KJCherokee

1) Get a GPS
2) Set your cruise control so that you are travelling 1kph BELOW the posted limit - according to the GPS readout.
3) Change speed as the posted limit changes - on a long run (Syd-Bne) this will happen many times, but there is no point in resetting the cruise control each time, only when the limit changes from 100 to 110 and back again.

In the last five years I have done 120,000km around Australia and never had a speeding fine. But it certainly helps if you have a car with accessible cruise control buttons!

Japonica

Yeah, It depends on the road. It's also pretty common knowledge that up to 120 km/h on the QE2 between Calgary and Edmonton (limit 110km/h) generally won't warrant a second look by the RCMP. Hmm...this must be the reason why you'd be hard pressed to find someone doing under/the limit.

Buzz by them doing 130+ though will usually get their attention, rightfully so.

monkeyalan

you should add that if at all possible you should, rather than deviating from this setting even when the vehicle in the other lane is doing 0.0001 kph difference you should stick to it so that any overtaking manouvre can take upto 15 minutes.

KJCherokee

If I am cruising at 100 and the guy in front is doing 99, I will drop my speed down to match his - life's not that urgent that I need to save 10 minutes here or there on a long run. If he's doing 90 I may acelerate to 110-120 just to get past him - but not if I can see anything that may contain a cop with a radar gun!

On a two or three lane dual carriageway you can usually maintain your cruise speed by changing lanes.

paddyo

Its a crap road between two of the biggest cities in Australia, speed changes every 2 km, ridiculous limits, camera's hidden behind bushes etc is unethical.
The fact is you WERE over the limit so take it and move on. I agree with most here on other matters such as anomalies between speedo's and gps.

DadAgain

And the resultant stress of following someone for 45 minutes(or longer on that road) possibly with limited vision (trucks and large 4Wds being what they are) - will do nothing to improve your safety whatsoever. You'll get tired much more quickly and be far more likely to miss something vital towards the end of the journey.

Much safer to give a quick squirt up to 120+, get past the rolling roadblock and continue back at your cruising speed with clear vision and low stress levels on the remainder of your journey.


Its not about the 10 minutes saved - its about improving that all important safety buffer!

Broad Shoulders

Tom Toms are not at all accurate at giving speeds. They are accurate to approx 10kmph, which in the context of a speeding fine is not good enough.

Never rely on a GPS for that sort of thing

KJCherokee

Where on earth did you get that from? If it's true then it's a good reason for not buying a Tom-tom!

Velocity measured by a GPS is inherently 3 dimension, but consumer GPS receivers only report 2D (horizontal) speed on their readout. Garmin's specifications quote 0.1mph accuracy but due to signal degredation problems noted above, perhaps 0.5mph (0.8kph)accuracy in typical automobile applications would be what you can count on.

Note that this only applies when you are travelling at a constant speed, as the GPS is in effect telling you the average speed that you have been doing over the past second, so if you are accelerating or decellerating the GPS speed display will always lag behind your actual speed. This is why, if you are accelerating and press the "Set Cruise" button when the GPS indicates the desired speed, when everything settles down your actual set speed will be higher than you originally wanted.

Zambia

My tom tom is pretty much always on the exact speed as the test camera installed on the Highway to Geelong.

The Fords Speedo was always 1 to 2 k under.

Broad Shoulders

I think you just answered your own question.

The positional accuracy of most consumer navigation devices are +/- 10m therefore its ability to offer a semi-live speed reading is hindered. Sure, an average speed reading is going to be pretty accurate, but when was the last time you received an average speeding fine?

There are way too many atmospheric variables at play when relying on a consumer navigation device, therefore trust your speedo above anything else

mikelincs

There is a very simple proceedure for avoiding a speeding fine.
see. it's not rocket science. I've driven for 50 years, only had one speeding fine, and that was during road alterations where they had lowered the speed limit between me going through in the morning, to my return in the evening.

Beaverstate

That was exactly how I got my one speeding ticket. There were road construction signs up but at 6:30 AM no workers on the job. Waiting on the other side of an overpass was a motorcycle cop with radar. He clocked me going 55 in a temporary construction speed zone of 45. 55 was the normal speed. I humbly took my ticket, protested my case by mail. Fine was halved, still a loss as an infraction. Moral victory.

KJCherokee

Most speeding fines are for travelling too fast at a fairly steady speed, not when accelerating, and the GPS will indicate that sort of speed accurately. When accelerating or decelerating the GPS indication will lag behind the actual speed, but as long as your speed is constant from one second to the next your GPS will be the most accurate way of measuring it. Set your cruise control against your GPS and avoid speeding tickets!

If you want to be really safe, then go by your speedo which will always indicate a higher speed than you are actually travelling at.

Beaverstate

Don't know about all cars, but on mine the speedometer reads 2 mph faster than actual. Just as you said.

Shenni

Its 10 % in Qld and nothing in NSW and I think Victoria is maybe 5% or nothing as well , not sure about any of the other states, but over the posted speed limit is not good even if just over or loads over, the signage is there for a reason.

I have also been fined in the UK for going 5 mph over on a 70mph motor way so the 10 % in the UK does not always work either