i have a big bag of maps, i got the latest london stuff i got maps for every big town in the country ive got maps where parts of the maps that i had originally had don’t exist, ive got maps that cover those maps.
ive got map’s on the brain,i know where i’m going , towns sometimes can be tricky when when they have had the audacity to change their one way system, but you can work it out ‘proposed’ on the new map.
so here i am coming in to town with my map in one hand glancing. not good. staring through the wind screen and seeing all the left over suckers o0f the sat nav’s of previous drivers im wondering should i bite the bullet and buy a tom tom, throw my maps and allow a black box to tell me where im going so i have no memory of the surrounding land 'how i got there, how i left ’ opps bridge strike, opps farm track.
opps firing range. i don’t know what is worse glancing at a map or putting your trust in a a sucker on yer window. im sure you all will have your thoughts on the gps age…you need to know how i got there and you need to to how to leave, maps are knowledge they give you the art of remembering…
mmmmmmmmmmmmm let me know guys what you think.
Sat Nav every time…end of!
Jonny,Ive just bought a tom tom ( well my Mrs got it for my birthday ) still use my maps for weights,heights etc: not actually used the tom as of yet,but its there mainly to help find final destination,last 100 or so yards,back up,if need be.
Maps every time…end of !
Is that the clatter of the old fashioned naysayers horses hoofs coming over the hill? I’m sure they’ll be along shortly to list all the faults of satnavs (which are actually human faults) and tell you they are the spawn of the devil.
Me, I think they are brilliant. Used them for many years, never got stuck never had a problem. They are steetmaps of the whole of Europe in a little box, which the naysayers seem to forget.
switchlogic:
Is that the clatter of the old fashioned naysayers horses hoofs coming over the hill? I’m sure they’ll be along shortly to list all the faults of satnavs (which are actually human faults) and tell you they are the spawn of the devil.Me, I think they are brilliant. Used them for many years, never got stuck never had a problem. They are steetmaps of the whole of Europe in a little box, which the naysayers seem to forget.
^^
Well said that man!
maps for me,the best are drivers maps,drawn by a driver,weve got a new lad whos only just started driving,hes a sat nav but he still gets me too draw him a map of how to get there,pubs,hotels,garages churchs etc,write on it who to see when he gets there,bay numbers,wheres the canteen etc,etc
Sat nav everytime, used with common sense.
Mine’s a Tomtom truck nav (well, it’s actually a 540 that’s been modified) so it knows about bridges, weights, width etc WHERE THE INFO IS THERE. Hence, I say with common sense, weights especially are changing all the time (usually due to NIMBY’s).
I also carry a good old Philips truckers atlas, but it’s a 2008 edition, and my sat nav is running maps last updated about a month ago (with added ‘map corrections’ I’ve put in anytime I’ve had any probs)
I like a map, but my sat nav has map function where I can look from above at where I am, where I’m trying to get to, which way the sat nav is trying to send me and at any restrictions stopping me going a shorter way.
NONE are perfect, if I was going to Maritimes yard in Leeds off the M621 J7, it’d send me left, then all the way down to the lights to turn right and come back past the petrol station, no idea why, it just didn’t know I was aloud to use the road that cut the corner.
In London, it doesn’t realise the timed weight limits and will try and avoid them at all times, so it needs ignoring there too.
When first installed it thinks there’s a weight limit on the Dartford Tunnel and tries to send you all the way to the Woolwich Ferry, map corrections cured this, but so did the common sense of saying “hold on, I’m going Essex, which is just the other side of the bridge, why’s it sending me all the way down there??”
Switch is right it’s not the Satnav that causes problems it’s the numbskull using it.
If the truck is still equipped with a windscreen and the driver is equipped with a working brain why shouldn’t someone use a Satnav?
W
As an agency driver, I used to have a car boot full of maps, because i would never know where i was going from one day to the next. Sod’s law said that, once out on the road, I would get a call to go somewhere completely different, and the map for the new town would be in my boot 200 miles away 
Now i have a sat Nav, a Pronav with the latest map software on it, it keeps me away from weight limits, bridges, canal tow paths and cycle tracks. It will avoid toll roads, congestion charges, and over night lorry bans, IF I TELL IT TO 
It will also ignore all the above, IF I TELL IT TO It will find the nearest service station by fuel company, the nearest truck stop and many other places that i might need during my working week.
A sat nav is as good as the person who a) programs it in the first place, b) operates it. None are perfect, but I find it safer than taking my eyes off the road to read a map, after all maps don’t talk to you, it will take me, not only to the street, but to the building itself, which is great if there is a low bridge on the road and you don’t know which side of it you need to be.
I use it for mainly the last mile or so, and decide which route to take from base to the nearest motorway junction for my destination.I find I can still remember the route on my own the next time i go to the same place.
Only one fault with sat navs, as far as I know, no one has put dogging laybys in the POI’s yet 
Computer sat nav with autoroute for planning and navmii for turn by turn add Windows to look out of and a handfull of common sense.
jonnyenglishpants:
im wondering should i bite the bullet and buy a tom tom, throw my maps and allow a black box to tell me where im going so i have no memory of the surrounding land 'how i got there, how i left ’ opps bridge strike, opps farm track.
opps firing range. i don’t know what is worse glancing at a map or putting your trust in a a sucker on yer window. im sure you all will have your thoughts on the gps age…you need to know how i got there and you need to to how to leave, maps are knowledge they give you the art of remembering.
I like sat-navs they save you buying and carrying loads of maps, warn you of speed cameras and can tell you all kinds of other information.
I understand what you mean about not remembering routes because you’ve let a sat-nav take you to your destination and that can happen, personally I make a point of trying to notice landmarks just like I did when using paper maps, owning a sat-nav doesn’t mean you have to turn off your brain
A sat-nav with a truck map, and a truckers atlas is all you need these days 
I use both a satnav and maps.
Maps for long distance route planning and the satnav for the last couple of Kms into the drop.
Iphone for final few miles and map to find route to nearest major road before destination
We have done this many times before and my answer is still the same. I love looking at maps, it gives the bigger picture. I am waiting for the day when the Americans turn off their GPS for maintenance
Galileo should have been operating by 2012, it is now put back to 2018 
Wheel Nut:
We have done this many times before and my answer is still the same. I love looking at maps, it gives the bigger picture. I am waiting for the day when the Americans turn off their GPS for maintenanceGalileo should have been operating by 2012, it is now put back to 2018
I also love looking at maps, I’ve loved maps since I was a child and have a collection of maps, historic, various OS and others, but I see the satnav as a useful tool of the trade, nothing more.
I agree with switch…and I’d add that, in my particular case I know pretty much every pick up and drop I need to go to, but I still have my Sat Nav glued to the screen!
Why? Because it always gives me an accurate, digital speed read out, which is way, way better than the speedo in the truck. You can’t be too careful these days and there are plenty of times I’ve needed to know what speed I’m doing as I approach the copper with the radar gun in his hand!
If I was going further afield, I would rely on a SatNav and common sense, to get me there every time!
Hombre:
I use both a satnav and maps.Maps for long distance route planning and the satnav for the last couple of Kms into the drop.
This is what I do too
My sat nav Is for basic direction only, it’s down to my iPhone and google street maps/street view to see whats the best way in to a drop, can also be good for finding addresses
I use my sat nav for pricing jobs more than anything, to use it when driving its mainly for the last bit, saying that maps are handy when delivering to farms as quite a lot are marked on them, and the post code can cover a big aera. As already said used with common sense, they can be good.
Sat nav and ipad unless in london,carry loads of maps around ,but only ever seem to use the collins london map nowadays.Find Google maps and streetview is all you need for weight and height restrictions .