Safe Speed Forums

I somehow doubt that my partner would enjoy taking the day off work to help direct me to new customer sites, then sitting on her arse all day, typically in a crappy industrial estate on the edges of a crappy town, while I fix Windows problems.

It the satnav fails, I'll find my way there somehow, it'll just take longer and/or be less help. To find all these tiny little streets I wouldn't just need a map but an A-Z of every town in the country and a small box trailer to store them in.

That was on long pleasure trips - on the work front - i used to find that with maintenance contracts they used to be in pockets in industrial estates where the sales persons ( lets be PC) had descended in force to sell their marvellous fix all product. ( at least thats what they called it -they didn't have to maintain it and make their promises come true )

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

For some reason, the mapping companies STILL don't include industrial estates on either satnav systems or paper maps. You would have thought, with all the business drivers that have a hell of a job fiding these places, demand would dictate supply....

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

Got any examples of such non-mapped estates? I find that things like retail parks tend not to be mapped out, but generally finding where you want to be in those is simply a case of driving into the middle of the car park and scanning the horizon until you find the shop in question. For industrial estates with a proper road network, I've not noticed any issues with either paper or electronic maps except when the mapping data pre-dates any changes to the estate layout - not something you can fault the mapmakers for though.

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Chris

That just shows that 19 percent are idiots who use the satnav controls while they are driving.



This shows that even more people are distracted by maps, so satnav is still safer even if you fiddle with the controls while driving. It is not possible to safely read a map and drive but it is possible to safely use a satnav - you just program it before you move off!

and this:


just proves that this woman is a complete and utter idiot who shouldn't be in charge of a toaster let alone a car.

Maybe she needs a guide dog instead of a satnav

So wait, 10% of motorists admit to operating a satnav while driving but 25% of motorists admit to reading a map while driving, yet satnav is the one being blamed!

In the second article it shows that reading the satnav's map (rather than using the voice directions) causes driving skills to diminish a bit but guess what, so does reading a paper map. The article does not mention how driving is affected by trying to handle an A-Z or shuffle laserprinted directions from Google maps.


The only resonable conclusion you can draw from those articles is that a minority of motorists are using navigation systems (electronic or otherwise) in an incorrect and dangerous manner.

At the end of the day. Satnav, and paper maps, are a tool, just like a cordless electric drill. If you use that tool correctly and according to the instructions and with awareness of it's limitations then you will be fine. If you do not use them correctly you will injure yourself. Many people fail to wear eye protection when using a drill, some of them end up in hospital, should we ban drills. Obviously no-one is going to be using a drill when driving apart from second hand car salesmen but the analogy still stands.

Well said.

Have you ever tries telling this fallacy to an instrument rated pilot.

The most difficult thing about flying 'on istruments' is that you must trust the technology and not believe your eyes/brain/etc.

Why is there no need for satnav on a motorway?

If I am in an unfamiliar part of the country, I find it invaluable to know the distance to 'my' junction. The mileages posted on the motorway signposts are not always the places I want to go, nor are they the distance to the turn off the motorway.

Very usefull for planning a break at a services too. Sign says Services 10 miles and 42 miles; SatNav says 38 miles to exit, you will need a rest before the non motorway section, and now know that you should use the first services.

"Privilege managing director Ian Parker said: "We urge drivers to spend a few minutes planning their route on a
map or internet route finder so they can concentrate on the road once they set off." "

In all honesty, anyone who can say that has driven in a strange city.

I defy anyone to find De Montfort University (who has never been to Leicester) using this approach!

map:
other than being a one way nightmare, is there some hidden catch?

It's a one way nightmare and very difficult to negotiate from "memory" having looked at a map.

I actually like my sat nav and think it makes me safer in unfamiliar cities

I find that too!

Anoying it is too. For instance why doesnt the M25 have "Clockwise" and "Anti-clockwise" on the signs rather than just the names of destinations

Much more useful than being told its "X" miles to Uxbridge or "Y" miles to Reigate!

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

I totally agree... except for when the !")!"*$) one way systems are new and aren't in your system.

Or as over the Severn, one sign says Swansea, the other says Cardiff.

(mods, didn't see this post,have posted on an article out of the times on sat navs --here - http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9968 - might make sense (if you do't mind me saying so) to move it)

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on