As the proud owner of an Audi Quattro I am always aware of my speed and the consequences of being caught. Mainly with that in mind I purchased the Road Angel because of the amount of driving I have to do on motorways and unfamiliar roads. The moment you fix the device to your dash board and plug it into the cigarette lighter the GPS is immediately activated and can not only pinpoint your exact position but it can also tell you exactly what your spped is on the illuminated display - what will astound you is how inaccurate your speedo can be!!
The Road Angel can detect many different types of spped camera in use today and if you have the model with the laser alert facility this can also detect the police speed guns and other mobile speed traps. The device will give out an intermitant beep as you approach a camera (giving you ample time to slow down) and the beep will speed up as you approach the camera. It will also detect other cameras that detect your average speed over a specified distance (ie motorway roadworks) and will beep every ten seconds until you clear the restrcited area. But one of the main advantages I can see on this system is that when you apprach a known accident blackspot the device will make a different noise to alert you to any possible dangers (the noise is quite different to that of the speed camera alert) thus making you a little more alert that you otherwise may be.
The Road Angel can be constantly updated for new speed cameras merely by plugging it into your pc and downloading any updates from the appropriate web page so you will always have the latest information available to you.
The unit is rather costly - currently £250-£300 for the older model and £400 for the newly released model but I feel that for basic road use the older model is more than adequate. With your purchase you are given a full year's free membership and the only ongoing costs you will have for the future is to renew your subscription on an annual basis - approximately £50 pa
Please do not get me wrong - I do not advocate speeding and this device should not be regarded as a means to drive like an idiot when there are no cameras around. If used sensibly It can be a great advanced warning system for you just to check your speed and be a little more alert at accident blackspots. Lets face it, how many times have you been travelling behind another car within the speed limit only for them to go into a blind panic upon sight of a yellow camera box and jam on their brakes infront of you!! In my opinion a subtle advanced warning is far safer so that you can check your speed and make any adjustments without having to jam your foot on the brake first and think later.
We are none of us perfect and in this day and age a perfect drving record is worth it's weight in gold, or at least the cost of a Road Angel - what price would you put on your driving licence, no claims bonus etc or, even worse, what price for your life of the lives of your family and other innocent parties.
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Aug 19th, 2004
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