Mandatory IQ tests for satnav users?

[al78]

M6 north to Jct 29 then onto the M65 heading towards Blackburn, come off at Jct 6 which is for the A666 towards Clitheroe

Yes, the best way to give directions is to give the road names/numbers and the primary destinations (those that appear on the signposts at the junctions).

 

[Globalti]

There's a skill in giving clear directions. The worst way is those people who say "Go down the road and when you get to the roundabout take the third exit then take the fourth right then second left then go up the hill and round the bend then... etc"

For me it makes a lot more sense if they give places and landmarks: "Get to the roundabout on the ring road then take the A road to York. At the King's Arms turn right. After the Co-op turn left into Acacia Avenue. Go up the hill and bear left...."

 

[Rhythm Thief]

There's a skill in giving clear directions. The worst way is those people who say "Go down the road and when you get to the roundabout take the third exit then take the fourth right then second left then go up the hill and round the bend then... etc"

For me it makes a lot more sense if they give places and landmarks: "Get to the roundabout on the ring road then take the A road to York. At the King's Arms turn right. After the Co-op turn left into Acacia Avenue. Go up the hill and bear left...."

See, that doesn't work for me. I'm happiest with just an address, then I can buy an A-Z and look it up. Failing that, "fourth exit ... third left, etc."

 

[wafflycat]

"The majority of young drivers now rely almost entirely on satnavs for directions, according to a survey this week. "

Gawd help us all!

Indeed... I know of a car-full of young drivers, three of them graduates, who by using a sat-nav turned a four mile journey into a thirty mile journey..

SatNav has its uses. MrWC's work involves him driving all over East Anglia, and not just in the cities/towns, but our in the sticks. The SatNav is great if you, as others have said, use your brain in conjunction with the satnav. You need to make sure its on the setting appropriate to your mode of transport and it helps if you have the full address you're going to rather than just the postcode. When driving alone in unfamiliar territory it's very useful as you don't have to attempt to remain driving whilst looking at a map, or keep stopping... We use it in conjunction with a road map. So far we've avoided driving on to a railway line or on to a cliff edge. When MrWC was incapacitated (leg in plaster.. for months) and still having to work (self-emplyed, no such thing as sick pay), I acted as chauffeur. The satnav was very useful indeed. Very useful in big cities/towns where you are negotiating one-way systems, filter lanes, etc that you have no prior knowledge of, and useful out in the sticks to find that property out in the middle of nowhere. But you do have to use a bit of common sense and not fall for the 'the satnav told me to' mentality. I also found that without definite effort it was easy to *start* to rely on listening to the satnav instructions and not pay *enough* attention to landmarks, which when not using the satnav, you do pay a lot of attention to when finding your way about a new area and using only eyes and paper map. But once aware of that, problem solved so to speak. My preferred mode of finding my way: in general it's still an OS map. I adore maps! But there is a place for satnav as a useful *tool* and like any tool, it's as good as the workman/woman using it.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

But there is a place for satnav as a useful *tool* and like any tool, it's as good as the workman/woman using it.

Good point. And so true!

 

[ufkacbln]

There are however a lot of "tools" using SatNav

 

[GrasB]

But there is a place for satnav as a useful *tool* and like any tool, it's as good as the workman/woman using it.

Well said, it's a useful tool, especially when driving alone. But like any tool it can be miss-used by the operator & cause all kinds of mayhem.