Touchscreen Inbuilt Sat Nav Pois

[PierreG]

Hi I have just bought a Mondeo 2014.5 2.0 TDCI Titanium X business edition with the inbuilt Blaupunkt 7 612 105 475 Sat nav system using Tom Tom maps and it has a hidden SD card (not that well hidden I just looked at it and it is version 4.1).

I drive a lot in Europe and in UK and so I need warning of speed cameras mainly because the French road system is so variable you can't always tell the difference between a 70kph section and 90KPH section especially if the local vineyard tractor has knocked the 70KPH road sign down because the authorities put it in his 'convenient' exit!! They only allow you 4KPH over the limit before the fine arrives in the post!!

My question is, is it possible to update the SD card with an after-market speed camera or danger zone POI database and if so which one and how?

This obviously leads to supplementary questions like can you copy the SD card to keep a back up and can you write the new POI database to the card to update the system. Or even can you update the system via the inbuilt USB port in the central glove box?

My neighbour can update his Citroen and his daughter's Renault and the other side can update their Toyota so I don't think that my question is too far fetched.

Here's hoping someone has a solution, so far all my searching has not found a solution on any Ford forum. Note I wish to do things legally so I am aware that creating a backup of the SD card is legal since this has already been disputed both in the UK and European courts (so long as I keep the backup purely for my own use).

Thanks in advance.

PG

[adambell]

This is a great question, I would love to know if this is possible and if so how is it done?

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC mobile app

[btmaldon]

Unfortunately many have tried and failed at adding speed camera alerts to the Ford systems. You cant overwrite the POI's. You cant overwrite any of the files.

[PierreG]

Hmm I wasn't asking to overwrite a POI section merely to add one to those that are already there, after all if the mapping system is Tom Tom and they already use SD cards for updates of their other systems, it cannot be beyond Ford simply to explain which Tom Tom .OV2 file is required and from where it can be bought; Tom Tom themselves provide speed camera POIs for other in-car sat navs why not Ford?

One assumes that if this is a Ford owners club then Ford should be monitoring it quite closely if only as a quality control check against their own customer service competences. Perhaps if enough enthusiasm is generated on this subject it may bear fruit. <_<

PG

[BOF]

Note I wish to do things legally...

As you raise this point, you do know that it is illegal, in France, to have a device that indicates the position of speed cameras directly, don't you? When the French first introduced this helpful legislation, they were confiscating devices that indicated cameras, whether they were being used, or not (because it is having the device and not using the device that is illegal).

Given that they are French, if you say, '...but it is built in to the car', there is a significant danger that they say 'Ok, we'll have to confiscate the car'.

Now, since that time, there has been a 'more reasonable' (probably less unreasonable would be a better description) compromise agreed. Sat Nav manufacturers can include 'Zones of Increased Danger', which are areas which are more likely to have cameras, but there is neither a guarantee that this includes all cameras, nor that there are none of these zones that do not include cameras.

I think, but am not completely sure, that this database of zones of increased of danger is a database provided by the government, so everyone has the same data. It is also worth noting that if you have the older data, on actual cameras, and can't get an update from your Sat Nav supplier, you can't even have the device in the car, and take it through to, say Spain or Germany to use it there. How this plays with the euro regs on the free movement of goods and people, I don't know. It seems a little hard to argue that this complies.

I don't think that the Police stop everyone to check that they don't have non-compliant devices - probably just people on foreign reg plates, people from other departments, people in non-French cars and people that they have other reasons not to like...(there may be an excess of cynicism here, I don't know, but too much discretion in the hands of the French local police tends to go badly).

[PierreG]

Thanks for the input BOF however it is not quite correct.

The law as it stands in France is that the police have to actually see the machine showing a specific camera position and they do not have the right to examine your machine just like that (they have to get a warrant!!) neither can they confiscate the car for a minor offence. Moreover, all of the Sat Nav manufacturers have agreed to act within the French Law and have changed their firmware accordingly by Mar 2013 so that speed camera POIs in France come up with the word 'Zone' or 'safety zone' Both of my Garmins do it and the brother in law's Tom Tom does it. This is done by a firmware update on the machine and not from the POI database.

In effect it is as much of an unenforceable law as the one which requires a breathalyser to be carried in the car. As of January 2014 the official sanction(punishment) for not carrying a breathalyser is ZERO and this is written in the Journal Officielle which is the official publication for promulgating French laws.

You may be interested to know that there are also legal radar warning devices permitted in France.

As for your statement, about having the older databases (you probably meant firmware) and not having the machine in the car this is incorrect, there is nothing to stop you having the machine in the car at all. Legally you should not operate it in France (if it shows specific camera positions) but if you turn off the POI file for the speed cameras then it will continue to function as a GPS which is completely legal. Moreover, when they introduced the law concerning zones as opposed to specific points they also removed the camera forward warning signs, you may note that as of some 9 months ago all the signs are back: there was such an uproar that they had to reverse the decision and now no one dares enforce such silliness's apart from speeding that is.

The enforceable law that you need to worry about most is the speeding, they have 2 new things on the go at the moment; the first is that they are now allowed to fine foreign drivers for speeding, where the countries have agreed to swap the information then the fine gets transmitted to the registered keeper of the number plate shown on the car. Where the country has not signed up to the agreement then the person speeding is stopped and invited to pay the fine in cash (no cheques no bankers card) if you do not have the cash you will be escorted to the nearest hole in the wall to get the cash plus an administrative charge. If you refuse to pay or cannot pay then you will be invited to wait for the next magistrates court opening to appear and be formally charged with all of the implications that follow. In France the permitted 'overspeed' is 4KPH over any limit.

The second thing that they have now introduce in France is an unmarked car which drives along the roads and flashes with UV and lasers all cars over the speed limit, simultaneously those approaching, those overtaking it and gaining on it, they reckon it can flash 50 cars per minute and can flash all six lanes of a motorway no matter the direction. There is now one car per department, for those of you who may be interested here is the website which tells you how they work and more funnily from here you can get the description and number plate of the unmarked car!! http://www.radarmobilenouvellegeneration.com/recensement.php obviously you will have to speak French but most of it is point and click. The permitted overspeed of this car is 10% and it has to have a 20KPH differential over the speeding car either above or below.

So yes I do things legally; I have to it was my job.

PG :)

[BOF]

Sorry, yes there seems to have been some 'clarification' of the law, and while Sat Navs with direct notification of speed cameras are still illegal, the police cannot make you turn on a Sat Nav without a warrant. This twist was not apparent when the situation got its first publicity over here, and is still not as well publicised as it should be.

in any case, tomtom and Garmin, at least, now supply data that complies with the French requirements

http://uk.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5560

Is the TomTom Speed Camera service legal?
Updated: 03/06/2014 11.52 AM


Most governments and local authorities agree with us that the TomTom Speed Camera service makes driving safer. At TomTom we comply with (local) legislation and where necessary adapt our practice, as explained below.

Changes to the law in France
Since decree n°2012-3 was introduced on 3 January 2012 it has been illegal to be warned about the position of fixed or mobile speed cameras while you are driving in France. If your TomTom navigation device has the Speed Camera service and you continue to use the service, you risk a fine of up to €1500.

New update: TomTom Speed Camera service becomes Danger Zones in France
TomTom had a meeting with the Road Safety Ministry to clarify the situation regarding new and upcoming legislation. As a result, TomTom is introducing a 100% compliant Danger Zones service available in a free download for compatible products.

You can possibly still get actual speed camera POI databases, you would probably have to go to a third party for that, for the obvious reasons.

See also http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=153&t=1118127&mid=0&i=20&nmt=French+speed+cameras+on+TomTom&mid=0

in partic this horror story (whether they would still be able to this now, might depend on whether you remembered to switch it off before they got to it):

I got stopped in Colmar last sunday by the customs police. I was on my own in the car which was pretty much empty and I had 4 customs guards rifling through my personal belongings (dirty clothes etc.) so was unable to see what was going on as I was only able to accompany the one that was searching the boot.
They found nothing of interest in my stuff then just before they were about to release me they spotted hubbies radar advisor on the dashboard. Like a pack of wolves going in for the kill from then on.
I was accompanied to the local cop shop and charged with possession of the aforementionned device - 750 euros on the spot fine plus a court appearance in June.
It took me 8 hours to raise tha cash as my daily card limit wasn't enough to cover it and at 8 am on a sunday morning I didn't have many options open. I spent this time outside the police station but within a fenced in area and my car was confiscated. It was pretty damn cold and wet and resulted time off sick this last week.
In the end I found a Swiss friend who was able to drive to Colmar and save me as I was 500 km from home in Belgium.
Disgusting treatment and disgusting system in this day and age - not even the possibility to pay directly online or in an alternative French police station closer to Belgium (my husband was home in Belgium with my 2 small kids and offered to go to the nearest border and pay immediately - nada).

As for your statement, about having the older databases (you probably meant firmware) and not having the machine in the car this is incorrect, there is nothing to stop you having the machine in the car at all.

There were certainly reported cases when the regulation was first introduced of confiscations, even of devices which weren't switched on. If they have stopped that silliness now, that is only positive.

[Dicky68]

Yes, yes, but what about upgrading the sat nav??