all this sat nav nonsence ■■ whats wrong with maps and using your tongue to ask where places are , we did,nt have those sort of luxurys in my day and always found where i was going and where to go by asking. I expect modern day drivers dont have or read maps anymore.
cyrogent2:
all this sat nav nonsence ■■ whats wrong with maps and using your tongue to ask where places are , we did,nt have those sort of luxurys in my day and always found where i was going and where to go by asking. I expect modern day drivers dont have or read maps anymore.
Thats fair comment and i was the same 30 years ago but back then you could stop jump out and ask someone or stop look at yer map to check but lets be honest if you done that now what with red routes ect you would be nicked for sure, the amount of cameras watching you so learn the main routs use a sat nav just find the last few miles in to where your heading
Its been said a decent road atlas
and study it that means learning what the symbols mean
also if your down south the Master Atlas of London village
the great thing with a decent sat nav is the ability to add
points of interest drops cafes loos parking etc
whatever you got make the most of it
as a comparative newcomer to the industry ,I started with a sat nav . got the postcode ,typed it in and followed “jane” until I got there .along country lanes and other unsuitable roads (the shortest,most economical ? route). I then realised that I never knew where I actually was when my gaffer rang to ask . I always answered x hrs from drop as shown on my sat nav. I now plan my route using maps ,but use my sat nav too.but with volume switched off until I get off the main roads and into the towns/trading estates etc then turn volume back on for directions . I am more aware of where I am and I find that I remember roads/routes etc . i think its called experience ,and one day i might have it 
I turn down the volume on the sat nav and try to use notes from a paper map.
Novices at map reading over complicate stuff, all you need to do is look at the road numbers. For instance, in my head the route from Kendal to South Shields could be…
a6, m6, a66, a1, a194(m), a194
Look at a map and you will see what i mean. Once you have that in your head all you have to do is follow the road signs.
Beyond that, you will find yourself learning where your drops are in relation to the roads. For instance, look up the morrisons rdc in gadbrook and you see you just need the a530 turning off the a556 near northwich. Not all are as easy, but you get the idea.
A sat nav is ok providing its a hgv one like a snooper ot tom tom truck but a good truckers atlas and maps of the area cannot be beaten and just getting experiance of the areas you go to helps. It was hard for me at first but now getting the hang of it Sat Nav is now for emergencies now I may be a new trucker (3 years) but doing things old school I feel is better and use the 21st century as added help and not panic you will get their eventually.
Don’t knock the satnav! If you don’t like it, don’t use it. For you, maybe cruise control, night heaters or autoboxes are de rigueur. For me, my tomtom (in combination with maps on occasion) can almost be a stress-reducing life saver when you’re constantly going to new places, e.g. some farm in Heredfordshire yesterday where it got me within a few hundred yards, though on the wrong road as often happens rurally. Sometimes you have to get out and ask, on another new’un yesterday it took me exactly to the gates.
Snudger:
Don’t knock the satnav! If you don’t like it, don’t use it. For you, maybe cruise control, night heaters or autoboxes are de rigueur. For me, my tomtom (in combination with maps on occasion) can almost be a stress-reducing life saver when you’re constantly going to new places, e.g. some farm in Heredfordshire yesterday where it got me within a few hundred yards, though on the wrong road as often happens rurally. Sometimes you have to get out and ask, on another new’un yesterday it took me exactly to the gates.
i aint knocking it , i think they are a marvellous piece of kit . but !!! i would like to think i would cope if it went wrong and i think the way i am using it is helping .
My comment wasn’t aimed at you syramax 
, but any apparent luddite out there.
Snudger:
My comment wasn’t aimed at you syramax
luddites are us 
… no offence taken, we are using a forum where differences of opinion can be learnt from
samstone90:
Thank you all for your great posts ive got a phillips navigator and im going to start planning all my routes with it… I will take that sat nav with me as id be a nervous reck without it lol but again thanks for all the positive posts I really do what to be good at this and im willing to put the effort in to learn … and for those of you saying get a factory job F**k you… this is new to me ive only been trucking a few months and im not the best driver in the world I know that but im willing to put the effort in to try to be the very best that I can be im recognising my weaknesses and trying to improve
On them if thats not good enough for you then up yours …
I’m no keyboard warrior, but chucking yer toys out of the pram shows how thick you must be. You’ve only just started driving and show how you can’t handle being told something straight out, not a good omen for doing a job that can get stressful. I started in the sixties with a map and a mouth and did much the same sort of thing as 3300John. I came to Oz and did it all again, still without a satnav.
Study maps and use your memory. And by the way… ■■■■ you. 
cyrogent2:
all this sat nav nonsence ■■ whats wrong with maps and using your tongue to ask where places are , we did,nt have those sort of luxurys in my day and always found where i was going and where to go by asking. I expect modern day drivers dont have or read maps anymore.
I’m sure the blokes who managed before maps were invented thought you was a numpty for using one to get about!!
And everytime someone makes a mistake by following a sat nav, the noise some people make you’d think no one ever made a mistake when using a map.
Op
Don’t bin the sat nav, they’re a great tool most of the time. But chuck it in the glove box for a bit, as has been said you’ll never learn if you keep using it, get it back out once you’ve grasped where most of the cities / major towns are and where most of the motorways go. But never put in a postcode and away you go, always check the route to make sure you agree with it before setting off.
Don’t worry about grumpy pat!!
I started driving in 86. No mobile phone no sat nav. It was a map and the cake hole. I remember the 1st time a drivers mate bought a sat nav with him and I was hooked. I have driven over a lot of Europe using sat nav alone, but I always bring a map as back up. If for example you encounter a major delay. Look at a map to find a diversion, because sat nav just brings you maybe 1 junction along and 9/10 at the back of the queue you just left!
Old fashioned paper maps are out of date before even being printed, a Sat Nav is more likely to be accurate if you have updates/Mapshare.
Google Maps with Street View is very handy, you can look at your destination before hand to determine the best way to access the place you are going to. Some places are impossible to get a Wagon in from the Left or Right.
You could get a Postcode map, would help you find your destination quickly then you’d have an idea of a rough route.
Get the job done the best way you feel comfortable doing it, if you need a Sat Nav, use a Sat Nav, just use your eyes and common sense as well, at the end of the day YOU are the one behind the wheel not someone on here telling you to throw the Sat Nav. Also, don’t forget Sat Navs ain’t 100% reliable.
stevieboy308:
But never put in a postcode and away you go, always check the route to make sure you agree with it before setting off.Don’t worry about grumpy pat!!
2xQ’s 1st TIP, NEVER FOLLOW a SATNAV BLINDLY
2xQ’s 2nd TIP, POSTCODE’s are a MINE-FIELD
==============================================================================
I.e
POSTCODES were devised back between 1858 & Mid 1970’s by the POST-OFFICE
in order to assist them is Sorting/routing Mail Internally
You might be lucky and find that your intended destination has a unique one
( i.e the provided postcode will take you there and no were else )
read more Postcodes in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia
But MOSTLY POSTCODE’s are NOT ACCURATE ENOUGHT to be used alone to find your destination
GPS/SatNav’s were Science Fiction when they were concived, a fact frequently forgotton.
==============================================================================
Also there a real Risk of ERROR ( i.e some element of the postcode not being correct )
“T” sounds like “E” on the phone, “P” sounds like “B” etc etc !
==============================================================================
If you must feed a POSTCODE into a SATNAV to locate the DESTINATION
ALLWAYS DOUBLE CHECK that the DESTINATION matches the Preceding Elements of the ADDRESS.
=========
For example, if your next invoiced destination is:
MyEXample Helli-Tractors Inc
LYON Trading Estate
Lyon Way
Greenford
UB10 1AB
When you feed UB10 1AB into your satnav, does it come back as Lyon Way, in GreenFord.
( in this case it wont, UB10 is uxbridge, most prob the District Postal sorting office
Good enought for getting mail to the correct district sorting office
But useless for assisting us in finding “Lyon Way” “Greenford” )
Right, step 2 [ Now we’ve discovered the postcode is next to use-less ]
Enter the address manually:
City: [enter] GreenFord
House-number: [ just press enter ] we dont have one
Road-Name: Lyon Way.
===================
Up pop’s “Lyon Way” " Greenford " ,
“Hey Presto” we are now getting some USEFUL information
If your lucky, your satnav might also tell you that the correct postcode = UB6 1AB
more info about why even if we had the correct postcode to begin with,
it would have been better , but still not accurate enought. ( see PS )
If your satnav MAP-VIEW permits you to do so, take a look at the area surrounding “Lyon Way”
NO (Map view of Destination), Right then, its now time to brake out the Truckers Atlais
if you have a SmartFone, go look at the surrounding area in maps.google.co.uk/ [satelite image]
Does “Lyon Way” check out as a LIKELY INDUSTRIAL AREA
Right in this case, Lots of Big Industrial looking buildings “yippee” looking good:
From the MAP image of the Area surrounding Lyon Way we can see, it isnt far off the A40
In fact about a mile north up the A4127.
if we came via the A40 onto the A4127, its the 1st RIGHT after the Railway Bridge.
Goody, with LOCATED our DESTINATION with REASUMABLE CERTANTLY.
===========================================================
Next Step, FIND out HOW HIGH the 2 BRIDGES ARE ( yes there are two in the proximity !! )
1 on the A4127 ( assuming we coming in via the A40, we need to turn right imediately after that one )
and the 2nd on “Lyon Way” itself …
Will we FIT SAFELY under BOTH of THEM.
If you SATNAV doesnt have this information, check your Turckers Atlias.
===========================================================
Then PRESS " Go TO"
Then CHECK OUT the Route your given ( i.e are the Roads Suitable ).
ALL Common SENSE Realy.
Enjoy , 2xQ
PS: our “Trucknet” Satnav/I.T savy members, will also notice following some investigation, that UB6 1AB
is whats know as a DISTRICT POSTCODE (ie it covers the WHOLE Industrical Area, not an indevidual Street/road.
enter UB6 1AB into Google Maps, to see what I mean http://maps.google.co.uk/ [satellite image]
even if we had UB6 1AB in our origianl address,
are SatNav would have most likely taken us a near as it could to the industrial Area Centerpoint.
possibly in either Rockwave Ave (which is a Dead End, shoping complex rear loading bay access)
or Greenware Ave ( the Shoping center Public Access // parking etc // & suprise the local PO sorting office)
Great Fun to be had Backing an Artic out of either of these, maybe the PO will let you in to turn arround 
PPS: Like I stated, “POSTCODE’s are a MINE-FIELD”
Sat navs, Don,t work in London you stick to London street map even the bus drivers don,t know what road they is on lol
There’s some good advice in this thread, most of which i agree with.
Always but always plan your own route via a proper map with bridge heights marked, the large scale (close up) AA truckers map also has bridge weight limits listed…not sure about the others without looking.
Satnav is a useful aid though even if you’ve been doing the job for ever, it should be viewed as a pocket sized street atlas of the country, and used primarily to locate your destination when in a strange area.
It should never be used to plan your route, that way you rely on it and don’t notice where you’re going till it stuffs you under a low bridge or sends you down a road that should you have looked in the atlas have realised was going to be a pig.
It comes into its own when used as back up to your own plan, the ability to ‘see’ unknown and unmarked roads junctions and turnings before you get to them is a real bonus, also useful if it has traffic reception for early jam warnings.
Also useful is the lane guidance if so equipped, takes the guesswork out of loane selection when the traffic is stacked up and only road painted arrows showing you which lane to get in.
I used to think they were satans spawn too, and they still can be if you follow them blindly, but used as a ‘spotter’ but not relied on they are very handly.
lost:
Sat navs, Don,t work in London you stick to London street map even the bus drivers don,t know what road they is on lol
I aggree with “Juddian”
Personally I find “The Satnav” the most useful bit of kit ever invented.
especially for use in large City’s if you dont have local knoledge.
Since I had one,
Ive greatly reducted the occasions that ive needed to pull up and clause traffic mayham
in order to consult the street-maps / truckers atlais
But to use one safely while trucking, LEARN ITS LIMITATIONS
And NEVER NEVER , become TOTUALLY DEPENDANT on IT …
And NEVER forget that: ROADSIGN’s are equally as useful
They have been placed there for our use at great expense, for good reason 
If you must use a SatNav
make certant that youve done you Route-Planning before moving off,
especially if your Satnav has Automatic Traffic congestion re-Routing /Avoidance [switched on].
i.e its the type that will modify your route for what it considers is a better one,
in order to avoild traffic congestion it detects ahead.
Not good if this change of route, takes you away from the one you have varified a suitable
enjoy, de 2xQ
PS: one of the least Obvious limitations is:
Your SatNav may losse its accuracy in Built Up Area’s
Because reception of the orbitial satellite signals becomes masked by surrounding buildings.
I.e your SatNav can no longer recieve the signals it needs to have in order to calculate your/its position. 
I found that some parts of Central Brimingham, & Central London, are regular reception backspots
And ho yep, even the expensive one’s with motion sensor’s dont work for long in Tunnels 
take no notice of the old bollockers mate , they are fightened of change and technology
USE YOUR SAT NAV
alongside your common sense
like the other bloke said try not to use postcodes
if its tight turn or road looks unsuitable dont go down it
sat nav will automatically re route you
if road is bloked you can use the calculate alternative route option
use roadnames if you can (tomtom truck road crossing option is a good option)
also tomtom tells you what road number you have to take at your next turn
study this along your route and you will soon become noledgeable enought to keep that in your memory
meaning in future you wil know your route without using satnav
you can always plug it in (while your driving) for the last few miles
and it will take you right to your point of delivery/collection