Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

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blythburgh
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Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

Post by blythburgh » Fri Oct 02 2020 9:46am

So we wanted to go where we had never been before so put the postcode in the Sat Nav. Turn left it said but I thought I should go right. Went left and left again, meandered around the countryside and turned right at the T junction to end up back on the road I started on but a little bit further down it. If I had ignored the sat nav at first we would have arrived a lot earlier
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Re: Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

Post by xrppzi » Fri Oct 02 2020 10:01am

Ours is brilliant if you don't know where to go (and you give it the correct instructions). But postcode alone is sometimes not enough, it does better if it has more information than that, even if it's an arbitary street/building/farm/etc in the vicinity. Also it needs regualr updates or you might find yourself going off map, but that is often included in the purchase price these days. And no, I don't ever use a phone as it's likely to lose the signal in this area.
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Re: Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

Post by BeautifulSunshine » Fri Oct 02 2020 7:21pm

Countryside is notoriously difficult for sat navs. Sat navs are great.
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Re: Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

Post by pakefield » Sat Oct 03 2020 11:52am

Yes our garmin is great. Tested it out on trip to a nearby town when we bought it. Going down the A12 tells us to turn right here. Could not work out why but told the wife to do as it said. We were at the entrance to Wrentham and meandered round the side of the village and came out onto the A12 the other side of the village. We could have gone straight on and saved a far bit of time and petrol but the Satnav knows best - allegedly.

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Re: Sat Navs are they as good as maps?

Post by Chadwick » Sat Oct 03 2020 11:57am

A sat nav that has live traffic data is usually better than a paper map because it can avoid delays and road closures. On the downside the sat nav usually does not know that the road it's sending you down is a single lane track and the farmers are active in the fields with their tractors. I think there are 'truck' versions that do take account of that and other considerations like low bridges.

However, sometimes you want to deviate from the optimum route and a paper map gives you the edge then because you can freely wander and know where you're going, albeit you're at the mercy of any changes to the roads since the map was printed, and any dynamic traffic factors like accidents, temporary closures, and rush hour traffic volume.

Horses for courses. Both have benefits and risks. However, satnavs are continuously improving, whereas paper maps don't, so at some point I expect satnav mapping to overcome its deficits and be more valuable overall.

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