UKtramp:
A sat nav doesn’t drive the vehicle and neither does a map. They are both navigation aids to navigate the road network. A driver may use either or both to aid him or her. It is your eyes and awareness that stops you hitting bridges. Plenty of warnings and markers when you approach one. If you are driving blindly and looking at a sat nav screen to get you to where you want to go, then you are asking for trouble. You can use a sat nav to navigate the roads and this doesn’t make you any less of a driver, what distinguishes a driver apart from the ones who drive looking at a sat nav screen is mainly down to your own road awareness. It is called a brain and is quite useful. I never leave home without mine.
Exactly this… A satnav is just an electronic map. You don’t have to follow map directions and you don’t have to follow a satnav route.
I think there is a sense of elitism going on here. I can’t fathom people saying satnavs are not good but admitting to using them. It makes no sense. If they were no good then you wouldn’t use one…
A new pass using maps is likely to take so long that he’d probably lose his job. Yes satnavs make life easier - but so do trucks compared to a horse and cart. Technology is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
UKtramp:
A sat nav doesn’t drive the vehicle and neither does a map. They are both navigation aids to navigate the road network. A driver may use either or both to aid him or her. It is your eyes and awareness that stops you hitting bridges. Plenty of warnings and markers when you approach one. If you are driving blindly and looking at a sat nav screen to get you to where you want to go, then you are asking for trouble. You can use a sat nav to navigate the roads and this doesn’t make you any less of a driver, what distinguishes a driver apart from the ones who drive looking at a sat nav screen is mainly down to your own road awareness. It is called a brain and is quite useful. I never leave home without mine.
Exactly this… A satnav is just an electronic map. You don’t have to follow map directions and you don’t have to follow a satnav route.
I think there is a sense of elitism going on here. I can’t fathom people saying satnavs are not good but admitting to using them. It makes no sense. If they were no good then you wouldn’t use one…
A new pass using maps is likely to take so long that he’d probably lose his job. Yes satnavs make life easier - but so do trucks compared to a horse and cart. Technology is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
That doesn’t apply to me then, because I did not say they are no good, and I admit to using one. so no probs with ‘embracing technology’ I just don’t rely on, or in real terms need a one, if that makes me ‘elitist’ so be it, but I prefer sensible to elitist.
You’re in the wrong job, and/or you’re going about it the wrong way mate if you are not allowed to stop 2 minutes to look at a map.
I’m off now as Gayle has just scored against Chelsea
sammym:
I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
They used to have scenic drives on their website that you could send to your device. You could even send Tom Tom your suggestions for good routes. I assume this is no longer a thing they do
sammym:
I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
They used to have scenic drives on their website that you could send to your device. You could even send Tom Tom your suggestions for good routes. I assume this is no longer a thing they do
I can’t find it on my Tomtom 6200.
Sometimes I want to get home as quickly as possible. And I get that the satnav motorway route does that. But othertimes I want to enjoy the scenery and wish to take the backroads.
Before people scream at me for ripping off firms - this is often before the 8 hour mark which I’m paid for anyway.
I really wish Tomtom would introduce this feature again. Sometimes I just want to listen to spotify and take in our stunning countryside. People knock the UK - but I feel blessed to live in a such a lovely country. My favorite is to go into wales and get to explore the hills there. I know I’ll get ridiculed - but I still enjoy driving when I can do this. And that means a lot to me.
UKtramp:
A sat nav doesn’t drive the vehicle and neither does a map. They are both navigation aids to navigate the road network. A driver may use either or both to aid him or her. It is your eyes and awareness that stops you hitting bridges. Plenty of warnings and markers when you approach one. If you are driving blindly and looking at a sat nav screen to get you to where you want to go, then you are asking for trouble. You can use a sat nav to navigate the roads and this doesn’t make you any less of a driver, what distinguishes a driver apart from the ones who drive looking at a sat nav screen is mainly down to your own road awareness. It is called a brain and is quite useful. I never leave home without mine.
Exactly this… A satnav is just an electronic map. You don’t have to follow map directions and you don’t have to follow a satnav route.
I think there is a sense of elitism going on here. I can’t fathom people saying satnavs are not good but admitting to using them. It makes no sense. If they were no good then you wouldn’t use one…
A new pass using maps is likely to take so long that he’d probably lose his job. Yes satnavs make life easier - but so do trucks compared to a horse and cart. Technology is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
That doesn’t apply to me then, because I did not say they are no good, and I admit to using one. so no probs with ‘embracing technology’ I just don’t rely on, or in real terms need a one, if that makes me ‘elitist’ so be it, but I prefer sensible to elitist.
You’re in the wrong job, and/or you’re going about it the wrong way mate if you are not allowed to stop 2 minutes to look at a map.
I’m off now as Gayle has just scored against Chelsea
The problem is mate… you assume any new pass who uses one is incapable of reading a map.
Being 100% honest you’d destroy me in terms of picking a route without looking at a map. But I’d be willing to be £500 to a charity of your choice if you took us up a mountain I’d own you in terms of picking our location down to the nearest contour line. Because I took the time to learn how to do that… Doesn’t stop far better men than me going up Everest with a GPS. (Which I’d use in those conditions as well). So it doesn’t really matter.
Maps are a thing of the part - unless you have a weird objective like me with avoiding the motorways. And the truth is in a thing like a truck with electrical power the idea of using them as a necessity is ludicrous. As I’ve said you’d be better at picking a route - but that’s as relevant as who can bench press more - as GPS tech is here to stay and won’t change.
Another feature I wish they had (for all I know they maybe have ) is setting a set route to a certain place and be able to refer to it when you go again.
For instance a particular remote farm I went to last week through all the unclassified roads. There was only one suitable route out of all potential ones for an artic, so I had to navigate through all the right angle bends tight arsed tracks, a low bridge a tight bridge over a beck,.and all the rest of it.
It would be handy to set a ‘plotter’ for when ever I go back in the future to use the exact same way in.
Radar19:
I bought a map when I first passed my Class 2. It spent so long on the dash, unopened that the colour faded from the cover. Its the 21st centry, get yourself a Sat-nav that is designed for a truck. Think of it as an investment. How often are you going to use it? Every single day is the answer. That £400 you spent suddenly doesn’t seem like money wasted.
Don’t listen to the ones telling you to use a map. Maps are for boy scouts or in this case drivers who are stuck in the past. A decent truck nav that has bridge height maps and Google Maps and you will never not find your destination.
Ok forget the map either/or thing for a minute.
When I first got a high trailer I wasn’t a newbie, but I’d done nothing but flat work for about 4 years and knew routes.
It was a whole different ball game to pulling flats, and I just about got paranoid about low bridges, so everywhere I went I double checked my new bridge map and was extra careful and vigilant.
Since then I’ve never flattened a trailer under a bridge, because it was disciplined and self drummed into me, …so much so that I notice bridge heights now even when driving my car.
On other hand if I had started with a high trailer,.and a truck sat nav as a newbie, telling me every [zb] thing (yeh ok much easier) I’d have been away without a [zb] care just driving along daydreaming safe in the knowledge that there’s nowt to worry about…but I’d be totally Donald Ducked without my truck sat nav and I’d have actually ‘‘Learned’’ …Jack [zb] .
So…
Which way in your opinion would YOU reckon is the best way for a newbie to become a good driver?
How many bridge strikes and stranded trucks in lanes are there compared with pre sat nav days about what? …15 yrs ago?
How many totally [zb] useless knobheads are driving trucks nowadays causing mayhem because they just have to steer and do nothing else?
4 How far has the job been dumbed down in terms of driver quality ?
Do you reckon there’s a message in there somewhere ?
I never said that a newbie should just get a Nav and crack on regardless. A driver should always plan his route, yes whether you chose to use a map or a combination of the Sat-Nav and Google maps. I passed my Class 2 in 2014 and in those 4 years I’ve driven all over the country and not once have I hit a bridge because I make sure I know roughly where my destination is and I use a dedicated truck nav that allows me to enter the height, length and weight. My current nav system will warn me if a route is unsuitable for HGV’s, this prompts me to get Google Maps open and get on streetview to find out why.
When you moved from flats to high trailers, it was no different to me when I moved from my rigid at 12’9" to artics with Mega-trailers. I bought myself a height stick so I could get the heights of the trailers so I knew what height I was and what to look out for. I’m getting the impression that you think that a newbie armed with a sat-nav is going to always turn out to be a blundering idiot. Yes we have more than our fair share of plantpots in this industry but don’t tar everyone with that brush.
Which way in your opinion would YOU reckon is the best way for a newbie to become a good driver? To arm him or herself with the best means of tackling the job, ask questions of experienced drivers, learn to make decisions and do your research
How many bridge strikes and stranded trucks in lanes are there compared with pre sat nav days about what? …15 yrs ago? I’d argue its about the same, the reason why its seems like more are occurring now is because of social media
How many totally [zb] useless knobheads are driving trucks nowadays causing mayhem because they just have to steer and do nothing else? That is not indicative of using a sat-nav, that is a larger problem that the industry has created in their race to the bottom.
4 How far has the job been dumbed down in terms of driver quality ? Same as above. pay peanuts, get monkeys.
In conjunction with number 2 Rob, I believe a lot of these bridge strikes are down to drivers using car sat-navs. Drivers institing that they don’t need a truck nav and that a car nav is fine when its not.
robroy:
Another feature I wish they had (for all I know they maybe have ) is setting a set route to a certain place and be able to refer to it when you go again.
For instance a particular remote farm I went to last week through all the unclassified roads. There was only one suitable route out of all potential ones for an artic, so I had to navigate through all the right angle bends tight arsed tracks, a low bridge a tight bridge over a beck,.and all the rest of it.
It would be handy to set a ‘plotter’ for when ever I go back in the future to use the exact same way in.
My TomTom has that feature. Its called “My Routes”. It records the route you use then lets you save it.
UKtramp:
A sat nav doesn’t drive the vehicle and neither does a map. They are both navigation aids to navigate the road network. A driver may use either or both to aid him or her. It is your eyes and awareness that stops you hitting bridges. Plenty of warnings and markers when you approach one. If you are driving blindly and looking at a sat nav screen to get you to where you want to go, then you are asking for trouble. You can use a sat nav to navigate the roads and this doesn’t make you any less of a driver, what distinguishes a driver apart from the ones who drive looking at a sat nav screen is mainly down to your own road awareness. It is called a brain and is quite useful. I never leave home without mine.
Exactly this… A satnav is just an electronic map. You don’t have to follow map directions and you don’t have to follow a satnav route.
I think there is a sense of elitism going on here. I can’t fathom people saying satnavs are not good but admitting to using them. It makes no sense. If they were no good then you wouldn’t use one…
A new pass using maps is likely to take so long that he’d probably lose his job. Yes satnavs make life easier - but so do trucks compared to a horse and cart. Technology is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
That doesn’t apply to me then, because I did not say they are no good, and I admit to using one. so no probs with ‘embracing technology’ I just don’t rely on, or in real terms need a one, if that makes me ‘elitist’ so be it, but I prefer sensible to elitist.
You’re in the wrong job, and/or you’re going about it the wrong way mate if you are not allowed to stop 2 minutes to look at a map.
I’m off now as Gayle has just scored against Chelsea
The problem is mate… you assume any new pass who uses one is incapable of reading a map.
Being 100% honest you’d destroy me in terms of picking a route without looking at a map. But I’d be willing to be £500 to a charity of your choice if you took us up a mountain I’d own you in terms of picking our location down to the nearest contour line. Because I took the time to learn how to do that… Doesn’t stop far better men than me going up Everest with a GPS. (Which I’d use in those conditions as well). So it doesn’t really matter.
Maps are a thing of the part - unless you have a weird objective like me with avoiding the motorways. And the truth is in a thing like a truck with electrical power the idea of using them as a necessity is ludicrous. As I’ve said you’d be better at picking a route - but that’s as relevant as who can bench press more - as GPS tech is here to stay and won’t change.
Enjoy the football.
Cheers mate, for the record I never said snybody was incapable of rading a map, did I now.
On the other stuff we’ll just have to agree to differ.
■■■■ I missed the second goal.
sammym:
I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
They used to have scenic drives on their website that you could send to your device. You could even send Tom Tom your suggestions for good routes. I assume this is no longer a thing they do
Their motorbike satnavs allow you to choose “twisty routes” as an alternative to quickest/shortest/most fuel efficient (with the user specifying the degree of twistiness).
Radar19:
In conjunction with number 2 Rob, I believe a lot of these bridge strikes are down to drivers using car sat-navs. Drivers institing that they don’t need a truck nav and that a car nav is fine when its not.
Ok mate, but seeing as you’ve just described me, I reckon that theory has just been shot down in flames.
I use a freeby one on my smartphone, just a car one. But it’s purely there as an aide, just the same as my truckers atlas on my top bunk, the height stick so I know how high my trailer is, the tape measure in my locker for how wide I am, the eyeballs in my head, the common sense in my brain, the sense of pride in a job done well/correct.
We all have different ways of achieving the same outcome, some just do it better than others, bit like everything else in life really.
Wiretwister:
I’ve used 3 different sat navs - the one built into my car is rarely used as most journeys are the bog standard home to work, shops family type trips.
Id be interested to know how many people are like me at the other end of the spectrum like me, someone who sets the satnav for every single journey regardless of how well I know the route as I like kepping up to date with the traffic situation.
yeah , i’ve got the tomtom go proffesional 520 . cost 200 quid , i do the same route every night but still have the sat nav on. Mainly for texts and whats app messages , it tells me who its from and asks me if i want it read out loud , I also have it on for motorway closures ,accidents , roads closed and rerouting etc
robroy:
Another feature I wish they had (for all I know they maybe have ) is setting a set route to a certain place and be able to refer to it when you go again.
For instance a particular remote farm I went to last week through all the unclassified roads. There was only one suitable route out of all potential ones for an artic, so I had to navigate through all the right angle bends tight arsed tracks, a low bridge a tight bridge over a beck,.and all the rest of it.
It would be handy to set a ‘plotter’ for when ever I go back in the future to use the exact same way in.
My tom tom offers route recording so I can save routes I’ve done and use again
UKtramp wrote:
A sat nav doesn’t drive the vehicle and neither does a map. They are both navigation aids to navigate the road network. A driver may use either or both to aid him or her. It is your eyes and awareness that stops you hitting bridges. Plenty of warnings and markers when you approach one. If you are driving blindly and looking at a sat nav screen to get you to where you want to go, then you are asking for trouble. You can use a sat nav to navigate the roads and this doesn’t make you any less of a driver, what distinguishes a driver apart from the ones who drive looking at a sat nav screen is mainly down to your own road awareness. It is called a brain and is quite useful. I never leave home without mine.
Exactly this… A satnav is just an electronic map. You don’t have to follow map directions and you don’t have to follow a satnav route.
I think there is a sense of elitism going on here. I can’t fathom people saying satnavs are not good but admitting to using them. It makes no sense. If they were no good then you wouldn’t use one…
A new pass using maps is likely to take so long that he’d probably lose his job. Yes satnavs make life easier - but so do trucks compared to a horse and cart. Technology is a wonderful thing and we should all embrace it. I just wish tomtom would have an option for ‘scenic route’ and I would throw my maps in the bin.
Yes it’s great, but tell me that when your on the dole
so no probs with ‘embracing technology’ I just don’t rely on, or in real terms need a one, if that makes me ‘elitist’ so be it, but I prefer sensible to elitist.
