[Blackhawks]

No service available in Chicago.

[dclowd9901]

If this doesn't integrate with Nav, how does it know whether it's better for you to go straight or turn? I'm confused on the functionality of this app and what purpose it serves...

[DrivenByE30]

"the activation of the vehicle’s turn indicator" is required to have this working....

... i guess this will never get to work knowing that we BMW drivers dont use that blinking thing...



even less so to leave it there for 23 seconds ahead of the turn...

Who are we kidding here /Thread...

[stevexyz]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Guess we are lucky here in Ottawa as the cross walks show the time remaining on green lights. It is meant for pedestrians, but very handy for drivers as well. Not sure how much more useful the app would be.

They look like this:

Those are great. Depends on the city though. In some places like San Francisco the light will reliably turn yellow as soon as the count hits zero. In other, typically suburban, places the count hits zero and the light just stays green for who knows how long, makes you wonder what the point was.

[bavarianboar]

Excellent!

More people trying to make it to the light to make the countdown. More rush and overspeeding. More accidents.

How do I know? Living in a fairly busy area of downtown, cars zoom by able to see further down how many lights are green. Used to hear almost 1 accident every weekend when I was home.

Someone died, city got sued, apartment owners got sued for no reason. City put another traffic light.

There is potentially no solution for this problem. More data on the dash and iDrive is not always safer.

More eyes on my next Red Light countdown than on the road.

Will definitely make for an interesting police car chase in the city (next movie scene?), giving bad names to a BMW driver again.

No thank you!

[....,,,,..,,..]

Great idea and great if linked to HUD.

Only concern is...

The car behind you is using this App, the driver looking at his Nav screen and not fully ahead, you however are looking out of the windscreen, notice junction is not clear so stop.
The bloke behind you sees he has 3 seconds to cross, puts foot down and then looks out of windscreen....

[dharo1]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

Haha, with this app BMW owners will fit the stereotype even more.

Not really. We are all peaceful drivers.

Oh btw, thank you BMW, now I will surely be able to beat the heck out of Benz and Audi drivers by knowing how many seconds before light turns red and then green again!!!

[DriveHard]

Great. Now BMW drivers in NYC will know that the light will change to green/ red in 28 seconds but have to wait 11 minutes to crawl up to the light in traffic. ?

[crawfordbay]

I certainly hope this app is 100% fool proof for the fools that would rely on it instead of just paying attention to what is happening outside the car.
I have never yet come across an app that worked perfectly 100% of the time. Far from it.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by stevexyz

Those are great. Depends on the city though. In some places like San Francisco the light will reliably turn yellow as soon as the count hits zero. In other, typically suburban, places the count hits zero and the light just stays green for who knows how long, makes you wonder what the point was.

That is because of how the lights work.

The signal box will initiate a change, as per the cycle with the other lights in the area. But, if there are no cars triggering the sensor in the road, the light will not change, and the cycle starts again.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

Does it integrate into the HUD? Most likely not...

Edit: downloaded the app and will see if it works in my city. Fingers crossed!

That would be impressive!

[Deja_Vu]

Originally Posted by pepsih

well cool but what if i'm a android guy????!

Exactly. I've never been a fan of Apple and their overpriced products.

[stevexyz]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

That is because of how the lights work.

The signal box will initiate a change, as per the cycle with the other lights in the area. But, if there are no cars triggering the sensor in the road, the light will not change, and the cycle starts again.

Interesting. I was pointing out that you can't always use the crosswalk countdown to make decisions about whether you'll make it through the light in time. If this is how some lights work, how does the app this thread is about work? Specifically, if the light hasn't yet decided when to turn yellow, how can the app tell you how many seconds until the light turns yellow?

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by stevexyz

Interesting. I was pointing out that you can't always use the crosswalk countdown to make decisions about whether you'll make it through the light in time. If this is how some lights work, how does the app this thread is about work? Specifically, if the light hasn't yet decided when to turn yellow, how can the app tell you how many seconds until the light turns yellow?

I bet it will give you the same info as the pedestrian timer.

[greentrbo95gst]

what about Android users?

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by ketema

This is awesome. More cities need this.

More cities? Only one city supports enlighten and it only has two stop signs within city limits.


You think townships in the USA with their little fiefdoms and brutal politics are going to willingly allow access to traffic signal data? Most townships view this data as terrorist-sensitive. Only a federal law granting access to this data will move this thing along.

The minute bank robbers capitalize on this data, the plug will be pulled.

[Imola.ZHP]

Thats weird, I went to download it on my phone and I already had it.

I'll give it a shot in a few days, won't see any traffic lights until Thursday.

[Peter_R]

I am absolutely flabbergasted that BMW offer such a naff something to play with little thing such as this, but will not entertain the inclusion of a safety camera (some call them speed cameras) database function in the UK.

Note. For our American friends who might not have come across the word naff, here is the urban dictionary listing.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=naff

[bradleyland]

Keep in mind that this is a BMW Apps application, not a part of iDrive. Basically, this is an app that runs on your phone and implements BMW's "Apps" API as a means to communicate through the iDrive system. BMW simply provides the API.

I find it kind of strange that BMW even issued a press release for this development. I'm sure they worked with EnLighten on the integration, but this is ultimately EnLighten's product, not BMW's.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by Peter_R

I am absolutely flabbergasted that BMW offer such a naff something to play with little thing such as this, but will not entertain the inclusion of a safety camera (some call them speed cameras) database function in the UK.

Note. For our American friends who might not have come across the word naff, here is the urban dictionary listing.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=naff

Mainly due them being illegal in France and a bit iffy in some German States.

So the option was add them and face hassle in EU from France and Germany (and Switzerland I think) or not include them.

Utterly toss I know but that's it really.

[stevexyz]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

I bet it will give you the same info as the pedestrian timer.

Probably you're right, but after two or three times of the app telling me "don't bother you won't make the light" and then it stays green for another full minute I would lose interest pretty quickly.

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Mainly due them being illegal in France and a bit iffy in some German States.

So the option was add them and face hassle in EU from France and Germany (and Switzerland I think) or not include them.

Utterly toss I know but that's it really.

Yes. I know all that, but it is not beyond the wit of man (BMW) to include it in the UK specification only. It could be implemented just like RTTI.

Please note. Many other manufacturers include the facility and also Garmin and now TomTom include the database as standard for UK only, so the Hassle from the EU France and Germany does not hold water.

The latest TomTom from Halfords actually show the advert with "LIFETIME SPEED CAMS.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...ategoryId_null

I rest my case.