Hazard alert is not helpful

James S.
4 months ago

I like the idea of the hazard alert feature. However, I encountered notifications from it for the first time on my ride yesterday and all they did was cause confusion and frustration. The alert is basically a red banner with a Warning️ symbol and text like "hazard in 230ft", "hazard in 150ft", and so on. There is zero indication of what _type_ of hazard is coming up, so we have no idea what to look for. And the alert doesn't seem to change once you get close enough to the hazard, it just starts counting in the opposite direction ("150ft" => "200ft" => etc).

At a minimum, the alert should show an icon that represents the type of hazard people indicated in their original report. Without at least that, this feature is not one I will keep enabled.

  • 0 4 months ago

    The very thin red banner at the bottom is not what it should be.  It should be a pop up that is larger and in the center of the screen IMO

  • 0 3 months ago

    Agreed, it needs some work. How about this -- initially, the alert pops up big and center screen while the alert  tone sounds. Then, after a short time, it minimizes down to the banner at the bottom. Say 5 seconds to minimize, so make the alert sound at 0 seconds and 2.5 seconds. This gives you two chances to hear it and it doesn't obstruct your device screen for too long.

    The big alert could also have the "still here" / "gone" buttons on it, too, so it's like a shortcut that saves you a few taps too.

  • 0 3 months ago

    If knowing something hazardous ahead isn't enough to help you, I doubt knowing the type of hazard will be.

    That being said I turned if off after the few first rides as people were flagging small cracks in the pavement as hazards.

    It's not like I'm gazing at the clouds while I'm riding. I'm always looking for hazards.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to JBOTT

    How will the hazard function behave after say a year? People keep flagging hazards being true hazards maybe, but also cracks in the pavement. My guess is that the map will fill up with irritating and useless hazards. Who cleans up the mess that will build up because in many cases people who mark hazards on the road will forget to check if the hazard is gone or still exists.
    I know that you can switch off the hazard alerts, but will the system be slowed down by still checking the hazards in the background, or by some other side effect of the piled up hazard alerts? Are they kept in a file on the device, so you would be able to clean-up from time to time?

    Another issue - already mentioned here at the forum - is the fact that roads on the map are lines, not area's. If you mark a hazard on the right side of a (wide(r)) road you should not get an alert for that same hazard if you ride in the opposite direction along the same spot on the other side of the road where you can ride clean by. When marking a hazard you cannot distinct between the side of the road - it's a line.

    To my opinion the whole idea of hazard marking is useless - much too subjective and prone to polluting the hazards list. What is a hazard? A hole in the road when riding my MTB is fun, while I hate that same hole when riding my race bike because risking a flat tire.

  • 0 3 months ago

    I disabled it. I had my first ride with my 1050 today and got a hazard alert (in 0.13 miles). I never saw anything and it just got in the way. I never had it the feature before and have been fine. It's not like it'll help prevent a motorist running me down, which is the biggest hazard riding.

  • 0 3 months ago

    Agreed it is a also a work in progress.

    Riding one side of a river, due to works and really giant potholes, as excavations 3x3 m, I decided to ride back from the other bank.

    Map shows I am on the other side, still I got all the hazards alerts, although none present as I switched bank !!

    And indeed, hazards seems to have a wide interpretation of what is a real hazard.

    At time, have switched off.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to DeanWette
    DeanWette said:
    help prevent a motorist running me down, which is the biggest hazard riding

    +1000!

    If they stopped adding features that kept riders eyes glued to their Garmin screens perhaps those riders could actually look to the road ahead and see the hazards themselves? I would want a mobile hazard warning I could place on every motor vehicle that came within 50m of me, tell them to get off MY road.

  • 0 1 month ago

    Agreed.  When I logged into my Garmin today, someone had marked a hazard right at my house, but I know of none.   I looked around trying to figure out what someone possibly could have considered to be a hazard.   There is absolutely nothing.  The feature is absurd as it currently exists.  It's much more important to know WHAT KIND of hazard exists.   About the only "useful" feature of this hazard warning system is the ability to provide feedback that the hazard is fake or no longer exists.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to mapmate

    I keep voting for skipping this feature completely. Remove it from future firmware versions. See my arguments here above.
    I also see many 'hazards' in my environment that in my opinion are not hazardous at all and which are not removed because of temporary character.