Road Sign Recognition - Intelligent Speed Assistance

[Billgo]

I never had this problem with the Qashqai.  I have tried Apple Car Play and Google Maps, one of them will show the speed limits but only if you have set a destination.

[Cyker]

I suspect the Qashqai one just didn't work at all judging by how oblivious Qashqai drivers are to road signs round here  

I do wonder if these systems are off the shelf or actually developed by the manufacturer. I've heard that most of the ADAS systems in euro-land are sourced from companies like Bosch

[sportse]

10 hours ago, Billgo said:

I never had this problem with the Qashqai.  I have tried Apple Car Play and Google Maps, one of them will show the speed limits but only if you have set a destination.

I use both tomtom and Waze, they both have the speed limit permanently on screen if you set it to show. They also turn red just like the inbuilt car systems if you are over what they think the limit is. You don’t need to set a destination. 
 

It’s only new cars I believe from July 2024 that must have the system, cars before that generally don’t have it although Toyota put it in cars from the 2024 model year. The qashqai’s after July 2024 should have a similar system to Toyota that will beep at you and requires multiple menu choices to turn off. 

[fred88]

Have to say my Road Sign Recognition camera is pretty good most of the time.

I do believe the technology is flawed though.

[sportse]

I wonder if we will get road sign braking assist in future to go with speed limit assist?

 

I’ve had false warnings from a stop sign on a side road, luckily the car didn’t have automatic braking for it. 

[Alan3]

10 hours ago, fred88 said:

Have to say my Road Sign Recognition camera is pretty good most of the time.

Mine isn't: it has a truly remarkable ability to pick up the speed limits of side roads as I drive past junctions, and can "see" a surprisingly long way down a road at 90º to the one I'm driving on.

I've noticed some weird behaviour as well:

If I'm doing a constant 30 or 40 mph it'll sometimes start flashing the speed limit sign (and would be beeping if I didn't turn that off every freaking time I start the car) despite the fact the speedometer shows 30 or 40. It's like it has a different idea of what the car's speed is to what's displayed on the speedometer. Maybe I'm doing 30.5 mph and it rounds up to 31 while the speedometer doesn't.

And if I'm going from a 30mph limit to an NSL then it'll show limits of 30, 40, 60. I have no idea where it's getting the 40 from because the sign definitely doesn't exist and I've seen it do this in quite a few different locations.

I find this, and some of the other "safety" systems, horribly distracting: they make driving the car an unnecessarily stressful experience.

[Neptuneblue]

2 hours ago, sportse said:

I wonder if we will get road sign braking assist in future to go with speed limit assist?

 

I’ve had false warnings from a stop sign on a side road, luckily the car didn’t have automatic braking for it. 

It appears not (yet, anyway), thank the stars! 
 

[Dylanfan]

The road signs are the problem. They weren’t positioned for cars to read but humans. 
That said, this time of year loads of signs are covered by hedges, bushes etc.

Unless the signs are positioned correctly the system will never work correctly, I expect the councils are out there now moving them about🤭

 

[fred88]

The reason signs are covered by hedges etc is because Local Authorities have cut back their maintenance budgets. Same for verges, kerb lines, back of footpath etc. I suspect things won't change even with the new Government being more into public services than the Tories.

[AndyN01]

38 minutes ago, fred88 said:

The reason signs are covered by hedges etc is because Local Authorities have cut back their maintenance budgets. Same for verges, kerb lines, back of footpath etc. I suspect things won't change even with the new Government being more into public services than the Tories.

Perhaps if there was an automatic "get out of jail free" card for anything and everything where the "signage" was in any way obscured/defective there would be more emphasis on getting hedges cut etc. rather than today's pet protect or the twinning visit to Barbados or somewhere similar?

[AndrueC]

7 hours ago, fred88 said:

The reason signs are covered by hedges etc is because Local Authorities have cut back their maintenance budgets. Same for verges, kerb lines, back of footpath etc. I suspect things won't change even with the new Government being more into public services than the Tories.

I reported a radar speed sign as blocked by a bush. The council response was that as the bush was on private property they could only send a request for it to be trimmed.

As it happens the owner did trim it but I can imagine that in some cases there's nothing the council can do.

Then again I reported a stretch of the A422 close to me because bushes were impinging on the roadway - clear damage to branches and vehicle debris. The response was that the width was appropriate for that class of road. Uh huh. 😕

[sportse]

Around Surrey there are plenty of signs that haven’t even had a sponge on them and are dirty. 
 

on the few times I’ve reported dropped drain covers causing bangs when cars go over them, they have just said they were within spec! Not sure how much they have to drop before it’s out of spec. 
 

similarly trees blocking road signs and sight lines aren’t dealt with. 

[fred88]

Think you're being fobbed of regarding overhanging branches from private property obscuring a road sign on public land.

[AndrueC]

2 hours ago, fred88 said:

Think you're being fobbed of regarding overhanging branches from private property obscuring a road sign on public land.

Not really. It got trimmed anyway so hardly a 'fob off'. Anyway:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/the-law

"

Doesn’t the Council look after trees growing over the Highway?
No, only if the trees are growing on Council land. If the tree is on private land then the landowner is responsible.

A Council or Highways Agency may serve notice on the tree owner to require adequate clearance of hedges or trees encroaching onto pavements or roads. If the owner fails to have the work carried out, this may be done by the authority who can then bill the owner.

"

Their claim that the trees on the A422 were okay was more like a fob off but more likely a misunderstanding or someone checking the wrong stretch of that road. Most of it is fine and there's only a short stretch where branches are sticking out.