Zumo XT and Road Closures - options to disable

[jfheath]

I got a phone call this evening, with a question, that I thought I knew the answer to.

The caller reported having been diverted around a closed road - he had no option the XT just changed his route.
It turned out that the road was no longer closed, and he could have continued on his route.
He came across the same situation a couple more times. This time he ignored the satnav and continued on his original planned route. No road closure.

So he wanted to disable it. So I told him what my settings were - thinking that this had never happened to me.
Under simulation, it does. As soon as it enters a section where it thinks that the road is closed, it turns me round - no questions asked.

So I cannot find out how to disable road closures,, but keep traffic data.

The only thing that is allowed to get through from Drive is messages.
I think that if I turn Traffic off in Settings / Traffic, then the XT doesn't find out about road closures.
Is this the only way - because traffic information is pretty useful.

[lkraus]

There is no way I know of to separate road closures from traffic data. Usually I want both, but I do want the information to be accurate.

I also have had problems with the XT reporting closures that did not actually exist. The worst "closure" issue was at a ramp from one limited-access highway to another in a large city. The XT proposed an alternate route that used a different highway that added three highway miles in the wrong direction and then dumped me on heavily travelled city streets for another three miles with lots of intersections and traffic lights.

The ramp had been temporarily closed for construction, but only for few days, for a few night time hours, and it had re-opened a week before. I was travelling mid-afternoon. Even if I had been travelling during the closure hours, there were many other options that would have only diverted me for less than a half mile.

The XT is good for following a planned route, but I've learned not to let it think for itself.

[Peobody]

In the Traffic options is a sub-option named "Optimize Route" which contains an "On Request" option. That is the only one I know of that might prevent the automatic routing around a detected closure. I don't know for certain that it does though.

The XT is good for following a planned route, but I've learned not to let it think for itself.

If only we had the option of disabling the brain of the XT. It should be at the top of the Navigation options. Navigation > Imported route (follow pre-defined route).

[Rofor]

@jfheath - We discussed this problem in the german Naviboard long ago and our findings, inclusive a statement from Garmin:
Simple answer to this problem: You can't! - Reason for this: Garmin says "It's a feature, not a bug".

First bad thing: If a full(!) road closure is reported by the traffic sources via Garmin Drive, there will be a recalculation of the active route, nevertheless which settings are used on the Zumo XT! It doesn't matter, if the report is false, old or not relevant for motorbikes, there will be a recalculation and the user can't stop it.
Second bad thing is, that such a recalculation is NOT shown on the screen with some message, alert box or so of the Zumo XT - there's only a spoken announcement like "Road closure ahead, recalculation of your route will be made" or so - very bad, if your driving only 'by sight' with no spoken navigation like i do!
Third bad thing - such forced recalculations are ending often in this mysterious zick-zack-courses...

As an example - in the first Covid-19 year 2020 the borders between Italy and Austria where closed, they're opened again on 15th of June and we decided to go for our yearly motorbike holiday to Southern Tyrol on the 16th of June. No problem while travelling from Austria to Italy. Ten days later on our way home, about 100km from the border Italy/Austria, the Zumo XT from one moment to the other shows instead of 'normal' 350km to the destination, a hotel in Kärnten where we would stay over the night before returning home to Vienna, around 890km(!!) to our destination...

At first i was thinking that on of the streets we where using is closed and zoomed out a bit, but there was nothing on the screen. I tried to restart the route, but after a few kilometers the same happened again and again. When we came near to the border Italy/Austria i noticed the reason, why this happens! I don't know why and it was completely false - but the Zumo XT has gotten the traffic information, that all borders of Austria to Italy and Slovenia are closed - so he tried to lead me from Italy over Slovenia to Hungaria, then to Austria and in Austria back to Kärnten!

One year later, also in Southern Tyrol, i've tried 'Traffic Information' again - we where about 30km near to our hotel, as again the traffic information goes wild. There was a partial road closure of a smaller road on our route because of heavy rain a few kilometers in front of us (with a local detour, as we've heard later) and the Zumo XT calculated one of those wired zick-zack-routes for about 150km, even when we also could drive one mayor road (Brenner Bundesstrasse) straight to our hotel, which was already shorter than our planned route.

Ok, no problem - i know this bug, so i thought! Stopped the route, disabled 'Traffic Information' started the route again and after a few kilometers: Bang, same problem again. The Zumo XT seems to store the last received traffic announcements and use them, even when the 'Traffic' connection to Garmin Drive is disabled...

So it is important, to stop the 'bad' route, disable 'Traffic Information' and turn the Zumo XT completely off and restart it - after this you can reload the original route and all will be good!

Again - Garmin knows this behaviour and the german support even says 'That shouldn't be so', but the technical team in the States say "It's a feature, not a bug!" - for me, the last word if a recalculation should be done or not, should ALWAYS have the user! And because of this 'Traffic Information' is disabled on my Zumo XT...

[FrankB]

We discussed this problem in the german Naviboard long ago and our findings, inclusive a statement from Garmin:
Simple answer to this problem: You can't! - Reason for this: Garmin says "It's a feature, not a bug".

I was aware of the discussion on the German Naviboard, and had already thought of posting a reply here, refering to the German Naviboard. But you beat me to it, and explained all much clearer than I would have done it. Thanks!

Because I ride also frequently in Germany and have been a victim of the problems I have disabled trafiic info like you. If I want to be sure there are no road blocks in my routes I upload them to Google Maps: viewtopic.php?t=1965
It is a time-consuming task, but it pays off.

[jfheath]

Thanks @Rofor and @FrankB

I did a little testing and discovered a few interesting things.

The road block ahead only seems to be spotted when you enter the 'section of the route' containing the road block. A 'section' in this case is between two Via Points. So if you have a Via Point a mile before where the road block is, you are not alerted to it until you pass that Via Point !!

At that point three things happen.
* You get a voice indicating that the road is closed and a new route has been created.
* You get an indication on the right of the screen (if you have traffic displayed on the right). It infoms you of the road closure and where it is.
* Immediately, the 'map' of the next section of the route is displayed - wiping out the information about the road block .

I was doing this in simulation - it took me 4 attempts before I manged to get the screen shot of the message !! That will come later in a different post.

If you have shaping points between the start of the section (the Via Point) and the road closure, then the route will be recalculated - from the shaping point, so it will take you to the shaping point and then turn you back. You can spot it on the magenta line if you happen to catch it, but otherwsie it looks as though you are on the correct route.

Since you cannot predit where a road block will be in relation to your via and shaping points, the compulory re-routing is does not appear to have been particularly well thought out and is pretty much useless.

I just get onto the computer and look at theaa website for road closures, before I set off.
I never got on with Google maps. I must make the effort. One day.

[FrankB]

Since you cannot predit where a road block will be in relation to your via and shaping points, the compulory re-routing is does not appear to have been particularly well thought out and is pretty much useless.

I couldn't help thinking of your signature: 'Today, I discovered something really important. I found another way that doesn't work.'

The google map trick is also really helpful when you're on the road, no computer or tablet nearby. You grab your phone, open Google maps with the active route superimposed, and you can see exactly which section of the road is blocked. And what would be the best detour. In Google maps click on the point where you want to go, and share it to the Garmin Drive app to start navigating. When you reached the point where you can rejoin the route select 'Closest Entry Point'

[Rofor]

The road block ahead only seems to be spotted when you enter the 'section of the route' containing the road block. A 'section' in this case is between two Via Points. So if you have a Via Point a mile before where the road block is, you are not alerted to it until you pass that Via Point !!

At that point three things happen.
* You get a voice indicating that the road is closed and a new route has been created.
* You get an indication on the right of the screen (if you have traffic displayed on the right). It infoms you of the road closure and where it is.
* Immediately, the 'map' of the next section of the route is displayed - wiping out the information about the road block .

Don't know exactly how this is today with the actual firmware is - but i can for sure say, that in my first example (june 2020, blocked boarders) i was more than 150km off the section, where the supposedly road block (closed border) was - and there were many via-points between the place it happens first and the austrian border...

Also i did not(!) get any visual indication when this 'forced' recalculation happened! A few months later, when we discussed this in the german Naviboard, someone told me that there is only a spoken announcement of the recalculation...

But, as i mentioned, this things could have been changed with the actual firmware - i really don't know! For me it was clear to disable 'Traffic information' completely after this two occurrences: 'Traffic information' to 'Off' and also 'Recalculation' to 'Off'

My findings to this - for me it's not acceptable that, nevertheless what my settings on the Zumo XT are, there can be an automatic recalculation which i can't influence. The user of such a unit MUST have the last word.

[electro_handyman]

...........The user of such a unit MUST have the last word.

There is always the "off" button........

But seriously, how would the XT know of any closures if it had no connection to the internet, ie the Drive app.

I've ridden sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway the last couple of years, that have had the same closed road sections from the previous year, yet I got no notification or any automatic recalc(yes I had my Drive app running and connected).

I guess it all depends on how often Garmin's map managers are updated on road closures, or construction projects.

[Rofor]

@electro_handyman - i know that i can disable those functions and i'm driving the last two years with this functions disabled, which i also have written in my last posting!

But that's not the point - the point is, that i have to disable a function, which is in principle useful, to use the unit just like i want! Where's the problem, to just add a 'Recalculate the route - Yes or No?' just like in all other circumstances, which will a recalculation made necessary!

And that has nothing to do with map managers - that function is using the traffic informations (whatever source that Garmin is using) which are transmitted with Garmin Drive to the Zumo XT! I also did(!) have the Garmin Drive app up and running, because of weather information and the ability to send waypoints, routes or tracks from the phone to the Zumo XT. 'Traffic information' is disabled on the Zumo XT, that's enough...

And regarding the 'Off button' - no problem when riding in areas, which i know well (e.g. i never had the Zumo XT here in Vienna on my motorbike, or when driving my 'standard' routes here in Austria i use it only for tracking) - but things look way other, when driving in areas which i don't know well! Here i would like to count on my navigation unit and not to have the fear, that it recalculates to some wired routes because of some misinformations...

If i run into a road closure, there is in 99% a detour installed and i do not want the navi to recalculate some wired routes way before the detour like it already happened to me...