Came back up the M6 this morning to the sight of matrix signs telling me M6 closed between 19 and 20.
Just what I needed on a Saturday afternoon coming home.
Came out of Sandbach msa after a coffee, expecting a mega long boring wait.
The inside lane was chokker with traffic intending to go around it off at J17 (however the official diversion on the radio was off at 19, A556 w.bound, and to expect to be delayed up to 2 hours)
I passed all the traffic in that lane at 50, and came off at 18, done a right into Holmes Chapel, through Knutsford on A50, and re.joined at Lymm…result
It only took 20 mins more than normal M6 route , and that was because there were roadworks at Holmes Chapel and at Mere.
My point of this post is why was that route clear. There was the usual amount of cars, but as far as I could see only one other artic and me.
That part of M6 has been notorious for rta.s and closures since I started, and that A50 was always a favourite alternative route with truckers, and was always busy with trucks during closures, but not today.
I wondered why this was, do the newer drivers just go the way these more advanced sat navs that give alternative truck routes in these situations (presumably J17 judging by amount of traffic coming off there) tell them, and/or do they never consult a map or consider ‘disobeying’ their sat navs?
The guy in the other artic looked a similar age to me, so was presumably well versed in this alternative route also.
Not after a sat nav v map debate, I just wondered if more and more drivers are virtually totally reliant on sat navs than I thought, …or am I talking ■■■■■■■■(again )
It just looked as if everybody was going the same way, as if they were all taking the same instructions, that’s all.
Yes, the vast majority are totally reliant on satnavs and most devices will make the same route whether they have traffic warning or people turn off and they automatically re-route.
I get bemused looks when people ask me what satnav I use and I tell them a map and road signs. Plenty of guys who look old enough to know better who blindly follow them too.
Most probably everyone else would be following their sat navs. So many are so reliant on sat navs now that you automatically just do what it tells you. I hold my hands up to this on more occasions than I would care to admit.
I look on my phone and check for closures, delays etc on maps
And at night I type in where I’m going and look when I get up to see if there’s any overnight closures etc, works for me!
Adonis.:
Yes, the vast majority are totally reliant on satnavs and most devices will make the same route whether they have traffic warning or people turn off and they automatically re-route.
Thanks for confirming just what I suspected.
I reckon I must have been just about pulling into our yard 2 and a half hours or so later while these other guys were just getting clear of the closure.
Experience over modern technology.
tango boy:
I look on my phone and check for closures, delays etc on maps
And at night I type in where I’m going and look when I get up to see if there’s any overnight closures etc, works for me!
Running the highways agency app in the background on my phone is handy, as it keeps me informed of any delays nearby (1-20 miles) play.google.com/store/apps/deve … ays+Agency&hl=en_GB
most are 100% reliant on satnav as it shows at junctions where motorways split or there’s a separate lane to come off and they change at last minute as they don’t read the signs above
Highways England and Traffic Information Web sites aren’t always that accurate.
Two weeks ago they said M1 shut 18 to 16. A14 shut 2 to 3.
Heading for Kent, so wen’t M69 / A46 / M40 cost me another hour only to find out M1 wasn’t closed.
Furthermore: Matrix signs can lie as well.
I have found that â– â– â– â– Nav, Websites, Matrix signs are just tools and advisory devises
Road knowledge is the best tool in the drivers tool box.
I’ve only been in the haulage game 3 years mate and I’m the first to admit my road knowledge ain’t the greatest, but I do like to think it’s improving with time. I do own a truck nav but do try to avoid using it unless I’m struggling.
Bought myself a decent map 18 months ago with all the bridge heights marked on it when I started moving double deckers.
There has been a couple of occasions at the start of my shift I’m Sat there with said map and a coffee planning my route and you get the odd nob head with the smart arsed comment - have you not heard of a sat nav etc.
I’m early 30s and you’d expect those comments to come from the younger drivers but in my experience it’s from the guys who have been in the industry considerably longer than me.
Think its just laziness and over reliance on technology to be honest.
I’ve only been in the haulage game 3 years mate and I’m the first to admit my road knowledge ain’t the greatest, but I do like to think it’s improving with time. I do own a truck nav but do try to avoid using it unless I’m struggling.
Bought myself a decent map 18 months ago with all the bridge heights marked on it when I started moving double deckers.
There has been a couple of occasions at the start of my shift I’m Sat there with said map and a coffee planning my route and you get the odd nob head with the smart arsed comment - have you not heard of a sat nav etc.
I’m early 30s and you’d expect those comments to come from the younger drivers but in my experience it’s from the guys who have been in the industry considerably longer than me.
Think its just laziness and over reliance on technology to be honest.
Yeh know what you mean bud.
I’ve nothing against sat navs, I use a basic one myself and if I’m honest wouldn’t be without it now, they are a great help, but can also be a ■■■■potential danger if treated as the ‘‘Gospel according to Tom’’ (tom tom, … see what I did there … )
Don’t worry about the smart arses mate, at least you are gaining knowledge correctlly rather than blindly taking instructions.
I have a sat nav, but the majority of route planning comes from Google Maps for me, look for the best route on there, take a look at the streets, bridges etc, then follow your nose, sat nav only gets used now for an eta.
When approaching closures I tend to look at the map, decide the most obvious A road then take another one.
For example, closure round Stoke, everyone is going to pile onto the A34. So I look where I’m going and head in the general direction avoiding the obvious route.
First you need to know where the hold-up is and just how bad things are snarled up.
Here’s the fun part, working out where everyone else is gonna go. The majority of the herd will follow Satnav directions, another section will just sit in it and the last section will actively seek a slightly different less direct route.
Last week the M1 was shut for four hours around 29A. My diversion took me slightly further out than the majority but I got back on at J30 and lost about 20 minutes in total.
Some years ago on nights, leaving Crick for Haydock the M6 was closed at J5 to J7. The posted diversion was (get this) M42 south M40 west M5 north to rejoin M6! I was over an hour in front of 3 other similar trunks that night.
Adonis.:
Yes, the vast majority are totally reliant on satnavs and most devices will make the same route whether they have traffic warning or people turn off and they automatically re-route.
Thanks for confirming just what I suspected.
I reckon I must have been just about pulling into our yard 2 and a half hours or so later while these other guys were just getting clear of the closure.
Experience over modern technology.
Christ that sounded conceited EVEN for me.
Combining the 2 is even better, I have found traffic on a tomtom to be pretty good as in, when a closure opens up earlier than planned it knows and will re-route you the direct route.
As for little used good alternatives, I do Leeds to Swindon a lot, and when there were closures on the M42 and the M5, I took to going M1 M69 A46 A429 to Cirencester, didnt in the past when it was 40 mph limit, and find it very quite, and still using it even though the closures have more or less finished, its a far more entertaining route than the motorway, and is slightly quicker.
I was at Keele when I seen the closure on Twitter,I went off at 16 and went via Crewe and Nantwich A51 then A49 all the way up too M56 joned there, Girl at our place at Keele too she went A34 Congleton through to Knutsford,both routes flowing,I didnt want to chance anything myself beyond 17 as I thought everywhere would be stuffed.
I have a sat nav mainly for eta times ,it kept telling me to turn around till it got fed up with me,then it picked up my route and carried on.
Adonis.:
Yes, the vast majority are totally reliant on satnavs and most devices will make the same route whether they have traffic warning or people turn off and they automatically re-route.
Thanks for confirming just what I suspected.
I reckon I must have been just about pulling into our yard 2 and a half hours or so later while these other guys were just getting clear of the closure.
Experience over modern technology.
Christ that sounded conceited EVEN for me.
[emoji38] [emoji38]
Hardly confirmed anything has he, just his opinion which is probably partly true. I don’t religiously follow my Sat nav but it is aware of road closures and live traffic so will usually offer a faster route. Again it’s down to your own judgement whether to take that route or one you know to be quicker.
I haven’t been driving for long enough to have built up a good memory map yet.
If I had spotted the closure signs before my break, I’d have checked the satnav route vs. the map and made a decision. If I got caught in the closure, I wouldn’t have had the knowledge to wing it like you did so it would have been follow diversion signs and/or satnav and maybe wing it if I spotted a likely looking route on it as I went.
slowlane:
I haven’t been driving for long enough to have built up a good memory map yet.
If I had spotted the closure signs before my break, I’d have checked the satnav route vs. the map and made a decision. If I got caught in the closure, I wouldn’t have had the knowledge to WING IT LIKE YOU DID so it would have been follow diversion signs and/or satnav and maybe wing it if I spotted a likely looking route on it as I went.
Wing it? …Wing it?
How very dare you.
I’ll have you know I’m an experienced professional accomplished ex international camion chauffeur.
Wing it in â– â– â– â– deed.
, and that was because there were roadworks at Holmes Chapel and at Mere.
)
