QOTW: has your Sat Nav ever led you astray?

by Parm Mann on 27 January 2012, 17:16

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Satellite navigation; it must be one of the greatest inventions of all time, mustn't it?

The days of keeping the AA road atlas on the backseat are seemingly numbered, as these pocket-sized devices vow to get you to your destination with greater ease than ever before. They know where you are, they know where you're going, and, in certain cases, they'll even keep an eye out for traffic and speed cameras.

But it isn't all good news for the likes of TomTom and Garmin. Despite the fact that half of Britain's population is said to use satellite navigation systems, the devices are becoming synonymous with freak accidents; cars driving into rivers, vans trapped in tight country lanes and lorries wedged in narrow streets.

Vehicles on the road to nowhere are apparently becoming a common occurrence, so much so that the UK government will hold a summit in March in an attempt to tackle the issue of drivers being misdirected by out-of-date directions.

But that brings us neatly to our question of the week: has your sat-nav ever led you astray? Have you suffered from out-of-date maps? Or is common sense all that's required to make the most of GPS navigation? Whether you're a sat-nav user or you prefer a traditional map, share your thoughts on the subject in the HEXUS community forum.



HEXUS Forums :: 29 Comments

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I drive a lorry and use a sat-nav EVERYDAY , sat-navs are accurate BUT you also need to use your common sense to see if the road it's directing you down is fit for the vehicle you are driving !.

Too many people blindly follow the directions, Read the Road and take account of Road Signs !!!.
Totally agree with Dicko, the Sat-Nav is a tool to be used in parallel with maps, common sense and road markings/signs
I would comment, but calling the wife a sat nav might not go down well…
especially seeing as REAL women are terrible at reading maps and giving directions :p
But that brings us neatly to our question of the week: has your sat-nav ever led you astray? Have you suffered from out-of-date maps? Or is common sense all that's required to make the most of GPS navigation?
Lead astray? Frequently - last example was when trying to use Google Maps to find directions to a hotel. It decided to lead us up a farm track to a house nearly a mile from the actual location of the hotel. Thankfully on that occasion I switched to ALK CoPilot, which got it right.

Out-of-date maps? Likewise, frequently - trying using Google Maps to go from the Forth Road Bridge towards Glasgow and you'll apparently be going cross country - despite that the (major) road that you're using being there for a year or two.

So given #1 and #2, if you blindly follow the Sat Nav then you deserve to end up in a river!

No the ones that amuse me (frequently) is when you decide to divert from the set route, and the 'nav insists on you turning around and darn well follow the route it sets! Even if you're practically at your destination. :p

Oh, disclaimer, never had a “proper” sat nav, instead I've used nav apps on tablets (Nokia 770) or smartphones (Symbian and Android).