Just curious to see what you guys use, I myself just use a Collins A-Z of kent, and local knowlage gained from over the years. But reciently I have had some ■■■■■■ comments off a couple of customers because I dont use a satnav, I asked for directions from a set point near to where they are working, but they dont know how to get there (even tho they are there!) and they have given me the incorrect address.
Also I have tried using a satnav but arround here there is alot of silly lanes and railway tunnels satnavs route you thru, Also I wont pay out for a truck nav as my map book works fine and I can’t justify the cost.
I use a sat nav but I never trust it completely. I always check a road before going into it. I just use the nav to get me to the general area,then ask someone when I get there if I cant find it or roads look too narrow. Ive never had a problem with companies moaning if I call them for directions but I am,like you,amazed at the number who hav’nt the foggiest idea on how to get to where they work. They go there 5 times a week!
I got one of those truck ones. Its great, plus I use it like a mini map when its not showing me a route. It will still get addresses wrong so I double check on Google maps/ ring the contact number and ask questions etc.
The-Snowman:
I use a sat nav but I never trust it completely. I always check a road before going into it. I just use the nav to get me to the general area,then ask someone when I get there if I cant find it or roads look too narrow. Ive never had a problem with companies moaning if I call them for directions but I am,like you,amazed at the number who hav’nt the foggiest idea on how to get to where they work. They go there 5 times a week!
They either drive a car, cycle or walk. They don’t notice the weights limits like we have to.
I have a truck sat nav and most of the time its good. If use with a bit of common sense its okay but sometimes does try take you down some stupidly narrow roads to try avoid a weight limit or something.
I have problems with it if the delivery address is withing a 7.5tonn limit though as it goes off on one! At that point my phone sat nav gets used as i can also zoom in and see road names and things like that better on my phone than sat nav.
A cheap car sat nav with some common sense and looking at a map would probably be okay i would think though !
I’ve got a snooper which I use in conjunction with Google maps on my phone. I tend to check the unknown sections of my route on Google maps with satellite imagery switched on, then zoom in on the destination to get an idea of access. If the phone and the snooper agree it’s happy days, if they suggest different roles and I can’t make it the best from the satellite image, I will tend to go with the snooper version but keep in mind the point at which they diverge.
Today was one of those days when I chose the wrong route, I was going to a business address in castle Eaton ( near swindon, Wiltshire), the phone suggested a narrow looking Lane off the a419, whilst snooper suggested another narrow lane, but was the main route to raf fairford. I figured the raf road would be a better route as they are bound to have large vehicles there all the time, the phone route was probably weight restricted to stop airbase traffic using the wrong road.
It turned out that the snooper route was longer and had some tight bends, was narrower and had weight restrictions except for access, the phone route (which I used to return) was a reasonable width straight road, with no restrictions at all, it just looks really narrow on the satellite. We live and learn, I was quite proud to negotiate the route safely though as I’ve not had my license long.
The-Snowman:
I use a sat nav but I never trust it completely. I always check a road before going into it. I just use the nav to get me to the general area,then ask someone when I get there if I cant find it or roads look too narrow. Ive never had a problem with companies moaning if I call them for directions but I am,like you,amazed at the number who hav’nt the foggiest idea on how to get to where they work. They go there 5 times a week!
They either drive a car, cycle or walk. They don’t notice the weights limits like we have to.
Nothing to do with weight limits or narrow roads etc. Some genuinely have no clue how to get to where they are
I’ve never used a sat nav and don’t ever intend to use one. When i first started driving, navs were still very expensive so i just bought the relevant map books i needed that covered the counties i had deliveries in, which at the time were mainly sewage/water treatment works. But after a while i used the maps less and less because i mentally knew where they all were and how best to get to them. Now i mainly delivery to bus depots and haulage firms so very very rarely do I check on google maps as to where a customer is. I think it also helps if you’ve got a good geographical memory(which i have), as i only have to look up once where a new delivery or address is once, then i can get there without guided assistance. My other drivers still insist on using navs even tho they all have regular deliveries to the same customers, and i get funny looks and comments when i tell people i dont use navs or maps. I think if you’re going to be a driver of any sorts, it pays to have a good bit of geographical sense in your head…
My car sat nav packed up a week or so before I started back on tippers so I don’t need to replace it. Phillips Navigator (not sure how much longer as they have a tendency to undo themselves) plus the local A to Zs. I use Google maps or I simply Google a house name if I don’t have a postcode (the search tends to come up with the postcode via Zooplas website).
I draw new places in and also weight limits as I notice them. My Gloucestershire atlas has a lot of lines scrawled on them, thanks to the NIMBYs in the South Cerney area.
When I started driving Satnav wasn’t even thought of so it was maps and bits of scrap paper with directions wrote on it from other drivers. Funny thing is that once you delivered somewhere once you never forgot where it was and how to get there. Old school is best
when i started out it was all a-z’s but now when i do drive i have a satnav (tomtom with truck added on). coupled with an old hand me down bridge height map from 1985 never had an issue as more often than not use the sat nav for timings rather than directions.
Started with maps, route plans, instructions and when very stuck find some coins for the red phone box .
Map box do get big though! So junked the box and bought laptop gps and autoroute, now use netbook hooked up to dash mounted touch screen.
I’ve got a sat nav in my bag but rarely use it, I only really need to go to a place once and it sticks in my head. I don’t need a sat nav to tell me eta’s either I’ve got a knack for giving rough times. Only time I use it is if I don’t have a frigin clue of the area whatsoever.
If I know the area but don’t know the drop I use google maps either the night before which is rare as they don’t bleedin tell you a thing or on my phone that day.
like most on here ive grown up with maps but since buying a tom tom (car version)some years ago now updated for truck I wouldn’t be without it but also have the bridge height’s map as back up although that’s not very good for minor road’s ive also found that postcode’s in England are not always accurate whilst in scotland they seem to be spot on and talking to a bod in the post office after reapeatedley getting others mail they don’t use them for delivering mail when I asked him why he did not know the answer so always be carefull with postcodes they aint always right
Grew up with maps and stop and ask directions at garages etc, but now just a standard Garmin Nuvi, best feature is it displays speed limit with current speed next to it. Satnav is fine as long as you combine it with common sense.
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