Does anyone know of a device which could be fitted to my car (1996 Volvo 440) which would prevent me exceeding the speed limit. Ideally I would like something which could be changed to suit the various limits, not just activated for 30mph zones. I understand that some devices which are being sold require the vehicle to have a pulse speed wire and my car doesn't have one.
Any ideas?
Helen
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For £450 ish you can get a GPS camera detector which gives you warning of impending static cameras. I just got one and it works very well. Also you can set a speed and when you exceed it, it beeps at you, but doesn't actually prevent you. There may be cheaper similar products...
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It's actually a camera locator not a detector - it contains a database of all cameras, updated by phone regularly
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Smokie
What detector did you buy. I'm thinking of getting a Road Angel after reading a review in Evo. I would prefer to have some first hand advice though.
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Wally
I've got a Morpheous Geodesy. E-mail me if you want a critique
Terry
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I got the Snooper. I didn't know much about them, but compared them all in some tests I found online - www.geodesygps.co.uk/compare-gps-detectors-uk.htm
I really only wanted GPS camera locator but found the unit WITH radar and laser detector at about the same price as the basic unit on eBay - it's new.
It has three basic settings for cameras - the one I use gives visual warning of a camera on either side of the road, and audible warning too if the camera is on your side of the road only if you are over the speed designated for the camera. This is good as the audible warning can be really irritating if you are talking on the phone and it comes on...if you got it every time you passed a camera it would drive you nuts.
You can set how many metres ahead you get the warning. You can also set a specific speed, and it will beep when you exceed that (measured using the GPS, which seems slow to respond to change).
The unit has a problem with the radar detector so I have had to turn that off - they are sending me a new detector. I haven't a clue if the laser detection is working, but I understand that's pretty academic anyway as you only have 0.3 sec from when you are zapped to slow down in.
I don't like all the wires - 1 power to cigarette lighter (can be wired in using suppied wire/fuse), 1 to radar detector at front (at present mounted in front windscreen) and last weekend I cabled in the 3rd wire to the GPS receiver, which sits on the back shelf. Also it was hard to find somewhere to mount the device in my car, although it comes with a range of fittings. (Not much use using visual alert only if you can't see it!)
The other problem is that although it is directional (i.e. can tell which way you are travelling and hence which cameras may or may not get you) it gives warnings about cameras on nearby side roads - obvious really, but I hadn't thought it through. If it wasn't directional you would get warning about ANY cameras on your road, not just those in your direction.
Andrew - wishing to receive warning of cameras doesn't have to imply I drive like a maniac. I suppose realistically I might hit 40 in a 30 zone occassionally, where it is what most of us would agree shouldn't be a 30 in the first place. Usually I wouldn't be much over 35 in a 30 zone. As to some extent my work depends on a clean licence, and I had some windfall money which I wanted to waste on a gadget, I think it's money reasonably well spent. The other half of the windfall may well be going on satnav, also pretty useless in the grand scheme of things, but also something I've always fancied having. I'm sure in six months it will be stashed safely in my "useless gadget" drawer, which is getting fuller every week...
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Smokie - what sort of driving do you do that makes you desperate enough to lay out £450 to evade detection?
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Helen
I use cruise control to adhere to speed limits. You could get it fitted by an after-market supplier. It has plenty of other benefits too -- more relaxed driving, better fuel economy, etc. HJ always reminds us that, if you fall asleep at the wheel with cruise control on, you will crash at the set speed. But, on balance, I think it's a thoroughly good thing -- very easy to use, such that you can flick it on and off instantly. Those who haven't used it often imagine that it's no use unless you do very long journeys on motorways, but that's far from the truth, and its relevance to the speed limit plague has only enhanced its usefulness.
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The only time I have tried cruise control was on a 4.5-litre camper in the US. OK I suppose, but the stupid thing tried desperately to maintain the set speed up hills that made that impossible - probably NOT that good for economy.
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AndrewT - you asked Smokie why he would be "desperate enough to want to buy a detector".
Surely, given that we are told cameras are "safety devices", and that cameras are put in accident "black spots", a system that gives advance warning of danger spots is a good idea.
Being fined after the event doesn't really help. (Yes, of course if you followed the rules you need have nothing to fear, but we have all heard that before haven't we?)
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Does anyone know of a device which could be fitted to my car (1996 Volvo 440) which would prevent me exceeding the speed limit.
Without trying to sound patronising, concentration and co-ordination between accelerator and brake spring to mind!!
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Im sure there must be rare occasions where speed limiters are just dangerous. Besides, what happens to driver concentration anyway? My main fear would be people driving at the speed limit regardless. Often its not safe to drive at the speed limit and sometimes the limit is inappropiate.
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