MSN Traffic is inaccurate
 |
 15 years
|
I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed the same problem I have been having. I have a 755 & 765 with the MSN receiver. I just got back from a trip from Miami to the DFW area, then to Virginia, and back to Miami from June 1st to June 28th. I have noticed several times, and not just on this trip, that the MSN will show traffic on my route and show the delay time, and yet there is no traffic.
This has happened in several areas, but I seem to notice it most in South Florida, obviously since that's where I live. Last night I was driving back from Virginia and the nuvi showed a traffic delay of 26 minutes in Palm beach County. At about 10:30pm I was within 10 or so miles of the delay area, and I planned on taking a different route which would have been an extra 15 or so miles out of the way. I then opened my laptop and checked on 511 travelers guide and they showed NO delays.
I decided to stay on the route and see what happened. No traffic, no delay, no construction, NOTHING on either side. There was a sign that said to expect delays on 6/29 from 9p-5a, but nothing for 6/28. I never dropped below 75 mph, and never saw a single lane closed. I have observed this numerous times now, but it really made me mad last night.
The nuvi turned to the gray traffic screen when I entered this red area, and there was a red "delay" path the entire 10 or 15 mile stretch of road. As I drove thru this area, the delay time ticked down very quickly and my arrival time shortened by 20+ minutes.
Due to this happening so frequently, I am seriously considering turning the traffic option off completely. I have taken different routes many times for no reason at all. Dozens of times I have come close to avoiding the traffic, but decided to stay on that route for lack of a faster one. And in almost every case the red delay will turn to green either right before I enter the delay area, or I am driving on a red highlighted road with no delays in either direction.
I don't blame the nuvi, as it is only interpreting the info it receives. I think the problem lies with clear channel and MSN, OR the state. I am guessing that if there is an area of roadway that is under construction, the state reports it as a delay area and nuvi will show a delay there even if there is no one working at the time. Which is useless!
During my usage, I would say I was correctly alerted to traffic maybe 25% of the time, and the other 75% was wrong. And then there are the times I have sat in traffic for 15 minutes or more on an interstate, and Nuvi showed a green dot or no traffic the whole way.
Anyone else had these kind of issues?
Same Here
I am in the DFW area and have the same problem. I suspect it will just get worse as we approach their going out of business date.
I saw this and was thinking
I saw this and was thinking they were already out of business. Guess they have 18 months left though. Have you compared to what Google traffic is reporting?
Do you have a link to Google
Do you have a link to Google traffic?
My MSN doesn't work at all here in Hilo Hi.
There is NO service on the Big Island at all.
Acquired the Garmins in South Carolina and am here for an extended stay. Just didn't expect an entire Island of Hawaii to have zero service.
Virgo
Virgo53 Nuvi 780/265W
Navteq traffic
http://www.navteq.com/
Thia is the link of Navteq traffic. Garmin use that on their device. This is very accurate. and they update much more frequently. I always see that before going out for short trips pother than this I have FM traffic on my garmin which is also reliable so far except some incidents. Try it.
This is the site for google map. Just turn on the traffic when you add destination.
http://maps.google.com/ But it seems they dont update it more frequently than Navteq do.
Clear Channel and MSN
Greg mentioned Clear Channel and MSN as if they were the same. Clear Channel provides content for Total Traffic Network. I don't think MSN gets their content from Clear Channel.
I have been very satisfied with Clear Channel in the New York City area, but that may not be so in Florida.
You will need a new traffic receiver for Clear Channel. I have a lifetime subsciption - it is not free.
dobs108 - nuvi 760 - GTM 20 traffic receiver
Traffic
I am in the DFW area and have the same problem. I suspect it will just get worse as we approach their going out of business date.
I am in the Dallas area as well. Traffic from MSN on my 760 and Traffic service on my 1450T both haven't done very well lately. I didn't get them for the traffic, but you would think the traffic services would work better. Still love both GPS models though
Happened Again
It happened again going to work on Saturday. Nuvi reported a 23 minute delay, and of course....nothing around.
I have both the MSN receiver, and the GTM-20 that came with the unit. They both report the same errors, which is why I am assuming that it is wherever the info is coming from that is incorrect.
I will probably be turning traffic off the next time it happens.
Remember this...
It's all about the reporting of traffic, not the receiving. You can't receive what isn't reported; correct or incorrect info. Right?
It's not the GPS' fault.
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK
.
Are you seeing traffic? Or is it reporting construction delays? The latter may well be a fixed pre-programmed delay coded into their reporting.
MSN doesn't generate the data, all they do is buy it, package it up in their format and transmit it.
As to coverage? It is where it is - check their coverage map to see if they offer it in Hawaii - this isn't XM, it is sent as a sub-carrier on FM broadcast trnsmissions in various markets - not all, that's for certain.
Edit: Checked the MSN Direct web site and the only coverage offered in Hawaii is in Honolulu . . .
Currently have: SP3, GPSMAP 276c, Nuvi 760T, Nuvi 3790LMT, Zumo 660T
What Juggernaut says. Guys,
What Juggernaut says. Guys, have you ever looked on the internet or listened to the radio or TV news and compared those traffic reports to reality? They are always off here in So Cal.
Here in San Diego, we are fortunate to have very reliable traffic reports via Caltrans reports (freeway cameras) but I have yet to find any others anywhere near as reliable. Unfortunately, NavTeq doesn't use Caltrans reports.
Kind of like the weather
Kind of like the weather reporters. Not very accurate