prprandall51
MB Enthusiast
I have been forming an opinion of just how bad TMC is on Comand but I have kept it to myself and not voiced it here because of a lack of real hard evidence.
Well I got it this morning.
I drive along the A3 from Haslemere to Guildford. This morning, just as I joined the tail-end of what turned out to be a 6 mile queue of traffic (very slow moving) Comand indicated red cars for the next three miles ahead. Fair enough, perhaps it had only just acquired the data from the TMC signal.
So, I crawled along. And then the incident was cleared from the screen and the road was shown to be clear. Then a few minutes later, it showed it to be clear where I was (it wasn't clear at all) but jammed up (red cars) in the next "segment" along, which hadn't been flagged as blocked at all until then. A few minutes later, that then went clear, too, so that the whole area was, according to TMC, clear of traffic problems. Then the segment behind me went red, and then a few minutes later, the segment I was in went red, and then clear, and then the segment ....
Well, you get the idea. Basically, it looked as if Comand couldn't make up its mind. This is not reliable, consistent, accurate data.
I would put money on this being a result of using "floating car" data, whereby the data provider uses a car with a transmitter onboard to monitor the progress of that car through the hold-up. I think what I was seeing was the monitored car being held up in successive road segments. When reported incidents just disappear from screen, that is when the monitored car has pulled off the main road to seek an alternative route (as many people were doing this morning). The re-appearance of the red cars is evidence (I believe) of another monitored car entering the conjestion area.
But overall, it just sucks, for want of a more eloquent expression.
Did anyone else drive through this hold-up this morning and experience more accurate depiction of the hold up on their Comand system? Has anyone else had any similar experiences to mine?
When I have used TMC abroad (in Germany and Belgium) it was brilliant (on the same Comand in the same car) so it is not Comand per se. It is just the useless data feed it is being supplied with in this country (in my opinion).
Has anyone seen the breakdown truck symbol in this country? I saw it used in Germany to indicate the progress of clearing up the incident. I haven't seen it used here.
Philip
Well I got it this morning.
I drive along the A3 from Haslemere to Guildford. This morning, just as I joined the tail-end of what turned out to be a 6 mile queue of traffic (very slow moving) Comand indicated red cars for the next three miles ahead. Fair enough, perhaps it had only just acquired the data from the TMC signal.
So, I crawled along. And then the incident was cleared from the screen and the road was shown to be clear. Then a few minutes later, it showed it to be clear where I was (it wasn't clear at all) but jammed up (red cars) in the next "segment" along, which hadn't been flagged as blocked at all until then. A few minutes later, that then went clear, too, so that the whole area was, according to TMC, clear of traffic problems. Then the segment behind me went red, and then a few minutes later, the segment I was in went red, and then clear, and then the segment ....
Well, you get the idea. Basically, it looked as if Comand couldn't make up its mind. This is not reliable, consistent, accurate data.
I would put money on this being a result of using "floating car" data, whereby the data provider uses a car with a transmitter onboard to monitor the progress of that car through the hold-up. I think what I was seeing was the monitored car being held up in successive road segments. When reported incidents just disappear from screen, that is when the monitored car has pulled off the main road to seek an alternative route (as many people were doing this morning). The re-appearance of the red cars is evidence (I believe) of another monitored car entering the conjestion area.
But overall, it just sucks, for want of a more eloquent expression.
Did anyone else drive through this hold-up this morning and experience more accurate depiction of the hold up on their Comand system? Has anyone else had any similar experiences to mine?
When I have used TMC abroad (in Germany and Belgium) it was brilliant (on the same Comand in the same car) so it is not Comand per se. It is just the useless data feed it is being supplied with in this country (in my opinion).
Has anyone seen the breakdown truck symbol in this country? I saw it used in Germany to indicate the progress of clearing up the incident. I haven't seen it used here.
Philip
Does not fill me with confidence!
