knows the speed limits are in mph and shows the correct limit, (well, it does when it decides to show a speed limit 🙂). However, the drivers display will only show the speed limit in kph, so, in a 40mph area, the SatNav shows 40 - as does the drivers display, but the drivers display, being only in kph, gives the constant warning that I am exceeding the speed limit, even though I am doing about 40mph, because the cameras see 40 and I am doing about 60 (kph). It is one of those little 'quirks' that I have got used to.

[Penfold72]

Last week, driving around town, my speed limit sign changed to the blue motorway symbol....  I have no idea what it saw!!.  Mine constantly reads wrong on some roads, as it picks up 20MPH ;;limits on side streets.  Wouldn't worry about it.  I've noticed the satnav always seems to display correct limits.

[Bob110023]

My satnav does not show speed limits, even though it's set on show them.🤔

[Roy124]

4 minutes ago, Bob110023 said:

My satnav does not show speed limits, even though it's set on show them.🤔

Mine did today.  It showed the limit at 50.  The main display showed no limit.  The speed limit was actually 30.   We had not actually passed any signs since starting to the main display was correct and satnav wrong.

[philip42h]

2 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Mine did today.  It showed the limit at 50.  The main display showed no limit.  The speed limit was actually 30.   We had not actually passed any signs since starting to the main display was correct and satnav wrong.

I don't think that I've ever looked for a speed limit on the satnav display ('cos it's there on the MFD) but no matter. What you report suggests to me that your MFD is in mph while your satnav is showing speeds in kph - 30mph = 50 kph (approx.)? OK, none of it makes sense to me! 😉

[Roy124]

Philip, no, it's usually correct.  Just for the hell of it I shall report the error. 

 

[Haliotis]

 My MFD also picks up side streets with a smaller, secondary 20mm h icon - even when those streets are the same 30mph limit as the road I am travelling.     Regarding the satnav, I never trust this, particularly in strange areas that I may visit infrequently with long periods between visits. Speed limits do get changed (usually downwards) and you can never be sure this hasn’t happened since your last satnav update.

Is it my imagination, or is there always an absence of repeater speed limit signs on the approach to fixed speed cameras?  In our neck of the woods I am aware of one or two repeater signs which are sited shortly after  passing a speed camera.   In recent times, the practice of allowing roadside vegetation to grow out of control often causes sometimes severe screening of road signs.  In addition, local authorities seem not to realise that, where they consider painted lines on the road to be essential for road safety, then it is incumbent on them to maintain those lines in a readily visible state of repair.

[philip42h]

For what it's worth:

Any road with regular street lighting has a default speed limit of 30 mph unless signs indicate otherwise. The entry to a 30 mph zone must be marked by a "30" sign on both sides of the road, but no repeater signs are permitted within the zone (on the grounds that they might be confusing if some roads had them and others didn't). "30" roundels on the road surface are however permitted, with a special dispensation.

Where there is no street lighting, the default limit is 60 mph for single-carriageway and 70 mph for dual carriageway roads. This is referred to as the "National Speed Limit" (NSL), and entry to these zones is marked by the familiar "derestriction" sign with a diagonal black stripe on a white background. Repeater signs are not normally used but are not specifically prohibited.

Any other limit requires roadside repeater signs at regular intervals prescribed by law.

[Roy124]

And that latter point is one where they are often wrong.  Get your tape measure out.

[Roy124]

I reported one speed limit irregularity.

This village had a rather splendid village sign and traffic calming measures.  Centre was a 30 sign.

A couple of hundred yards on were two conventional 30 signs.  On their reverse were 40 signs.   The gap between  the first and second meant it was 40 out and 30 in on that 200 yard stretch. 

Highways replaced the village sign removing the 30.  It would have been cheaper moving the signs out but the paperwork was probably more difficult. 

 

[Haliotis]

Philip, I was referring to roads outside the 30mph limit. Sorry I didn’t make that clear.  A few of these roads in our area have had their speed limits lowered from  NSL to 5mph - OK for the locals, but can be a bit dodgy for drivers who have some experience with the locality, but go for long periods without visiting.  This is also true for all drivers who go for a long while before revisiting an area.  Inadequate repeater signs can then easily trap the unwary driver.

Having driven widely in France for several years, I personally find their signage and road markings more user-friendly than ours in the UK.

[Cyker]

I'm going to assume you meant 50mph and not 5  

6 hours ago, philip42h said:

Any other limit requires roadside repeater signs at regular intervals prescribed by law.

Any idea what that interval is? I'm pretty sure most of the 20mph zones in London are not adhering to that rule!!

[Roy124]

I didn't notice.  I was too busy reading the paper as the car crept along doing the steering and braking.

 

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