Traffic road sign recognition system

[AndrewBowyer]

Wondering if anyone else has issues with the road sign recognition system. On my Crosstar it frequently fails to see a road sign but more annoying is it’s tendency to cancel the dash notification after a few hundred yards despite no other sign being passed. Asked the dealer who basically shrugged his shoulders. My first Crosstar was fine though.

[ColinS]

Search the forum.  There is a load on this topic.

[Neil Ives]

I've tried using that system but it hasn't been very successful. I suspect our road signs are not always as recogniseable as in Japan. I've noticed that this year in the UK has been very bad for road signs being obscured by overgrowth. I fear it's going to be one of the safety systems that I will not be using. It's a shame, I was hoping it would be useful.

[John Ratsey]

My experience is that it's at least half a mile and probably more before the last speed sign recognised is replaced by two dashes. The system in the Mk 4 Jazz is a bit better than the previous generation in recognising degraded signs but the problem of vegetation blocking sign visibility isn't easily addressed by the technology. The camera is looking forwards with a constant field of view whereas the human eyeball can glance sideways when close to a sign to get a better look.

Those responsible for managing roadside vegetation have been able to save significant money by reducing the frequency of vegetation clearance as advoated by those who want the verges to have greater floral diversity. Whereas in the good old days the vegetation was managed by people with hand tools who could be far more selective and give particular attention to clearing around signs it's now done with a flail mower on a tractor which munches everything it gets near so they tend to avoid getting too close to the signs.

Overall I find the sign recognition to be a useful aid. The frequency of speed limit changes on some roads makes keeping track of the current limit difficult and the little display is helpful.

Section 8 of this https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782724/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf makes interesting reading.

[Kremmen]

Mine seems OK.

It does sometimes struggle in the dark but if it sees a sign it displays it till it changes.

[Neil Ives]

Mine seems OK.

It does sometimes struggle in the dark but if it sees a sign it displays it till it changes.

I passed a 20mph sign. The car slowed. The 30mph sign was missed by the car. This was day one; I hadn't figured out how to cancel the limiter. I had a queue of impatient drivers behind me. Such fun! 

[DERMOT]

I find it good, it will pick signs way to the side, and picks up the mini repeated ones
But not good enough to use as limiter. It seems to drop speed after a distance, so it needs to see regular signs.
But where we have the mini reminders is where speed limit is not apparent and where speed traps are more likely.
Using Sat nav (waze  app) is needed to fill in where it goes blank.

It has been more mixed South of the border here - Ireland has changed from mph and miles to metric, with km/hr written on speed signs.
It would miss the 100 ones freq.

But as a silent warning, it is useful.
I find judging speed in hybrid hard, as at 30 there is difference in almost silent motor cw engine charging.

[Kremmen]

Page 413 of the online manual :

'Intelligent Speed Limiter'

[nowster]

I find judging speed in hybrid hard, as at 30 there is difference in almost silent motor cw engine charging.

I set the manual limiter most of the time when in town.

Occasionally when I've done so I've surprised the drivers of certain German marques by accelerating speedily away from traffic lights and then keeping steady at the speed limit. Those electric motors have a bunch of torque.

As my driving instructor (ex. police driver) said, "There's no law against acceleration."

(General Relativity might disagree.)

[richardfrost]

My first Crosstar was fine though.

Wait! What? You're on your second Crosstar already?

[sportse]

I find it pretty good apart from the icon being quite small on the dash.

I had it on my previous Volvo and the Jazz one is better than that system. There is still the occasional sign that it misses or speed limit it picks up from a visible side road sign, but pretty ok otherwise.

The Volvo system often got confused and thought 60mph road signs in the newer font were 50mph! The Jazz on the same roads doesn't have this issue.

[culzean]

My Garmin satnav ( a stand alone one ) bongs when approaching a lower speed limit and shows the speed limit on the screen all the time, in red box if you are going faster, the limit changes pretty much as I drive up to sign, and even if sign is hidden by bushes or dirty, which is often the case these days.

And it works in the dark and snow....

[sportse]

Sat navs are great for speed limit details, with the in built system for temporary changes/etc. using the two in combination for full coverage.

My main internal speed limit info comes from TomTom on the infotainment screen via Apple CarPlay.

I usually have it running all the time due to regular traffic problems in the area.

[culzean]

Sat navs are great for speed limit details, with the in built system for temporary changes/etc. using the two in combination for full coverage.

My main internal speed limit info comes from TomTom on the infotainment screen via Apple CarPlay.

I usually have it running all the time due to regular traffic problems in the area.

Temporary changes are normally impossible to miss, with massive speed limit signs and cones, you would have to be sleeping to miss them.  I have noticed more and more permanent  50mph limits appearing in the middle of nowhere on the country roads by us though, for no apparent reason.....

[sportse]

Unfortunately the local council hasn’t cleared the hedges from many speed limit signs so they are invisible, alongside road signs.

Many councils have used lockdown as an excuse to drop speed limits.

They surveyed the roads when people weren’t using them, and concluded that the speed limit could be dropped!

There are several near me that have gone from 60mph down to 40mph as a result of a survey undertaken.