getting lost

Not been on the job long myself but mostly been using a combination of truckers atlas, satnav and google maps. Google maps can be good because you can streetview the delivery but I find sometimes it can lure you into a false sense of security (road is packed with workers cars on a weekday - Google took their photo on a sunday afternoon when no one was working!). I tend to look slightly past the entrance to see if there is a decent size roundabout, or if its an industrial estate, if there is left-left and left again option to get back round again if I miss the entrance :unamused:

Like others have said, Google the company name and town, sometimes I find the addresses on my notes aren’t the complete ones:

Joe Bloggs Trading,
Smithson Way,
Oldham
OL1 2AB

Google will sometimes produce something like this instead:

Joe Bloggs Trading,
Smithson Way,
Premier Industrial Estate,
Oldham,
OL1 2AB

Makes the job miles easier as generally you can just follow the signs for the industrial estate and it ensures you take the correct route in avoiding any 7.5 limits etc.

Experience helps a lot because eventually you’ll have been somewhere near the destination. You’ll also gain a sixth sense about situations, if it looks suspect it usually is.

Get a good map book, cross reference anything your unsure of and NEVER be afraid to ask for directions or help getting out of sticky situations.

Had a classic yesterday, not exactly getting lost but the address was Hollingsworth Brothers, Getrag Ford Transmissions, L24 9LE, I got to the gate house & he confirmed that I was in the correct place, but he didn’t recognise the contractor, shrugged his shoulders & stated that there was loads of contractors on site. So I rang the contact number & the phone was off (why put a dodgy number on the paperwork) security sent me round the back to some other contractors with the hope that they would know who I needed, nope, tried a couple of different contractors & no joy, so I gave up & rang my office.
After another half hour they rang me back & (with apology in his voice) told me that I should be in Jaguar/Landrover (next door). Went all the way round the plants, over 15 thousand speed bumps, & straight into Jaguar’s & found the contractors. Only took me 2 & a half hours to tip 10 pallets.
Hey Ho, such is life. Lol.

Also, I have recently discovered the “my maps” feature on Google maps. It’s ■■■■■■■ quality.

Do a job and know you are going back sometime in the future? Create a map. You can add you own POI’s, telephone numbers, other information you might need, and highlight the best route in using the snap to road feature.

I’m slowly building up my own database, and that means when I get “Persimmon’s site, Haddenham” as an address, I’m away immediately, instead of trying to get hold of someone for directions and inevitably getting voice mail.

Driving to Newcastle under Lyme this morning, after knocking some 40 miles out of a 60 mile trip I get a phone call.
“that drop your going to…it’s the wrong address , it’s for Altrincham. So do your 2nd drop first (in Nortwich) then run to Altrincham”

I had to stop at popular2000 to re-celotape and tighten the straps on load. Decide to have me 45. Get a phone call “where are you, why haven’t you been to Altrincham yet?”

Hit them with their favourite sentence “safety reasons, I’ll be there in 10 mins”

Own Account Driver:
It obviously costs but a tablet or smartphone with 3G will save you a lot of grief. Streetview will mean you can come in the right direction for the easiest reverse. You will need to use in conjunction with a truckers atlas for bridge heights and weight limits. Generally, I would say, a lot of the time streetview makes reverses that aren’t possible look possible, in my experience, so bear in mind.

Phoning ahead is a good tip but word of warning some will only have an artic delivery as a one-off and there will be the ‘had bigger in here’ mentality too.

Can’t remember the last time I’ve driven around looking for anywhere or stopped and asked for directions. With experience you get to know what the signs for good opportunities for easy turning places are and with confidence a long reverse back becomes less daunting though it’s always a pain in the dark. If a business premises you pass has a big yard it’s always worth considering.

In general it’s better to take a tricky but doable turning option over holding out for something easier that doesn’t materialise for every one you do that turns out there was a roundabout 250 yards away there’ll be at least two where a nice wide road with white markings suddenly narrows into an impassable lane.

Great point on the tablet.
Being old school I rarely use Sat Nav but use Google, first to cross reference the delivery address, street view and satellite view are invaluable, secondly to get a contact number.
Not sure how I ever found anywhere before it…
oh hand on, used to ring around my mates and ask all of them if they’d done the drop.

bigdavehull:
well with it been my first week in an artic, im enjoying it but finding that postcodes arnt always right and you end up having to turn it round in the hardest of places or going miles out the way

whats everyone else do? same or is it just me? twice in the last week have been difficult to find

best to use a map sat navs are crap

its great to see it happens to the best of us, well today was a ball ache, told me which trailor to hook up in the yard which happened to be a tail lift :open_mouth:, thinking i was having to pallet truck 26 pallets off, i got to collection and there was only 9 winner winner
checked google maps and road looked great and entrance was nice and wide into a yard with a dozen units, spinning it round was tad more of an adventure tho, but did it and away i come home

What sort of lens do Google use when filming streetview ?
Some sort of fisheye I’m guessing.Because things always look more ‘open’ than they actually are.
Had a row with my boss once when I said I couldn’t get into a certain drop
with the wagon that I was driving that particular day ( I’d been there many times in a smaller truck).
He gets streetview on his computer,and the entrance to this drop looks wider than the M1 :open_mouth: :open_mouth:
Whereas,in the real world,it’s as tight as a duck’s rear end :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:
Also,streetview does not show the cunningly concealed brick gatepost (disguised as a bush) :unamused:
Anyway,he points to the image,“piece of p**s” says he,smiling…“off you go”

He wasn’t smiling when he had to fork out £400 for a new step panel :wink:

Pathfinder platoon, :laughing: lick finger, :sunglasses: point into wind! :smiley: and freefall :grimacing:

bigdavehull:
well with it been my first week in an artic, im enjoying it but finding that postcodes arnt always right and you end up having to turn it round in the hardest of places or going miles out the way

whats everyone else do? same or is it just me? twice in the last week have been difficult to find

Im a sad git. I enjoy getting lost, kills the boredom. If i get to the sea I turn around.lol

truckerjimbo:

bigdavehull:
well with it been my first week in an artic, im enjoying it but finding that postcodes arnt always right and you end up having to turn it round in the hardest of places or going miles out the way

whats everyone else do? same or is it just me? twice in the last week have been difficult to find

Im a sad git. I enjoy getting lost, kills the boredom. If i get to the sea I turn around.lol

Post code that takes you to the local royal mail sorting office is my favourite.

Baggie:
What sort of lens do Google use when filming streetview ?
Some sort of fisheye I’m guessing.Because things always look more ‘open’ than they actually are.
Had a row with my boss once when I said I couldn’t get into a certain drop
with the wagon that I was driving that particular day ( I’d been there many times in a smaller truck).
He gets streetview on his computer,and the entrance to this drop looks wider than the M1 :open_mouth: :open_mouth:
Whereas,in the real world,it’s as tight as a duck’s rear end :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:
Also,streetview does not show the cunningly concealed brick gatepost (disguised as a bush) :unamused:
Anyway,he points to the image,“piece of p**s” says he,smiling…“off you go”

He wasn’t smiling when he had to fork out £400 for a new step panel :wink:

just ask him to get google to drive the truck. won`t be long now.

Honked:
Part of the job, always has been. Before these new fandangled gadgets we used to have half an address and lots of AtoZ’s to work to, they told you where the road is and that’s all you got.

Now with smart phones, you can look up the customer on Google, get the full address, check it against your notes, load it into your satnav, check the road on streetview, check the gate access and even look for the nearest butty van.

Turning round cos you missed it after all that help - Golden :wink:

Radar19:

Own Account Driver:

bigdavehull:
did it today, found address etc but happened to be other side of a fence, so a reverse out and right round and a break in there for good measure i finally got in, forkie said loads of foreign drivers get stuck and abandon trucks and walk to find where they want to be, makes u wonder why they dont sort the problem out

Always makes me laugh ‘you’re not the first to do that…’ never think that the problem is theirs.

I really don’t understand why for the delivery address they can’t just provide a post code that does lead a sat nav to their door. Unless they think someone is going to stick a stamp on 26 pallets and post it to them. :unamused:

I’ve been given the postcode for the head office before when the stuff is needed in a warehouse on an industrial estate. I get some strange looks when I ask them where they want 4 ton of wood flooring.

Happend to me this last week… Only problem being the warehouse was 190 mile away in Wrexham when I was in Sutton Scotney! :laughing:

Use all the modern stuff. Defo. Get some maps as well. But mostly get the people in the office to get you a phone number.

I’m finding more and more than postcodes/address are either wrong or incomplete.

Fatboy slimslow:
Pathfinder platoon, :laughing: lick finger, :sunglasses: point into wind! :smiley: and freefall :grimacing:

got it in one that’s how it’s done :arrow_right:

Tablet with google maps and earth, best thing ever.

Often find if you zoom in when on maps, quite a lot of company names pop up. Relying purely on the sat nav post codes is very hit or miss. Some places take you straight there while others are no where near.

I had a classic. Delivering to Catford using copilot truck and stupidly missed the turn off and stayed on the south circular (clockwise).

Could I find anywhere to turn around on the south circular? Nearly every road off is weight limited or a little small road. I went miles all the way to the height restricted bridge where I managed to find a place to turn. Nightmare, took an hour to get back to the Catford delivery.