Kitz ADSL Broadband Information
adsl spacer  
Support this site
Home Broadband ISPs Tech Routers Wiki Forum
 
     
   Compare ISP   Rate your ISP
   Glossary   Glossary
 
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Author Topic: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?  (Read 3151 times)

Ronski

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 4300
How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« on: April 01, 2016, 06:22:35 PM »

I have a 2009 VW with built in Sat Nav, which only uses the old TMC system for traffic information. Last week we went to Center Parcs at De Kempervennen, we eventually left Folkstone on the Euro Tunnel (courtesy of Tesco Clubcard vouchers) an hour late at 10:36. Having programmed the Sat-Nav via the map so I knew the location was correct, we dually followed it, and approaching Antwerp it announced the route had been altered due to traffic conditions, now this is where I start to wonder whether it's correct, the traffic was flowing great on the motorway when we pulled off. We went down some narrow lanes across country and ended up in the middle of Antwerp in heavy traffic and of course cursing the Sat-Nav!

Anyway we eventually got to the park around 16:40, checked in, drove to the villa, unpacked, parked the car, walked round to the bike hire shop, got the bikes, went into reception. When we came out of reception a distinctive blue Audi A5  pulled up, I remember it passing us before Antwerp because the plate started V6 and then three letters. So I asked the driver if they'd stopped any where on route, to which she said no we got stuck in traffic around Antwerp. Turns out they were from Folkstone, had left home the same time as us, had been on the same train as us, but had taken the motorway around Antwerp and there they had sat for ages. They arrived at least an hour after us.

So my faith has been restored in my sat-nav.

Logged
Formerly restrained by ECI and ali,  now surfing along at 390/36  ;D

kitz

  • Administrator
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 33881
  • Trinity: Most guys do.
    • http://www.kitz.co.uk
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2016, 01:46:38 AM »

Yay - Good success story there for Sat Nav  :)  :thumbs:

Hope you have a good holiday :D
Logged
Please do not PM me with queries for broadband help as I may not be able to respond.
-----
How to get your router line stats :: ADSL Exchange Checker

Ronski

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 4300
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2016, 08:57:00 AM »

We did thanks, came back yesterday with a load of aches though as we did quite a bit of skiing (indoor but real snow), and I'm not very good but had fun.
Logged
Formerly restrained by ECI and ali,  now surfing along at 390/36  ;D

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2016, 01:11:48 PM »

My wife does b & b and quite a few of her guests come to Mallaig, on the mainland, because their satnav takes them there to the main southern ferry across to Skye. This is after the last ferry of the day has gone, so they are stuck there all night or have a 110 mile drive to the Skye Bridge further north on the mainland.

So if you are coming to Skye from the south, and you don't have a reservation on a Calmac ferry, change the settings on your satnav to 'allow ferries = no'.
Logged

Ronski

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 4300
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2016, 02:10:45 PM »

I could see that would be quite a problem, one reason why I like to check what route my sat-nav has planned. I always like to know roughly where I'm going so I always look on google maps, being in my late forties I always used to use maps, and either memorise or list the major junctions. I'd often happily drive for hundreds of miles without consulting the map, but it was always the last bit that was difficult, especially in a big city, this is where sat-navs really are good. I work for a transport firm and I've seen drivers who always insisted they didn't need a sat-nav, one is in his mid seventies and now you can't prise his sat-nav away from him now, unless he needs me to fix it!
Logged
Formerly restrained by ECI and ali,  now surfing along at 390/36  ;D

kitz

  • Administrator
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 33881
  • Trinity: Most guys do.
    • http://www.kitz.co.uk
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2016, 09:30:51 PM »

Quote
I'd often happily drive for hundreds of miles without consulting the map, but it was always the last bit that was difficult, especially in a big city, this is where sat-navs really are good.

This used to be me.   I dont do much driving these days, but if going somewhere unfamiliar I resort to gmaps navigator on my phone.   
Even then I mostly do the motorway driving without and only switch on after Ive turned off the M-way.
Logged
Please do not PM me with queries for broadband help as I may not be able to respond.
-----
How to get your router line stats :: ADSL Exchange Checker

adrianw

  • Reg Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2016, 01:22:53 AM »

I use TomTom on a phone.
I find the audible speed warnings useful, so tend to bracket my phone for anything other than local journeys.
Recently I ignored an unbelievable time estimate and alternative route while approaching the motorway and joined it. Then met the queue. It took me 2 hours to reach the next junction.
I don't think I have had a wrong direction (e.g turn right when it should have been turn left) for several years.
For unfamiliar journeys, I still look at road maps before starting out.
Logged

tickmike

  • Kitizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 3640
  • Yes Another Penguin !. :)
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2016, 12:09:46 AM »

What's a Sat Nav ?. ;D

Good old Maps for me.

Last week did nearly 1000 miles around the Lake District and no problems at all, only with the weather  :(
On the Saturday we came back it was poring of rain, the type that the windscreen wipers on fast would not clear, We decided to use the 'A' roads instead of the motorways.
It did not take much longer, not much traffic on the 'A' roads as it was queuing on the motorways  :lol:
Logged
I have a set of 6 fixed IP's From  Eclipse  isp.BT ADSL2(G992.3) line>HG612 as a Modem, Bridge, WAN Not Bound to LAN1 or 2 + Also have FTTP (G.984) No One isp Fixed IP >Dual WAN pfSense (Hardware Firewall and routing).> Two WAN's, Ethernet LAN, DMZ LAN, Zyxel GS1100-24 Switch.

Ronski

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 4300
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2016, 06:31:52 AM »

Tickmike, have you ever used a modern satnav, have ever tried to navigate on your own in a large city your unfamiliar with, if not you simply won't appreciate the benefits. As I  said before I've seen so many professional drivers swear blind they don't need them, then once they've used them they won't give them up. Many drivers used to have cabs half full of maps, now I rarely see a map in a cab.

Also you can't possibly know the quickest route given traffic conditions, many satnavs report back your average speed and that's how others know what congestion is like and then make a decision to route round it. Google TomTom live traffic and you'll see the real time data Tom Tom has access to.

Logged
Formerly restrained by ECI and ali,  now surfing along at 390/36  ;D

c6em

  • Reg Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 504
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2016, 08:30:25 AM »

As @Ronski says
In unfamiliar cities and even large towns with one-way systems a sat nav is essential.
You simply cannot just 'stop' and look at the map.
Indeed in London on the red routes even stopping will get you a ticket.
Trying to find the street name boards is often almost impossible even when you do know the names.
...and that is quite apart from the risks of having an accident looking for the signs rather than at the road.

Where sat navs are not so good is where you want to go down a particular say scenic route en-route to your destination when you are not in a hurry.  Then they get a bit confused!
I use a sat nav app (Waze) in my smart phone - the dedicated satnav units will be more advanced.
Logged

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2016, 01:26:03 AM »

I use satnav a lot, but I have to have a second big map, an iPad app or a big old fashioned book map as well, just in case things go pear-shaped on a long journey.
Logged

WWWombat

  • Kitizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 1674
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2016, 03:51:38 PM »

I always prefer to have a picture in my head of the overall route ... so I have a vague idea of where to head if I decide to divert away from something that appears to *me* to be dodgy. I'd love them to have a single button to press to swap between "big, overview map" and "small, detailed map" quickly.

But, otherwise, I am indeed a convert.

However, one aspect of the satnavs that I dislike is when they take small shortcuts off the main roads in order to shave a few microseconds off your journey. I had one example of this last week with a Garmin ... As the A1(M) southbound approaches the M25, to then turn west, the Garmin takes you off the A1 onto the A414 dual-carriageway at Hatfield, to join the M25 alongside the M1 junction. Instead of a benign run in motorway conditions, it chooses to dump me onto one of the nastiest rat-run dual carriageways ... with a sudden increase in stress, all for the sake of 2 minutes.

I could, of course, ignore the satnav under those circumstances, but you don't know if it has chosen that odd route as a consequence of traffic in the first place.

Satnav's have options for least time, least mileage, and best economy. Where's the "least stress" option? Though that would probably miss out the M25 altogether!
Logged

loonylion

  • Reg Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 723
Re: How much do you trust your Sat Nav?
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2016, 10:18:48 PM »

Satnav's have options for least time, least mileage, and best economy. Where's the "least stress" option? Though that would probably miss out the M25 altogether!

'least stress' would always direct you back to where you started the journey :P
Logged
 

anything