I think it is well known, my reluctance to embrace the satnav revolution, and now my doubts have been confirmed.
Having recently exchanged my XP PC for a Vista laptop I found to my dismay that my trusty old Autoroute 2002 wouldn’t work. I have never used it to give me a route only to locate an unknown place and work out time and distance of a route I had given it, so had no use for satnav anyway.
However, having confirmed that A/R 2007 would work with Vista I thought for much the same money on ebay I might as well have GPS as well and yesterday it I arrived.
Once installed I decided to give it a simple test. A short journey from my house (which very impressively it pinpointed exactly) to a village, Quinsac, which is about 5 kms away.
My route is:
TR out of the drive
100m down the little lane
TL on the main lane
to the crossroads on the main road in the village
TL to Quinsac.
SatNav route:
TR out of drive
100m down the little lane
TR on the main lane
in 3kms
TR on a little lane
in La Chaudiere (hamlet)
TR on a bridle path
to main lane
TL (past my house turning) to the crossroads on the main road in the village
TL to Quinsac.
I have no idea why it thinks it is a good idea to travel 3kms in one direction then double back, but the serious point is that some numpty with blind faith might actually end up in that little hamlet with his 40 tonner.
I do realise that this is a GPS add on to a fairly old program and that dedicated SatNavs which cost a lot more might well perform better but have no desire to throw away my map reading skills.
The only use I can find for this is if you get hopelessly lost at least it will tell you where you are.
I refuse also to embrace Sat Nav,I have autoroute on my laptop but use it very rarely to pinpoint a location and then I mark it up on my county map.
it is probably ok for some people, but Id far rather use the brain that god gave me
change the SAT replacing the S with TW and then you get a more fitting name for the people who use them.
its only idiots that use sat navs with blind faith, for everyone else they are a fantastic tool to be used by hgv driving craftsmen.
there’ll always be old fashioned people like you that reject any new technology. but a simple question have you ever been lost using maps and good old intuition? if so then nothing is perfect. its how you use the tools at hand that counts.
I have used a sat nav for years and have never had a problem its all down to forward planning check the route it gives you before setting off that way you wont get stuck down some silly road with a 40ft trailer.
I think it a bit harsh of you bikemonkey to say we are all ■■■■■ for using them.
Mr B:
its how you use the tools at hand that counts.
I couldn’t agree more.
Sat navs still have some way to go in their development but on the whole are getting better all the time, I’ve certainly nothing against paper maps and wouldn’t be without a decent road atlas, but weather some people like it or not sat navs and GPS in-particular are the future in road transport, so why not embrace the technology that’s available because you sure as hell aren’t going to stop it.
To call anyone offensive names because they use a sat nav is probably more of an indictment of your mind set than anything else, if you want to use your brain then use it to move forward in time instead of sticking in the crap we call the good old days.
Anyway since when did it take so much brain power to read a paper map, I was doing it as a teenager and still in school.
Just out of curiosity bikemonkey, when was the last time you used a sat nav ?
I have a prat nav, and I give it the trust to know where I’m going, but not always how best to get there. I need to get a new voice for my Garmin, I get sick of the way it says “Recalculating” every 5 mins
I can understand anyone who’s had damage done to their property being a bit ■■■■■■ off but the quote bellow speaks volumes imo, .
Peredur Hughes, NFU Mutual Chairman for Wales, said: “It shows there is still an alarming lack of knowledge about the hazards of rural roads.
“It’s particularly worrying that over a third of sat-nav users in Wales continue to follow instructions even when their eyes tell them they are heading up a farm track. This may account for some of the reports of vehicles stuck in fields and deep fords.”
allikat:
give it the trust to know where I’m going, but not always how best to get there.
That should be the motto of every lorry driving sat nav user
Mr B:
its how you use the tools at hand that counts.
To call anyone offensive names because they use a sat nav is probably more of an indictment of your mind set than anything else, if you want to use your brain then use it to move forward in time instead of sticking in the crap we call the good old days.
Anyway since when did it take so much brain power to read a paper map, I was doing it as a teenager and still in school.
Just out of curiosity bikemonkey, when was the last time you used a sat nav ?
NEVER have used ■■■■ Nav
Im sorry I ‘offended’ anyone…actually no im not,I did’nt actually call you or anyone a ■■■■■■■■■ a generalisation and if you cant take being called a ■■■■ now and again then surely you should’nt be a wagon driver or anything working class
I know plenty of 'friends’who use ■■■■ nav too,all of them still talking to me come to think of it,they did’nt get all offended and they know my opinions on them.
seems to me every ■■■■ seems to have one pinned to the window of their car to find their way to a static place of work or to get them down the local Tesco. ,and no it does’nt take a lot of brains to read a map I have always had a good sense of direction anyway,always have done,but surely it takes m ore brain and thought to plot a route by paper map,than tapping in a ■■■■■■■ postcode and hoping for the best.
Not really old skol but class 1 since 82…Had a satnav for about 5 months and I can honestly say out of all the crap I’ve bought for a Truck this is without doubt the best bit of kit…I wish I had had it years ago in Italy and Spain, would of found the bag houses’s alot quicker
My sat nav has never let me down, on the button every time, but as they say the tools are only as good as the operator, probably why Sarah Kennedy can’t use one!!!
The sat Nav is like the mobile phone revoloution people were saying ‘I’ll never have one of them things’… even my 90 year old Great gran has one now!!!
It you want to be really clever why don’t you navigate by the stars■■? They didn’t need those Papyrus map thinghy ma jigs in the old days they woz proper explorers
havn’t got a sat nav. thinking about auto route for the laptop, just as an aid, like most i suppose.
managed for the last 15 years in the uk and europe, but perhaps its time too give it a try.
I’ve got an atlas and my trusty TomTom, It’s got me round an unfamilar Sheffield (even locals in the Steel city cant keep up with the changes) and Tipper country (Peak District) without too many probs. It’s invaluble when sales get the address/postcode wrong sometimes both!!! I think relying on an A-Z would lead to more “well boss” moments than using the Sat Nav, I’ve been in tight spots but would’ve probably ended up there anyway, but I’ve always found another way round or got out and had a gander when my way ahead looked dodgy. It’s been said before, satnavs are another tool in the truckers arsenal but it’s up to the individual to use it correctly. and remember its a bad workman that blames his tools!!!
Mr B:
its how you use the tools at hand that counts.
To call anyone offensive names because they use a sat nav is probably more of an indictment of your mind set than anything else, if you want to use your brain then use it to move forward in time instead of sticking in the crap we call the good old days.
Anyway since when did it take so much brain power to read a paper map, I was doing it as a teenager and still in school.
Just out of curiosity bikemonkey, when was the last time you used a sat nav ?
NEVER have used [zb] Nav
Im sorry I ‘offended’ anyone…actually no im not,I did’nt actually call you or anyone a [zb],just a generalisation and if you cant take being called a [zb] now and again then surely you should’nt be a wagon driver or anything working class
I know plenty of 'friends’who use [zb] nav too,all of them still talking to me come to think of it,they did’nt get all offended and they know my opinions on them.
seems to me every [zb] seems to have one pinned to the window of their car to find their way to a static place of work or to get them down the local Tesco. ,and no it does’nt take a lot of brains to read a map I have always had a good sense of direction anyway,always have done,but surely it takes m ore brain and thought to plot a route by paper map,than tapping in a [zb] postcode and hoping for the best.
I didn’t say that you’d offended me, I’ve been around far too long to be offended by such a remark.
It just seems a bit ridiculous that someone who’s never used a sat nav should be so quick to jump on the band wagon and ridicule both the sat nav and the people who use them.
Sure some people do have then stuck in their windscreens needlessly, I’m sure we’ve all seem people like that, but most people who use them wisely find they’re a benefit rather than a dangerous devise that will force them to go where they don’t want to go.
As far as tapping in a post code and hoping for the best is concerned, I think you’ll find that’s why so many people go wrong and end up in places where no sensible person would want to be with a large vehicle
By the way I’m pleased to hear that your friends are still talking to you
tachograph:
By the way I’m pleased to hear that your friends are still talking to you
I made that bit up,I havent got any friends
I said in the late 90s that I’d NEVER have a computer,■■■■■■■ things,whats the point in them blah blah blah.
so after sticking to my guns I went out an got a PC to see what it was all about,and 8 years later I’ve got over 1100 posts on a Truckers forum and my knowledge of life and the world gets stronger and wiser everyday.
I will hold out kicking and screaming til the end before I succumb to ■■■■ Nav so probably by this time next year I’ll own one,just for show though I like electronic gadgets really. but having said that with society and technolgy as it is now,I wish I’d been born 60 years ago
The one thing i dont do like some of the nuggets that have made it in to the papers i dont believe it completely, its a bit like the wife, nice to have but i dont listen to it all the time!
the main advantage of them is the updating of the roads instead of buying new maps all the time. and the fact you dont need to take your eyes off teh road to look at a map (i’m not the sort chastise people for reading maps while driving but i’m crap at doing it as i keep losing my place and spilling my coffee!)
if it gives me a route, a quick glance at a map and i am away.
doing multidrop they are a god send as it makes it so much easier to plan a route for all the drops.
move with technology gentlemen, go with it or it will leave you behind!
Problem is newspapers just like sticking out these pathetic stories about how everybody is going down down country lanes just because the odd muppet does now and always did. I have been using satnav for 5 years now and i have never been stuck because of it. If I was looking at a paper map i would avoid b roads and lanes where possible so I do the same with the satav. What nobody seems to point out is how these devices have enhanced safety, saved fuel and stress and made life a lot easier. How often do you see endless amounts of trucks driving about at 20mph looking for somewhere now like you used to, esp in industrial estates. I don’t look back fondly on the days of rushing around stressed out of my head trying to find a customer at 4.30 on a friday afternoon before they close for the weekend. Plus doing Europe the satnav is so much cheaper than endless maps. I make sure I have the correct address and it has never failed me. One last point being that I probably have more breaks now safe in the knowledge I’ll be on time. Three cheers for technology, its amazing!
an electronic map (no need for a library of mapbooks anymore)
a journey planner ( time to destination,valuble, routing tool, advance planning…i.e. can I do,in 9/10 hrs what they’ve asked me to do?)
a route suggester
In tandem with a full-size whole-of-uk map-book, it’s all I normally need.
I do use a Greater London book if i’m in the thick of it though, helps planning inside London.
The settings you use are critical. I use ‘limited speed 48mph’ all the time. I’m rarely late for a tip, and, over a days driving I can ‘make time’ . This setting also often suggests a more suitable route for trucks, i.e. avoiding motorways where an A road can be more direct and a bit quicker.
The sat-nav data-base programmers will never know everything. If your
little box suggests a faulty route, tell the manufacturers via their website. With a little bit of help from us, they can improve the suggested routings.
I have had a tomtom now for 4 years never had a problem always check the route and if i am not sure then i can change it only ever had one problem and that was my fault best gadget i have
on the main lane
,and no it does’nt take a lot of brains to read a map I have always had a good sense of direction anyway,always have done,but surely it takes m ore brain and thought to plot a route by paper map,than tapping in a ■■■■■■■ postcode and hoping for the best. 
but having said that with society and technolgy as it is now,I wish I’d been born 60 years ago