New feature with 2013.20: Garmin has added school zone speed limits

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=69781

There is no mention of school zones in Garmin's Cyclops Safety Cameras web pages. Only Red Light and speed cameras...

The school zone information seems to be part of the builtin POI data in the maps.

It certainly may be since we don't know how this works. But for the nuvi 2460, coincident with the speed limit drop, I see a red school icon appear at the school's location and the icon looks and acts just like the Cyclops redlight icons. This, plus the report that mgarledge and VicMatson have reported school zone alerts with Cyclops, leaves me thinking the question remains to be answered.

My 2460's red school zone icon is different than the one you have shown us with your 2595. Mine is red and appears on the map at the school location.

As rame1012 and I have said, Garmin's tech support knows nothing of this limited area new feature (or at least is not sharing their knowledge with users contacting them) so it's not surprising to me that Garmin's web descriptions of the Cyclops service is not mentioning it yet either.

Admittedly, the following is an Aussie report, but schools are mentioned:

http://www.cnet.com.au/installing-speed-and-red-light-camera...

BTW, that's an amazing list of schools around Baton Rouge and NO that you've found so far.

[Edit] Update: I think Wassup is right. My school zone simulation gives me a school zone icon, audio alert and speed limit change with the Garmin Safety Camera's Proximity alerts enabled or disabled, while redlight camera alerts only occur with it Enabled. So I'm now think wassup's got it right and the entire school zone feature is built into the map while redlights are part of Cyclops. Some nuvi models will just show the speed limit change while other models will give an alert, both visual and in sound (and the visual alerts appear differently between the 2595 and 2460 so it's hard to say what each model's icon will look like).

Simulated this on my nuvi 1450, 765T and zumo 665. All units have the latest FW and 2013.20 maps. All 3 GPSs reduced the speed to 20 mph between 2-4 PM but NONE of them had a visible or audible alert. Looks like only some of the latest GPSs will have an alert.

My Nuvi 2450 has the school zone alert, sound and speed change. It is a nice feature.

Simulated the 550 to 1105 Lee Dr. route on 2 Nuvis with 2012.20 maps at a local store. Both units showed the speed limit drop and the 35xx unit showed the red alert.

I wonder how far back the data exists in the map...

I wouldn't rely so much on the accuracy of these GPS speed limits. Sometimes even the posted speed limit seems to fast to be traveling through a school zone. I pass through 3 school zones on my morning commute, these are the 3 most hazardous sections of my drive. Just keep you eyes on the road, kids today don't obey pedestrian traffic laws.

this information has existed in the NOLA and Baton Rouge areas as far back as 2012.20, but it seems that this information has not been added to many other areas, if any. It makes me wonder now if Garmin is actually working towards adding this feature across the country or whether it was an accident that this information was added to the map in my area. I guess only time will tell.

I found many schools in the NOLA and Baton Rouge area that did NOT generate alerts and reduced speed limits. Hard to say whether the "feature" is an accident or experiment. As you said, only time will tell.

FYI on my 2595 the reduced speed limits and alerts were triggered between 6-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.

Now that there's a new map update out, let's carefully look for more school zones and if we see them, let's post our results.

rame1012, I guess for completeness sake, I also ask that you tell us if your current timed school zone speed limit changes are still present with the 2013.30 map update.

Still works simulating Baton Rouge drive but does not change speed limit shown in my neighborhood in Dallas with new map at 3:35pm.

I tested out two northern AZ schools and continue to receive no alerts, too. At least they weren't removed from BatR, LA.

Sounds great... thanks for letting us know.

Not seeing any school zone alerts in New England with the latest map version update.

I also have the 2013.20 map version and I never notice or see any warning when driving closer to a school zone,the speed limit stay the same before approaching and after passing the school zone.

And talking about speed limit why my 1450 still show me when driving on one sections of the espressway on route 8 here is Ohio the speed limit to be 55 when infact as been 65 since the State change from 55 to 65, is anything I can do to resolve this? My Gps is up to date!!

very cool feature, I like it!

On mapreporter.com, find the road segments that are wrong, right click, then click edit road details, then edit the speed limit. Make sure to create an account first though

Great addition by gamin..

Checked back here and noted the topic has been quiet for while.

Is there anything new here? It seemed for a while that it was hit or miss for this feature and appeared to be region rather than model specific. I have a 2595 and there have been two map updates since the feature started to appear. Still no sign of school zone alerts up here in the New England.

Perhaps what we saw was early "beta testing" in prep for including the feature on current high end models.

This all still is very odd to me. It's been present for several updates in a minuscule number of areas. Like you, I've not heard of any recent additions to this topic. I wonder why this is active pretty much only in parts of Louisiana.

Thanks for the info. As confirmed by WAASUp, it would likely work in this area on my 2595 if the info was ever added to the map.

I have never seen a schoool zone speed limit on my 2460, at least here in Arizona. Is it just selected areas?

I like that

I will second that if it all works out as true
guy

THIS would be a BIG thing if they could make it work. There are TOO many ppl ignoring school zones. Even if it were not totally accurate (nothing is) the audible alert would be great.

An audible alert any time the speed limit dropped would be good also.

has anyone noticed any additional areas that now have this school zone feature? It still seems to only work with those few schools discovered way back when 2013.20 was released in my area. And unlike previous times, Garmin is now advertising a school zone feature with its newly released nuvis. (click on the link below and scroll down towards the bottom of the product description section under "more information at a glance").
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3597LMTHD-Portable-Bluetooth-Li...

This feature get better with new2013 models

Learned something new - thanks!

See: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/41301

especially the 11Oct2013 post by charlesd45.

I have noticed the same thing over the time I have owned my 2595. (coming up on 24 months) LOTS of secondary roads that did not have speed limits have picked them up over time. It has always been hard for me to understand, because my previous 255 had speed limits showing for neary every street. They're the same map right? Yet the older unit showed more information than the newer one.

The other major change that has taken place over time is more names showing for the side streets along the route of travel. When I first got the 2595, only streets names on the left showed on the map as you traveled along. I now get almost all side streets showing names on BOTH sides of the route....even the little short dead end streets. Don't know whether this has changed because of new firmware or maps, but there is FAR more info showing on the map then when I first got it.

That sounds like a good feature, as most speed cameras where I live are near public schools.

However, I wonder if this is only in the latest MAP versions, or maybe only in the latest hardware models?

Unfortunately, my 660 does not display speed limits.

Yes, speed limit is available in most part of Canada now. there could be some areas still not covered but each new map update brings coverage for new areas.

I drive through a lot of school zones, and the speed never gets updated.

It seems to be hit and miss on my 1490 in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Of course the speed limit is hit an miss, on major streets it shows 90% of the time on side streets not so much.

More like an urban myth I suspect.....

is the new school zone function on my 3597 is more or less a hit or miss thing. On one major highway, where an elementary school and a high school are on the same road no more than 3 miles apart the elementary school presents a warning where the high school does not.

Now I find this particularly interesting since other high schools in the area have the school zone alert pop up.

More interesting is the aspect is that I'm alerted to some elementary schools and not others. I've not quite figured out under which conditions I expect to see the alert being presented. Seems rather random at best.

I wish this were a file we could modify ourselves to incorporate all the schools in the US instead of just the ones Garmin thinks we should know about.

I will check NUVI 2460LMT to see if it has the feature. If yes, then it is a great feature.

Is there such a POI available? If so where.

What follows is what I use for an all-USA "school zone" poi. If creating your own local School Zone file where you use actual School Zones rather than Schools (buildings) for POI locations, my procedure will not be needed. But if you're using a POI file that uses locations of the school buildings and you want to use it for School Zones alerts, you will likely need to follow my procedure.

First, download the Schools POI file from The Factory with its 170,258 schools:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/17

Unzip the file and use the csv as you would any other Custom POI.

Rename the file to include TourGuide; i.e.:

Schools_TourGuide.csv

Download an icon and audio file from The Factory and rename each to: Schools_TourGuide.bmp, and Schools_TourGuide.wav (or if your nuvi can handle it, Schools_TourGuide.mp3). For TourGuides to work, an associated audio files is required--it is not an optional feature.

Load to your GPS with POI Loader in manual mode and set an alert distance for the Schools_TourGuide file. I use 550 feet. I find that if I use a larger value, I get false positive alerts for schools on adjacent streets parallel to me. You can tinker with this setting but for me 550-600' is what works best for me. If you live in a rural area with small towns rather than large cities, a larger radius should be tried.

Make sure that alerts are turned on with your GPS, then either take your GPS out for a drive or run a simulation past some schools and see if you get alerts.

For beginners, I do NOT recommend starting with this Custom POI installation. I assume folks trying this are already familiar with POI Loader in manual mode, familiar with installing bmp icons and audio (remembering that wav files and sox.exe are required for most new nuvis, while mp3 can be used on several older nuvis), and understand the special nature of TourGuide compared to other POI files. For those needing help, a search through The Factory's FAQs and message archive is where you need to start, then come back and ask questions as needed.

Why TourGuides? With this schools POI file, the locations identified are the actual school buildings which are oftentimes set back quite a ways from the roadways, meaning that driving past the school will not result in a GPS alert. As an approximation of School Zone locations, using the Schools file as a TourGuide with a 550' distance will set a radius large enough to include the streets adjacent to the school and will offer an alert. I find in general that I get an alert about 50-100 feet before I see most schools' 15mph School Zone warning signs. I'd love more of a warning but that increases the number of false positive alerts.

Note on the Schools POI file: 1) the file is USA only, 2) the file is a zip and needs to be unzipped, 3) the description states that changes are made to this file 1-2 times a year although I suspect it's much less frequent that that, 4) The Schools POI file does not appear on your "My Favorite Files" list at The Factory so you need to check it on occasion for updates, and 5) there's no indication of revision dates so you almost need to download the file every now and then and see if the file size is different than the one you're currently using. If different, it's time to install the newer version--if not, then you can keep using the older one already installed to your GPS.

More discussion:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/39621

seems like this new "Feechur" only works where there is a speed drop at the school zone during school hours.

I have the privilege to drive on on a highway where the speed limit moves about a bit.

On this highway are two schools, an elementary school and a high school.

The elementary school is in a 40 MPH zone and the speed limit drops to 35 when the lights on a pole are flashing (during school hours) and in this case, I get notified of the school zone.

The high school resides in a 30 MPH area and the speed does not change during school hours and I am not alerted to a school zone.

As it works out I have a high school on another road (speed limit is 45/35 when school is in session) where I get the school zone alert.

Personally, I'd almost prefer to have the school zone alert come up all the time. Has anyone else observed this behavior.

OH and I'm abusing a 3597

Will see if it works for the 255w. Thanks for the heads up.

Another underwhelming item from Garmin. The POI Factory file is far better.

My 3590 with 2014.3 does not change for school zones in the Colorado Springs area.

I am currently receiving more school zone alerts with the 2014.40 map update than I have been with past updates. Still not sure if this feature has completely been rolled out across the country. Just thought I would let everyone know so that they can be on the lookout

On the previous Garmin I owned. The Garmin Nuvi 40. I would set it for the fastest route and it would send me right to the school speed zone which slowed me down tremendously. When I begin to know the area I knew what alternate route to take to avoid the speed zone. I hope it has improved from two years ago.

Given the cost of a speeding ticket in a school zone, especially like here in Chicago, the maps need to be 100%. If they miss a school zone it's going to run anywhere from $35 to 100 here depending on speed.

Thanks for the tip. I'll be looking for them.

In western PA I have not seen a school zone alert. I went through at least 4 or 5 school zones, during school hours, since the update where the 15 MPH sign was flashing and have not received any alerts.

Does not do it on my 1450

Not on the 2555, in fact, this unit doesn't do alerts at all. Not natively.