Drivers who invest in satellite navigations systems are rapidly waking up to one of its flaws according to the Times today.
In-car satellite navigation systems were supposed to make motorists’ lives easier and journeys quicker. Instead they are being blamed for creating a new network of rat runs by directing drivers down obscure roads and ancient rights of way to cut journey times.
This reminds me of a trip through France a couple of years back. I was riding with my sister and as her bike was not equipped with a fairing, we decided to avoid the motorways and cut across country. All went well for the first day. The second day was somewhat less satisfactory. We set out from Châteauroux heading in the general direction of Clermont Ferrand. The plan was to skirt west of Clermont and ride through the mountains to Aurillac and then head for the A75 for the last few kilometres to Millau and Le Caylar. That was the plan. The SatNav took us into the mountains on ever smaller and more obscure roads. As we progressed, progress became progressively less. By lunchtime, we were kilometres from a major route, way behind our schedule and sweating on petrol.
That’s the thing with a satnav – when you tell it to take a direct route across country, it takes you at your word.
It would seem that this is now proving to be a major problem for motorists and those living on the obscure byways alike:
The problem is particularly bad in rural areas. Residents of Barrow Gurney, Somerset, have accused sat nav manufacturers of turning their village into a “car park” in less than a year, with more than 10,000 vehicles a day now using it as a rat run to Bristol airport. Traffic levels are so bad that officials at North Somerset council are trying to get the route taken off digital maps.
The answer, of course is to be sufficiently directionally aware, so that you realise when the thing is selling you a bum steer. I got caught once. Now when it directs me away from a sensible route, I ignore it and carry on, waiting for the software to catch up with me and update the route.
Despite this drawback, I wouldn’t be without it as it makes navigating unfamiliar roads much simpler – particularly on a motorcycle where stopping to check a map is that much more time consuming. As with all things; use it sensibly and it is a useful tool. It always pays with technology to remember who is the master in the relationship. 
I can understand why a map isn’t quite so handy on a motorbike – folding and unfolding in gale wouldn’t be much fun – but I wouldn’t even consider getting it for my car. Maps and…well…asking people directions, seem better (yes – I know – two wheels good, four wheels bad)
As with so many “technological developments”, this one served more to create a market than to solve an actual an actual problem. Give me a compass, map and A to Z anytime.
Tell that to HM Government. 😉
For the motorcyclist it does solve a problem. Previously I had one of two less than satisfactory solutions. Stop and get my map out of the pannier, pocket or whatever, or keep either a map or directions taped to the petrol tank. Try checking directions while navigating a busy city with either option and you quickly realise how difficult it can be. Voice commands through my headset mean that I can concentrate on the road and traffic conditions. But, as with all things technological, don’t lose sight of common sense. 😉
The Garmin I use transfers to the car, so we use it in both vehicles. Since having it, I use it extensively when travelling on unfamiliar roads. I haven’t ditched my maps as I uses the overview they give for route planning. The voice prompts from the Garmin allow concentration on the road and traffic without having to look at a map or find somewhere convenient to stop in busy traffic and ask. If you are in a foreign country and your language skills aren’t up to it asking people can be a bit tricky. I’m okay in France and can just about cope in Spain and Portugal, but otherwise, I’d be struggling.
It’s like any tool – use it sensibly.
There are people who hate mobile phones, but they can and do make life much easier if used considerately… 😉
ncidentally, Jez, my wife lost one of my maps down near Coimbra in a gust of wind. We’d stopped to check our route, she fished it out of her pocket and a gust of wind swept it out of her hands and into the Rio Mondego… I wasn’t best pleased.