Don’t blindly trust the Sat Nav (1 Viewer)

[RandallC]

Can't be the only one who first asks Gmaps for a route,
If it looks ok what route does the sat nav use,
what does the paper map route look like?
Hhmm ok think we could go via this road but not sure, check Google street view of the road.
So given all the above shape/via the sat nav route to guide me as planned.

Have often viewed with stree view access to supermarkets and fuel ststions/LPG pumps, bridges etc etc.

Have to admit that this was prior to our first Caravan back in 2005 when tomtom and seperate BT GPS on an HP organiser sent us via single track roads to a 1 night freebie thank you site in Devon.

As said check everything at least twice and ignore directions if it looks iffy

However that still didn't preclude some "seriously" moments.

Like trip to Anglesey, via Meani bridge, check no weight restrictions (7.5T ATM) but failed to check width. Had 2" eachside of non foldable mirrors going through arches.

 

[cyberyacht]

Postcodes can let you down if you miskey the last letter as well. Couple of months ago ended up down a narrow country lane about 10 miles from the site I was seeking. I knew it was fairly remote so wasn't initially concerned at the directions. Moral - when entering data double check!

 

[enark]

Just joking with you, the point I was making was that Satnavs are a great invention and very useful, like a lot of things we have nowadays. I have travelled all over the world and certainly wouldn't be without one. The problem is when people have one glued to the end of their nose and blindly follow every instruction given and wonder why they end up sh!t street! Only last month I was marshalling an off road motorcycle event when along the byway comes a middle aged woman in her car, we tried to tell her that it was not a good idea, she insisted that her satnav told her to go this way, sure enough 100 yards further on she was stuck solid, she came back down to borrow a phone as her battery was dead to organise recovery.

Exactly…

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[Libellula]

I don’t like sat jabs, much prefer maps and listening to local radio for traffic problems. I plan long journeys and write a list of towns/villages to go through.

 

[Libellula]

Or even sat navs!

 

[Pausim]

Postcodes can let you down if you miskey the last letter as well. Couple of months ago ended up down a narrow country lane about 10 miles from the site I was seeking. I knew it was fairly remote so wasn't initially concerned at the directions. Moral - when entering data double check!

In rural areas even the right postcode can lead you astray because they can cover more than one road/lane. I check on Satellite/Street View and drop pins on the gate I want if the postcode misses the target.

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[Lenny HB]

I have found that using co-ordinates can land you best part of half a mile away.

That can't happen if the coordinates are correct it will be within 2 metres.

 

[DBK]

Slowly making our way down to Portugal.
Decided to visit La Alberca a beautiful medieval town in the mountains.
Programmed the Garmin with co ordinates for the aire in the town.
Vehicle dimensions etc are all stored on the device.
Arrived and sat nav said turn left and then first right off the main road.
I know the aire was on the main road so the thought was “no way”
Drove on and the aire was off the main road.
Parked up and walked the town which is stunning.
The picture is one of the roads in the town
View attachment 830694

I think you just have to accept this happens. In France recently Google Maps wanted to take me down a narrow one-way back street in a small town to reach an aire. Being France and it was quiet I followed it's advice and slowly crept down the road until we reached a bend too tight to get around. With nowhere to turn around we had to reverse out - but at least we were then going the right way on the road.

Paper maps are a nice idea and we used to carry quite a few but they were typically around 1:200K scale which are no good for finding tucked away aires or for hiking. Carrying large scale maps for say the whole of France is a non-starter because of cost and volume.

 

[ToGoldlyBo]

I have Google Maps on a tablet and a Garmin Camper side by side on my dashboard. They often offer different routes - different algorithms of course. Usually they would both work, but when they differ, then the tablet can give me my OS map instead. (Paper maps are in the cupboard just behind my seat for security.) But the one I trust least is Garmin.

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[Libellula]

In rural areas even the right postcode can lead you astray because they can cover more than one road/lane. I check on Satellite/Street View and drop pins on the gate I want if the postcode misses the target.

Our rural post codes in my area of France, Aude, 11, cover six villages!

 

[bigtwin]

Did i say it would have? It does for bridge heights…….doh

Ermm …. In response to @Guigsy’s comment below:

How would a paper map have helped?

You said:

AA maps for truck drivers, includes all bridge heights.

What else are we to conclude your post means other than it would have helped. Otherwise it‘s a bit like giving the answer ‘Blue’ to the question ‘What size is it?’.

Ian

 

[varaizian]

Our rural post codes in my area of France, Aude, 11, cover six villages!

Ours in the Charente Maritime covers the local major town and 13 surrounding communes. When we bought the house 34 years ago our address was the village followed by our name. The postman just knew who you were!

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[weemalkie]

It's last few miles of any route is where you are can run into a problem.. happened to me several times using a Garmin sat nav with my RV ..

I sold my Garmin Camper and now only use Google maps on a Lenovo M9 tablet.. you can eyeball any tricky parts of the route, using satellite images and street view...

I also have P4N and S4S and a couple of other aires apps on the tablet which makes navigating to your chosen destination a piece of cake.

If anyone considering doing this, Lenovo have a sale on with the M9 tablet at £100 ..

I'm a Mac person, but the Android tablet is really good.. it has GPS but no cellular, only wifi , so I tether to my iPhone.

I've tried this with my iPad. Its great as long as your phone has a signal. Lose your signal and sat nav goes. Have you had any such problems?

 

[scotjimland]

I've tried this with my iPad. Its great as long as your phone has a signal. Lose your signal and sat nav goes. Have you had any such problems?

no, haven't had that problem, it only uses the phone for the map data which you can download before setting off ..

the Lenovo M9 tablet has GPS , ..doesn't use the phone signal for positioning ..

Is your iPad a cellular model ?

If not, the Wifi only iPads do not have the GPS chip ..

that was why I bought the Lenovo M9

 

[Pausim]

I've tried this with my iPad. Its great as long as your phone has a signal. Lose your signal and sat nav goes. Have you had any such problems?

If you have a route running it should have downloaded all the maps you need. As already said maps can be downloaded in advance. The internal GPS chip (if present) will provide the positional data you need, the mobile signal/wifi isn’t the main source of position. All navigation devices can lose the GPS satellite signals from time to time. iPhones and iPads are better than most because they have dual systems that use GLONASS and other systems as well as GPS, they also have digital compasses tracking your movements.

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[seasideBill]

I don’t like sat jabs, much prefer maps and listening to local radio for traffic problems. I plan long journeys and write a list of towns/villages to go through.

This works quite well, although there’s always a few who ignore it and plough on regardless.

 

[scotjimland]

iPhones and iPads are better than most because they have dual systems that use GLONASS and other systems as well as GPS,

why I bought the Lenovo M9 tablet for navigating .. it has ,, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO

 

[weemalkie]

Never trust them, Google and Garmin messed up as I was presented with a 2.5m bridge two days ago, we are 3.3m high… managed to do a sixteen point turn; wasn’t very popular with the locals in this rural part of the Algarve, but all was good in the end.

Yeh been there got that T shirt. Best yet was when my wife had to stop the traffic on a roundabout to allow me to reverse after having been sent down a one way dead end road.

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[DucatoMan2]

The interesting thing is the number of different ways Garmin fails. Map errors like the dead ends. These are apparently impractical to correct given some official signage advising ignoring satnav instructions at certain locations. Positioning errors giving the worrying 'you are going the wrong way' warnings. Today 'she' even tried to send me onto the wrong dual carriageway. Despite all that I wouldn't be without one, for example at unsignposted junctions. Tools are never perfect. I do wonder how the much heralded driverless vehicles would/will cope. All campsites should give what3words, would be a help, thought the clubs at least would make it a policy.

 

[DucatoMan2]

It's last few miles of any route is where you are can run into a problem.. happened to me several times using a Garmin sat nav with my RV ..

I sold my Garmin Camper and now only use Google maps on a Lenovo M9 tablet.. you can eyeball any tricky parts of the route, using satellite images and street view...

I also have P4N and S4S and a couple of other aires apps on the tablet which makes navigating to your chosen destination a piece of cake.

If anyone considering doing this, Lenovo have a sale on with the M9 tablet at £100 ..

I'm a Mac person, but the Android tablet is really good.. it has GPS but no cellular, only wifi , so I tether to my iPhone.

Was that a Black Friday thing?

 

[scotjimland]

Was that a Black Friday thing?

Yes probably , but it was valid when I posted

But Argos have them for £120

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[Pausim]

The interesting thing is the number of different ways Garmin fails. Map errors like the dead ends. These are apparently impractical to correct given some official signage advising ignoring satnav instructions at certain locations. Positioning errors giving the worrying 'you are going the wrong way' warnings. Today 'she' even tried to send me onto the wrong dual carriageway. Despite all that I wouldn't be without one, for example at unsignposted junctions. Tools are never perfect. I do wonder how the much heralded driverless vehicles would/will cope. All campsites should give what3words, would be a help, thought the clubs at least would make it a policy.

When I spent my leisure time on the sea Garmin was my first choice GPS navigation aid. When I came ashore I chose Garmin for my road routes but it made many mistakes. With time I found my phone navigation apps more dependable and moved on. I had not realised that Garmin still had basic map errors of the type you describe.

 

[iamarobot1999]

I use Sygic HGV app, Its been really reliable.
The downside is the directions are spoken in American [ that could be changed but it amuses me] the idiot calls roundabouts turning circles! pms.

 

[NRM]

Lenovo M9 tablet just been reduced to £99 at Currys, with free delivery

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[CAB96]

View attachment 830917

"Mmmm, think we'll need the big ramps love."

 

[Reallyretired]

I sometimes set the sat navs even for familiar routes. If I have to leave the route because of an accident or whatever I could easily get lost, the satnav just plots a new route.

 

[JockandRita]

In rural areas even the right postcode can lead you astray because they can cover more than one road/lane. I check on Satellite/Street View and drop pins on the gate I want if the postcode misses the target.

I use the coordinates for the dropped pins, then enter them in to the Sat Nav.
Coordinates are so accurate you could choose a drain cover or a lamp post to arrive at. I love using them.

I use Sygic HGV app, Its been really reliable.
The downside is the directions are spoken in American [ that could be changed but it amuses me] the idiot calls roundabouts turning circles! pms.

Try the Road Lords HGV App, which uses Sygic and TomTom maps with a Brit voice.

ROAD LORDS | A Free Platform for Truck Transportation

Free HGV route planner and fleet management. Professional truck navigation with real time-traffic. Save costs, time and make your transport planning more efficient.

roadlords.com

Cheers,

Jock.

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[Pausim]

or a lamp post to arrive at. I love using them.

Different!

 

[JockandRita]

Different!

Whilst emphasising their accuracy.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Guigsy]

I sometimes set the sat navs even for familiar routes. If I have to leave the route because of an accident or whatever I could easily get lost, the satnav just plots a new route.

Or it can warn you about unexpected congestion before you get stuck in it. Or at least warn you that you might be delayed.

Some of them are so accurate about the position of slow traffic that you can start to slow before you even see the back of the queue.

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