Driving down M6 in the early hours of Saturday when the sat/nav told me to leave the motorway due to traffic problems on route, I ignored the request and the M6 was clear, who knows where I would have ended up had I taken the sat/navs advise.

I wonder if any of you know how TMC is updated or is it like the motorway signs and always behind?
 Michael
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I don't really understand how/why/what drives TMC.

On the motorway, sometimes it's crossed out, next time you look it's active, then crossed out again.

I've had similar experience where it was showing sporadic roadworks but I too pressed on and what do you know....nothing!

I think it works off radio signals so not sure whether it re-tunes to new stations as you travle. Runner up - 2009 Best Avatar Award
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As far as I know in the SE area the only TMC station is Classic FM, not sure if Classic FM is a national station. It seems to work for me having been warned various times of impending doom! 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
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I think you're right VA.

Classic FM is a National station. We get it up here but it's mostly wasted on us ludites! Runner up - 2009 Best Avatar Award
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TMC uses data from the TrafficMaster network of roadside monitors. These monitor the average speed of the traffic passing the sensors and you get a warning if there is traffic moving at less than 15mph on the road. I don't have TMC in my Sport but still use a £29.95 device that I brought from Halfords years ago that does the same job and for rerouting info I call a number on my mobile. It does work really well and has saved me hours of waiting in slow moving traffic or even 40 mile long tail backs over the years.

The beacons that TMC uses are those blue TV cameras that you see on poles at the roadside and also there are what look like bamboo garden canes sticking out from bridges over motorways (not the ones with SPECS cameras on them though) 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
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Well done Tim but if it is so clever why did it ask me to leave a free flowing motorway at 1am ? Michael
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Could it have been the "human" element not clearing a warning signal after an earlier accident...................... otherwise I'll pass on that one! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
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Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

My SatNav asked me to leave the motorway at a junction and then take the exit from the roundabout that took me back onto the motorway again. It's really very clever, this system. Or it's a pile of crap  

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My old PDA based Navman did this until there way a software patch downloadable over the internet! Fortunately the first long trip I did using the device was down the M6 to Southampton, a route I could have driving with my eyes closed and no satnav, but had I been using a motorway I didn't know I would have been very confused. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Tim, are you sure TMC uses TrafficMaster? I don't think it does.

I'm shortly going to fit my SmartNav (TrafficMaster's own sat nav) into my D3 along side the LR sat nav, as SmartNav is far superior at routing properly and the congestion info is more accurate. I'll be using SmartNav for the routing, but then have the LR sat nav screen for the colour maps, so have the best of both worlds. I also have the RAC TrackStar option enabled on the SmartNav, so I've got a stolen vehicle locator too. It's a bit of an overkill, but then it is only sitting in a box since I took it out of the van when I sold it. Matt
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It's not TrafficMaster at all - you can visit the TMC forum for more information, but this is what they say:

The Traffic Message Channel (TMC) is a specific application of the FM Radio Data System (RDS) used for broadcasting real-time traffic and weather information. Data messages are received silently and decoded by a TMC-equipped car radio or navigation system.

For the UK readers - some further information from the forum:

In some areas, such as the United Kingdom, only commercial TMC services are broadcast. In these areas, you will only be able to receive TMC messages if the manufacturer of your navigation system (or of your vehicle, for those with original-equipment navigation systems) has made an agreement with the service provider to receive TMC information.

I've also had the experience of getting a warning suggesting a re-route when no problem seemed to exist - I understand however that the system can store messages even if the NavSat is off - maybe then it is processing an earlier message for which an "end of problem" message was not sent to cancel. I'm guessing here.... 2006 Range Rover Sport TDV6 HSE, Java/Ebony/Cherry, Privacy, Sunroof, PTI, Premium Sound, SatNav, Cold Climate, Tow kit, CarStyle coded grill and vents, Tasmods, Stormers, JE Exhaust, Autobiography badge

Matt and Singletrack, thanks for the correction. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Singletrack - You're right. Traffic Master and those blue roadside boxes are a completely different thing. (I think!) 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
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My TMC is still showing red roadwork symbols on the A34 between Oxford and the M40. They have been doing major work here for about six months, but it finished about 6+ weeks ago. TMC is still showing it! Matt
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RRS ownership for 1 yr, then D3 for 2 yrs. Then cut back to old bangers and working my way back up through two Peugeots in 6 months. Now got Saab 9-5 2.3t and enjoying the performance!

Maybe you should phone them up and tell them Matt! Those road works were still causing havoc when I came south to the Gaydon meet-up at the end of March 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW