Speed traps...

[SilentFlight]

BT (Before Tesla) I preferred Waze for my car's built-in navigation because it warns of speed traps, police, etc. I only had my MY for a little over a month and I already got 3 tickets - as opposed to zero in the last 10 years or so, thanks to Waze.

I'm in Europe. Any tips for apps (iOS) for avoiding speed traps? I don't really want to get a radar detector (they are bulky, ugly, have power cables, etc.) and also illegal in some European countries.

 

[bpnine]

I've been running waze on my phone in the wireless charger, it does the alerts through BT and it works fine. It would certainly be much nicer to have carplay or the ability to install apps on the car itself but for me (with about 4K miles of XC driving this summer) waze on the phone was "ok".

I'll add that having the phone charger where it is is a huge improvement over rental cars and my previous cars that completely ignored you might want to use a phone with map. So for me its a big upgrade to have a real spot for the thing that has power on it and is in a reasonably good spot visually. It could be better, but its already a lot better than many other options.

Isn't google trying to kill off Waze?

 

[SilentFlight]

I've been running waze on my phone in the wireless charger, it does the alerts through BT and it works fine. It would certainly be much nicer to have carplay or the ability to install apps on the car itself but for me (with about 4K miles of XC driving this summer) waze on the phone was "ok".

I'll add that having the phone charger where it is is a huge improvement over rental cars and my previous cars that completely ignored you might want to use a phone with map. So for me its a big upgrade to have a real spot for the thing that has power on it and is in a reasonably good spot visually. It could be better, but its already a lot better than many other options.

Isn't google trying to kill off Waze?

Yeah, that's what I have been doing too, but it's not very convenient to have to add the destination to both the car and Waze on my phone (not to mention that they often to disagree about the best route to take, so Tesla may tell me to continue straight ahead, while Waze is telling me to turn right...

Absolutely agree about the phone charger - I love it too.

Google trying to kill of Waze - why do you think so? I am pretty sure they aren't. A ton of people love Waze and prefer it over Google Maps, and Google sells ads in it, so it would be counterintuitive for them to kill it, upset millions of people and risk losing them (and the advertising income) to other navigation apps.

 

[E30-4ME]

BT (Before Tesla) I preferred Waze for my car's built-in navigation because it warns of speed traps, police, etc. I only had my MY for a little over a month and I already got 3 tickets - as opposed to zero in the last 10 years or so, thanks to Waze.

I'm in Europe. Any tips for apps (iOS) for avoiding speed traps? I don't really want to get a radar detector (they are bulky, ugly, have power cables, etc.) and also illegal in some European countries.

3 tickets in a month!?!?

Forget iOS apps... I say, go for the record books!

 

[SilentFlight]

3 tickets in a month!?!?

Forget iOS apps... I say, go for the record books!

I got tickets for things I didn't even know they handed out tickets for... two of the three are for driving 5km/h (3.1 mph) over the speed limit. I had AP set to speed limit + 5km/h, that's how I got those two.

 

[E30-4ME]

I got tickets for things I didn't even know they handed out tickets for... two of the three are for driving 5km/h (3.1 mph) over the speed limit. I had AP set to speed limit + 5km/h, that's how I got those two.

Wow, they are rough in the Netherlands. No wonder everyone bikes. Although I have to say if I lived in Amsterdam I’d probably have a Van Moof.

 

[LoudMusic]

My dad liked to tell a story about when he used to travel for work and got three speeding tickets in the same week in the same small town from the same sheriff's deputy. When he went to the county office to pay the fines they said "Do you know how you could keep from getting these tickets?"

DON'T SPEED.

It's an amazing trick and it works really well.

Alternatively you could do what I do and just pay attention to your surroundings. I drive over the speed limit most of the time, keeping an eye out for police cars, and haven't gotten a speeding ticket in probably 8 years. And the last one was from a stationary camera.

 

[SilentFlight]

My dad liked to tell a story about when he used to travel for work and got three speeding tickets in the same week in the same small town from the same sheriff's deputy. When he went to the county office to pay the fines they said "Do you know how you could keep from getting these tickets?"

DON'T SPEED.

It's an amazing trick and it works really well.

Alternatively you could do what I do and just pay attention to your surroundings. I drive over the speed limit most of the time, keeping an eye out for police cars, and haven't gotten a speeding ticket in probably 8 years. And the last one was from a stationary camera.

I don't speed intentionally. My driving probably doesn't follow the usual pattern because I work from home (no commute, i.e. "usual" routes) and most of my driving is to places I've never been before - road trips. I'm in Europe, and I regularly drive 4-8 hours a day, and with freeway and country roads and towns alternating accompanied by the odd speed limit here and there, and with frequent road constructions, etc. it is near impossible to constantly be on alert and change my speed. If most of your driving has been in the US, you probably don't have this issue (I used to live there for 4 years - I know the difference - EU is very different). On a recent trip I played the game for 1 hour to follow every speed limit change to the dot in Germany, counting how many times I had to change my speed. In less than one hour, I lost count after 20+ different speed limit zones.

That's why I am looking for a warning app. Not because I want to speed, but because I want to avoid speeding unintentionally.

I always used to have my speed limit (cruise control in my previous car) 5-10kmh above the speed limit since that's what I understood was "tolerated", i.e. wasn't considered "speeding" and you wouldn't get a ticket. And with Waze, I never did. I guess regulations changed recently in some areas where I've been, so I changed the settings in the Tesla to drive at the speed limit max - no additional tolerance.

 

[SilentFlight]

Wow, they are rough in the Netherlands. No wonder everyone bikes. Although I have to say if I lived in Amsterdam I’d probably have a Van Moof.

No kidding. And don't even get me started about parking in big cities... Once I had to go to a place in Amsterdam that was within walking distance - Google Maps said it was a 30 minute walk. But I decided that I was in a hurry and took the car instead. The drive took 5 minutes, but 40 minutes later I was still looking for a parking spot... That's when you start to appreciate bikes.

 

[Trekker_]

I got tickets for things I didn't even know they handed out tickets for... two of the three are for driving 5km/h (3.1 mph) over the speed limit. I had AP set to speed limit + 5km/h, that's how I got those two.

I know in a lot of US states they get a ticket for anything over the speed limit, but they have higher speed limits than where I live. Here in California, you won't get a ticket for anything less than 5 over the speed limit, and even then, a lot of the time they won't care about 10 over. On the highway its a speed limit of 65 and most people regularly go 95 without issue in the fast lane and a cop will be on their ass trying to go faster than them. I have passed cops on my motorcycle doing 20-30 mph faster than them and they just look over and laugh that I hit the brakes next to them. California is a weird place. The only time you really will get a speed ticket is if you are pulled over by a motorcycle cop. Most cop cars will let you off with a warning over yelling at you over the loud speaker. Hell one time in high school my friend and I were playing bumper cars in our jeeps (ramming each other) and speeding 20 over and the cop just knock it off and then sped away. I got caught 30 over in a 40 and he pulled me over said slow down, we talking about german shepherds then let me go. Again, weird place lol

EDIT: bumper cars and speeding clarification. We were not ramming each other at 20 over. We were hitting each other at stop lights and then speeding in straights without noticing the cop who saw it all

 

[andrewFW]

I don't speed intentionally.

I had AP set to speed limit + 5km/h, that's how I got those two.

I do wish I lived in a place were it wasn't dangerous to drive the speed limit.

 

[SilentFlight]

I do wish I lived in a place were it wasn't dangerous to drive the speed limit.

Maybe I wasn't clear LOL - and the police may not agree with my definition of "speeding". In most places, there is a tolerance zone (e.g. 5 over speed limit) where you won't get a ticket. When I can drive by a speed trap or a police car at a certain speed and I won't get a ticket, I don't consider it speeding - because obviously neither does the police. So I work within the tolerance limit of the police for the sake of efficiency (getting to my destination as fast as possible without getting a ticket or driving more than the known tolerance level above the speed limit - even if I wouldn't get caught doing so).

Others may disagree with me, but I don't think there is anything dangerous or irresponsible about driving 105 km/h where the speed limit is 100 km/h (or the US equivalent, driving 68.1 mph where the speed limit is 65). So if the police doesn't consider it speeding, then neither to I.

The only problem is that this tolerance zone seems to be a thing of the past in certain countries (Netherlands and Germany being two of them). So I changed my approach as a result - now I drive no faster than the actual speed limit.

 

[KArnold]

Yeah, that's what I have been doing too, but it's not very convenient to have to add the destination to both the car and Waze on my phone (not to mention that they often to disagree about the best route to take, so Tesla may tell me to continue straight ahead, while Waze is telling me to turn right...

WAZE has an "alerts only" setting so it won't give you turn-by-turn. I have that on my phone with TESLAWAZE (Tesla Traffic Incidents and Information) on the browser.

 

[Candleflame]

Yeah, that's what I have been doing too, but it's not very convenient to have to add the destination to both the car and Waze on my phone (not to mention that they often to disagree about the best route to take, so Tesla may tell me to continue straight ahead, while Waze is telling me to turn right...

Absolutely agree about the phone charger - I love it too.

Google trying to kill of Waze - why do you think so? I am pretty sure they aren't. A ton of people love Waze and prefer it over Google Maps, and Google sells ads in it, so it would be counterintuitive for them to kill it, upset millions of people and risk losing them (and the advertising income) to other navigation apps.

you dont need to put the destination into waze. just put the phone in the battery charger and let waze run - itll give you an alert when theres a camera.
Thats what i do at least.

 

[SilentFlight]

you dont need to put the destination into waze. just put the phone in the battery charger and let waze run - itll give you an alert when theres a camera.
Thats what i do at least.

I didn't know that it did that, thanks! I will try and see how consistent it is - e.g. when I have a destination entered into Waze, it tells me about speed traps along my route, but how can it do that if it doesn't know where I'm going? If I'm in an intersection where I can continue in 3 different directions, and one direction has a speed trap shortly after the turn, Waze probably won't say anything.

 

[SilentFlight]

WAZE has an "alerts only" setting so it won't give you turn-by-turn. I have that on my phone with TESLAWAZE (Tesla Traffic Incidents and Information) on the browser.

Right - I forgot about that setting. Good idea.

 

[Candleflame]

I didn't know that it did that, thanks! I will try and see how consistent it is - e.g. when I have a destination entered into Waze, it tells me about speed traps along my route, but how can it do that if it doesn't know where I'm going? If I'm in an intersection where I can continue in 3 different directions, and one direction has a speed trap shortly after the turn, Waze probably won't say anything.

I think it just gives an alert if its within 200m or smth....

 

[SilentFlight]

I think it just gives an alert if its within 200m or smth....

I will try it out on my next drive with my girlfriend... one phone with Waze on, but no destination, and the other one with the destination entered.