Last week, friends of mine drove back from Northern France after staying a few weeks with daughter and son-in-law. Both noticed that they were driving a lot more miles and going a different route from the norm, but assumed the other (they share the driving) had changed the set up the Sat Nav for reasons of their own. It was only when they got back to the UK that they began to smell a rat. They were using A roads from Dover to London. When they got home they found their son-in-law had set up their Sat Nav to avoid motorways and that they were driving a 44-ton, 8 metre tall HGV.
Sat Nav Practical Joke
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09-12-07 15:49Never used a Satnav myself. After some of the horror stories that have arisen from time to time (like HGV's being sent up cart tracks), I prefer to make my own mistakes. -
09-12-07 18:46
Cant really blame the sat navs for this they should only be using it as another tool in the toolbox to help so to speak,they should still be checking its safe to do what they are going to do/go any way,it makes you wonder if they should be on the road if they are doing these things so blindly:eek: -
10-12-07 11:51
Your idea may start a trend, Jon; like trying it on mother-in-laws before Christmas!!! -
11-12-07 10:27Being retired people, if I am driving any distance, it is almost certain that my wife will accompany me. If I am going to aplace, and by a route, that is not familiar to me, I make a short list of road numbers and directions of turns.
I make this list by referring to a road atlas, and some of the details stay memorised. My wife has this list to hand, and gives me prompts at appropriate road junctions, etc.
There are several benefits from this method of navigation.
(1) It makes the journey a bit more interesting for the passenger (my wife).
(2) I feel it is a good way to keep the old grey matter working.
(3) We rely on enough electronic equipment without extending the situation with unnecessary gadgetry (e.g. I enjoy reading a good book; I would not dream of listening to it recorded on a CD). I put a road atlas and Satnav in this category.
(4) My road atlas has never yet broken down, and the only repair cost is the occasional renewal. -
11-12-07 10:34Snowball, I do exactly the same, but with one exception. I also now look at the route on Live Maps, and make a note of any obvious landmarks I can find.
http://maps.live.com/?q=rickmanswort...MSNH&mkt=en-gb -
11-12-07 10:50
I have done this on occasion, if I am at the computer and know I intend to make an unfamiliar journey, and usually run off a copy. But I seldom switch on the computer just for this purpose, unless I feel that the road atlas information is insufficient. -
12-12-07 12:03As long as they print 'em (road atlases), I'll carry on using them. The net, and all the electronic wizardry is all very well, but we don't have to be slaves to the IT era. I just use what I feel is right for me, and stick to the older methods where I am more comfortable with them. Printed maps don't break down at inconvenient times (or any time). And do satnav's receive a good signal wherever they happen to be, or can they run into blind spots like mobile phones do?
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04-01-08 17:49Sat Nav??
Pathetic!!
Do you have any idea how many maps I can buy for the cost of one of these idiot boxes??? -
04-01-08 18:10
Well, despite my previous boast, that I would never buy a Satnav, I humbly admit that I have now bought one. Caravanning holiday arranged for the Continent this year was a prime reason.
I am still getting to grips with the finer points, but I have to say that the one I have is certainly no idiot box. I would not go so far as to say it never makes a mistake, but generally more reliable than trying to remember what I read from an atlas. It gives the route in 3D, supported by voice instructions, and if I do take a wrong turn it recalculates the route to bring me back on course; thus also correcting its own mistakes, should it make any.
And it warns you to watch your speed when approaching fixed camera locations.
I must admit to being converted. -
04-01-08 18:46
Welcome to the 21st century :p :D
As with all technology it can fail, a backup must be available, like in the case of satnav an atlas in the boot, and all users must remember it's you who is driving, I still see peeps turning up a one way st in Brighouse because thier sat nav says so! -
06-01-08 15:25
When I switch on my satnav, this is the first thing that comes onto the screen.
"Please note that the road traffic regulations are prior to the instructions of the navigation system. Please do not operate the device while driving."
The first part of the notice is obvious. The unit has voice activation and "touch screen" facilities, so the second part is a bit puzzling. If it is not used while driving, how can it tell you where to go, or when you are approaching a fixed camera location? -
06-01-08 22:15As far as I know, the use of any kind of screen whilst driving is illegal. Although originally introduced to stop drivers watching portable TVs, the legislation has been updated to cover DVD players, computer screens and by default, it also covers satnav screens. Any screen must not be in the drivers eyeline. For what it's worth, it's why my AA MDT was mounted on the floor. (The previous one was a paper print-out type mounted on the passenger side of the dash.)
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07-01-08 11:04
Yet many vehicles are now being supplied with built-in satnavs that are easily visible to the driver during travelling. Some are fitted in the centre console, along with the radio/cd player. Once they are visible to the driver, the nearer they are to his/her normal line of vision the better.
Mine rides centrally on the facia, about level with the bottom of the windscreen. It gives voice directions, but an occasional glance at it is no worse than looking for road signs. In any case, my wife can also study it and verbally pass on anything significant, so there isn't a problem. -
07-01-08 19:44
You get muppets that mount them in the centre of windscreen, which loses them 10 - 12 degrees of vision, with modern cars having thicker 'A' pillars any further reduction of forward vision is not good, mine gets mounted on the drivers front quarterlite, it doesn't impair field of view, and it's out of comfortable reach, ie I have to stop to adjust it. -
08-01-08 16:55Idiot Boxes
Rolebama's quite right - ANY such screen visible from the driver's seat is illegal. -
09-01-08 10:25
So why do vehicles with fitted satnavs get through the regulations of the appropriate Inspectorate? -
09-01-08 11:14Further to the question of whether using a satnav is legal or not.
Reading my BBC e-mail news this morning, I found the the following details interesting under a Killer drivers may escape prison headline.
A new offence, Death by careless driving, received Royal assent in November 2006, but is yet to be brought in.
For drivers with an exemplary record, the Sentencing Guildlines Council will recommend a community sentence.
The offence may cover being distracted by Satellite Navigation Equipment.
This suggests that the use of satnavs is being officially recognised as a legitimate part of driving procedures. -
11-01-08 12:09Sorry Snowball, but I don't read it that way. To me it reads that if you are distracted by using Sat Nav, you could be convicted of careless driving. I do not see using Sat Nav as a mitigation plea.
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11-01-08 14:33As the satnav gives voice guidance, any visual reference to the screen is minimal. It can be argued, with some justification, that officialdom's obsession with speed cameras, some of the sly positions where they are sited, and the often reported prosecutions for very small excess of limits, has resulted in much more driving time being used in watching speedometers and looking out for speed cameras.
The time taken to flick a glance at a satnav need be no longer than to check the speedometer, or check other information shown on the dashboard (fuel gauge, etc). On my satnav, the map is shown in 3D and the route is shown in yellow. On roundabouts, I find it takes less time to glance at the satnav than it does to look for actual road signs. Tha car is represented by an arrow, and the map turns as the car negotiates the roundabout. You can see your progress on the yellow road out of the corner of your eye, without having to take your eyes off the road. Now that has to be safe. -
12-01-08 13:33I personally accept that it is no more 'dangerous' to glance at a SatNav as a speedometer, but then how often do you look at a speedo. I know what 30, 40, 50mph are from the speed I pass stationary objects. The problem is that so few people drive at a constant speed, they don't learn what I consider to be a fundamental skill. More to the point though is that the biggest distraction I know of, and most people I know agree, is children in cars.
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12-01-08 16:13Lets be completely honest the sat navs, incar DVD's etc are not the real issue they are all perfectly safe. It is down to one thing the people that operate them its down to common sense, use the properly you will have no problems but as we all know they will always that muppet trying to program a new route at 70mph down the motorway :)
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13-01-08 12:41Sorry, but I do not agree that anyone can judge their speed with any degree of accuracy, without referring to a speedometer or similar device. The impression of speed is dependent upon the surroundings. Travelling down a narrow winding lane at 25 mph. can seem much faster that 40 mph on a wide, straight carriageway.
It is amazing how much detail an experienced driver can assimilate in fractions of a second, and how many physical functions he/she is capable of whilst still fully concentrating on their driving.
If the "both hands on steering wheel and eyes permanently on the road" requirements are taken much further, it will be mandatory to stop in order to switch lights on/off, or adjust heater/ air intake controls, and to consult road directions at roundabouts/junctions.
And safe driving itself does not mean just watching the road ahead. It is a requirement that we regularly refer to our rear view mirror, and observe the situation on pavements either side of the road on which we are driving. A quick glance at a satnav is no more distracting than a glance in the rear view mirror.
