Just picked up my C5 - it has Trafficmaster incorporated, but because it's over a year old, the licence has expired.
Given that I'd appreciate something a bit more focussed than the radio announcements, what are people's general impressions of Trafficmaster? Or is there anything comparable worth considering?
My only experience of the system to date was in a hire car, caught in a rolling fuel blockade. That thoroughly confused it!
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If you look on www.trafficmaster.co.uk/page.cfm?key=citroen-oracle it is £30 for a year.
I've only had my C5 for 2 weeks, but haven't been on any roads it has told e about, but it does tell me about a well known blackspot near Bradford.
But when you are in a C5, the stress of a traffic jam just melts away.
Ben
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You just couldn't help yourself there, could you Ben?
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Trafficmaster is fitted on my vehicle (an electric jobbie designed by Sir Clive Sinclair, not to be confused with some inferior French imitation currently being peddled to the unwary)
For a whole year, I haven't been near an area where Trafficmaster works, so it's a complete waste of space for me!
Graeme
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Hi
C5 user.
just renewed licence. Use the system daily.
Can be useful although it does get confused and or misses stuff.
eg this evening 5 mins in very slow traffic that it did not pick up on.
On balance I like it as it allows you some effective warnings (avoiding closed motorways for example) and alternate route use and when you hit a problem at least it gives you an estimate of time youll be there!
I do not know of any alternatives.
Hope this helps
regards
Vercin
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How much does the licence cost?
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The link above says £30 for a year.
Ben
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D'OH! Sorry - I've only been reading for 38 years - I'll get better soon.
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Trafficmaster only works on certain trunk roads and motorways, if you are in a traffic jam that is not caught by the sensors, the system won't know.
I think it is still worth a gamble for what it costs for a years worth.
Ben
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Thanks to everybody - it sounds as though there's nothing comparable, and for 30 quid, at least I'll have a button that does something when pressed (as opposed to all the other bits on my base-spec car that don't).
Can't say I'm wild about the synthesized voice though - I had hoped for something sultry and French!
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Hi
I use my Trafficmaster every day. I find it invaluable. For the sake of 58 pence per week, it is good value. It can be caught out, but most of the time it works well.
I agree about the voice, a friend of mine tries to imagine the men that she could be paired off with! Not a compliment!
Regards Don drbe
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Regularly chimes in at Portway Milton Keynes towards the A5. Usually phantom slow traffic but once in a while (eg M1 probs followed by accident in the diversion) that seductive voice refers to "A5 northbound stationary traffic for twenty miles; severe delay, avoid". Swing round and go home via the back road through Neport Pagnell; £30 justified.
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Have had a trafficmaster freeway for 5 years now, and the teardrop-shaped thing before that. As others say here, when it works, it's invaluable, but it can be caught out. It's saved my bacon countless times including being able to miss what turned out to be a lorry fire on the A1 so we could catch a ferry on time. Other times with the family on board if it signals a delay, we pull into the next services or leave the motorway in search of a stop. RDS traffic announcements are next to useless.
The freeway (not plumbed-in like on the c5) shuts down after 30 mins of not passing a station so if you are stopped in a jam, you won't get to know if it's building or shrinking.
H (Darcy rebranded).
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You could investigate rival services/systems to Tm:
NavTrak from ITIS www.itisholdings.com
Yeoman TrafficM8 www.yeomangroup.plc.uk
Also both the RAC and AA offer traffic information services through a premium mobile phone number.
The Tm network (the blue roadside cameras) monitors traffic flow on m-ways and some a-roads.
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I use the RAC & Trafficmaster service by dialling 177 from my mobile phone (only works on Orange IIRC, might be able to access it from other networks by dialling 07973 100 177). This gives me a voice readout of where the queues are, how long a delay to expect, and it even triangulates your current position to give you information relevant to where you are and where you're heading!
As long as you bear in mind it only covers motorways and major trunk routes, and as long as you're aware of likely places for traffic jams to occur anyway (ie M25 J23-25, M1 J6a-8 etc) then it can save you time and, in my business, money.
I find I use it mostly when an unusual queue occurs (good example: last night on the M1 northbound between J13-14, 7pm, stationary traffic for 15 mins, minor bump just before J14) to find out whether it's worth leaving the motorway or sticking with it.
Oh, and it splits up slow, very slow and stationary traffic into separate chunks, ie
M25:
slow between J23-25, expect 10 minutes' delay,
very slow between J25-26, expect 15 minutes' delay,
slow between J26-28, expect 10 minutes' delay,
stationary between J28-29, expect 25 minutes' delay
very slow between J29-30, expect 15 minutes' delay
when what it actually means is "You think you're getting from South Mimms to Thurrock this side of nightfall? Hahahahaha."
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Trafficmaster and RDS together is a fair bet (but not infallible).
There are times when delays happen between Trafficmaster sensors, or they seem to ignore stationary traffic.
RDS can sometimes forewarn you.
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Well - I paid my 30 quid and tried it for the first time today coming back from Stansted Airport. At the M11/M25 junction the overhead signs warned of long delays westward, but Trafficmaster didn't seem to recognise the M25 at all, and just told me the M11 was OK. I chose to believe the signs and headed in to the North Circular instead - so I'm still none the wiser!
Thanks for all the advice - and I now have a very pretty green and red light to cheer up the dashboard.
Still don't like the voice though - the web site says it was specially developed and enhanced for Citroen, so heavens knows what the rest of you have to put up with!
David
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Vodaphone do something (at 60p per minute) in conjuction with AA and TM on 2222.
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++ Vodaphone do something (at 60p per minute) in conjuction with AA and TM on 2222.
but I guess that unless you've stopped already, or have a hands free kit, or a passenger, that's not much use. Once stopped, I can envisage a great potential for hearing what you already know!
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I have only seen traffic master in operation once in a work collegues car. We where going down the M6 to Birmingham for a meeting when a womans voice interupted the radio to say standing traffic after the next junction (1/2 a mile away). My collegue says "have to listen to the TRAFFIC TART" so we came off the M6 and went by A roads. Listening to the radio traffic reports we saved about 3 hours. This was in about 1998 so I can only think that its got better.
Bill
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