Can I get any tech to help stop me speeding?!

[whitetippedgrass]

I have three points on my licence.

I live in Wales and have just got a speeding notice when I was travelling at night in the dark from an event on back roads. I have been caught in a 20 mph area. I probably did not see the 20mph sign in the dark and my sat nav has not always updated from 30mph to 20mph, especially in more remote areas.

Is there any tech to stop me from speeding? Thanks.

Google maps tells you what speed you should be doing. Use it. Every trip.

I understand it's frustrating to be caught speeding OP (I recently got a ticket myself) but you're not really coming across like you're that responsible for your own thoughts here! You can absolutely see street signs in the dark, they're made that way, and if people suggest apps on here you can engage your brain and google it yourself. Asking how to set up stuff on your sat nav, like anyone here knows what sat nav you have!

I have an old car too so no limiter (basically stops the car from being able to drive over a certain speed), just means I have to pay more attention.

There are speed trap detectors, which also know all the speed limits and can beep really loudly if you start to exceed the limit, irrespective of whether they have detected cameras or a high risk area for speed traps. It is an audible warning of going over the limit, although of course temporary limits may not be known. Awareness is the best way, just always be aware of your current speed and the limit on the road you are on.

If in doubt, drive at 20?

You can set Waze to beep any time you go over the limit.

The limitation I have found with Waze is that it will do its utmost to send you the absolute quickest route, which rurally might mean down tiny, tiny tracks.
Google maps gives simpler routes.
I have used both and much prefer Google maps.
I would not rely on any app for accurate speed. Many times I've been driving in say a 20 or 50 and the app says 30 or 60.

Take your foot off the accelerator??

Thanks everyone who has made helpful and constructive suggestions. I am going to get Waze : )

I’ve found that if I rely too much on the speed limit indicator on Google maps, I don’t pay enough attention to the actual road signs. I rely on it too much, and while it’s usually accurate, it doesn’t reflect some changes. Best advice would be to actively stop relying on looking at app, and consciously look at the street signs a lot more. Sorry, not an easy fix. But probably necessary.

If you cant tell what speed your doing, you shouldn’t be on the bloody road.

My car says the speed limit accurately and beeps when I’m over it! Road Angel does similar if you keep it updated. Try the app as suggested if your car doesn’t do it - upgrade your car? The 20mph should be repeat markers and road markers for speed cameras. Failing that - leave Wales! We aren’t going to Wales any time soon as a result of this!

Radarbot is a good app to download and use whilst driving.

And/or if you have cruise control use that.

Lots of people have 3 points on their licence, it's not the end of the world and you are nowhere near losing your licence, so don't beat yourself up

I have noticed over my years on MN that posters turn into judgemental twats when any discussion of speeding or indeed any other driving error is being discussed. Apparently none of us should even consider turning on the ignition if we are ever going to make any errors of judgement on the roads. Meanwhile, back in the real world, people are human and occasionally make mistakes, no matter how diligent and careful they are 99% of the time.

Well done for reaching out and trying to find something to help you stick to the speed limit, I hope you get on with Waze. Ignore the MN mafia.

Thank you. Utterly bizarre to me that there are posters who don't like people doing a thing, but when someone who has done the thing asks for help on how not to do the thing again, they get attacked by all the people who don't want them to do the thing.

I got this ticket for doing 24mph on an empty street in rural wales btw. In a street I (wrongly) thought was 30mph. I'm not a speed demon.

Thank you. Utterly bizarre to me that there are posters who don't like people doing a thing, but when someone who has done the thing asks for help on how not to do the thing again, they get attacked by all the people who don't want them to do the thing.

I got this ticket for doing 24mph on an empty street in rural wales btw. In a street I (wrongly) thought was 30mph. I'm not a speed demon.

To be honest, you shouldn’t be driving if you’re missing this repeatedly. I’m not perfect by any means, and everyone can make an occasional mistake, but if you’re thinking about it enough to make a post about it, then you should be aware enough to keep an eye out when driving.
Or as another poster suggested, drive at 20mph in built up areas unless you’ve seen a 30mph sign.

Cruise control is definitely your go-to bit of the car. Google your model of car and search for it - it’s probably a toggle on the steering wheel with an icon of the speedometer and a line at about ten o’clock on the dial.

3rd gear when you know you're in a built-up area.

Maybe you should see an optician.

a) there’s usually a big road sign, larger than a dinner plate.
b) when driving switch your vision between the road ahead, your mirrors and the speedometer.

Don't rely on Sat Navs. I've seen mine saying 30 on a 50 road and a 40 on a 30 etc.
I've sometimes wondered if anyone has tried challenging a fine on the basis google maps is wrong.
It should fail any challenge as you should be concentrating on the road, but it's an interesting question.

This is a big problem, OP, because it seems that although the rationale for all these limits is safety, often councils appear to hide or put the signs very small or on the road, and when travelling especially at night, they are hard to see especially if you move from one zone or another, almost as if they are doing it on purpose.

I don't think the solution is to drive 20 everywhere until you see otherwise and given you have to drive about 18 to go under 20, it's extremely likely that if you did that in a 30 or 40 zone you would cause an accident with people trying to overtake you. Keeping up with the traffic is still an important part of the driving test.

I'm delighted to hear about Waze and will be using it as well, I find journeys very stressful due to this at the moment, and can't wait til my car just knows what speed to do in which zone and I don't have to constantly be looking at the speedometer and for often well-hidden signs, which defeats the point of it being safer if you are distracted or looking down at the dashboard all the time.

I also think that councils should have to put a big neon sign at every zone edge so there is no uncertainty, with smaller ones that also light up at night along the way, the current situation is clearly not designed for safety but for profit- I believe there's a good safety case for obeying those zones and happy to do so, so anything they do to make it easier will be better.

In all honesty if you need an alarm to let you know your speeding and unable to use ur eyes/brain you probably shouldn’t be driving

When someone is asking how can I tell when the speed limit changes on a road it’s slightly concerning. Where is the driver looking?

My car has a speed limiter function, you can only use that or the cruise control. I didn't realise I had it until I heard about it on a speed awareness course. The car uses maps data and reads the road signs and then limits you to what it thinks it the speed limit. It isn't foolproof. I do the same journey most days and there are a few spots where the maps data is clearly wrong and the car allows me to speed. There are a couple of other places where it pucks up 5mph from a car park by the side of the road and suddenly limits me to 5mph. But in general, it is pretty useful. My car is quite new and a good spec, so I'm not sure how common the function is.

They’re not a trap.