Drivers face fines as sat navs get speed limits wrong
Drivers’ reliance on satnavs has been the cause of countless silly incidents, but many motorists are risking more than just embarrassment when they put their faith in gadgets.
Modern satellite navigation units will display the speed limit of the stretch of road that the car is travelling on. They can do this using a database of all Britain’s roads, or by reading road signs at the side of the carriageway, or a combination of the two.
New speeding fines for 2017 explained
But these systems are flawed and fallible. Research carried out by uSwitch suggests that 17% of drivers have received an incorrect reading from these machines – that is, the satnav has told them the wrong speed limit.
Car owners need to update their satnav units regularly in order to keep them up-to-date. But that’s not the only cause of confusion. Sat navs sometimes misinterpret which road they’re travelling on, especially if two roads are running in parallel, and systems which ‘read’ signs are particularly easily misled.
Telegraph Cars carried out some of its own research over the weekend in a brand new, 17-plate Volkswagen. On a varied route of over 100 miles of motorway, the gave several incorrect readings. This morning, on a 10-mile journey through London, the speed limit mistakenly identified a 20mph zone as a 30mph limit.
Speeding fines increase today, meaning that drivers who rely on these unreliable systems are at risk of even greater financial penalties. Motorists are advised to ignore the speed limit suggested by their car and to drive according to physical road signs.
For more on the new speeding fines, please click here.
