Cycling UK Forum

Okay, the screen is kinda essential for entering in the destination. But the screen should be blank when driving.

I'm quite a fan of sat nav and I know the map data can be bad, not to mention that the roundabout exits aren't always numbered correctly in some maps. But I feel that long glances at a sat nav screen is dangerous while driving.

gilesjuk wrote: But the screen should be blank when driving.

It is by default on TomTom systems.... you have the option to display or not to display.

gilesjuk wrote:But I feel that long glances at a sat nav screen is dangerous while driving.

IMO only if positioned inappropriately, also most Sat-Nav systems give verbal instructions... i.e "turn right in 80 yards" etc. etc.
Mine is carried in a rear pocket on my jersey (stops low-lifes snatching it from the handlebars) with an earpiece/headphone connected to give me directions in a Victor Meldrew voice
All very safe IMO.

Is it my imagination or do many people have sat navs on even on their regular routes? I simply don't do enough trips to unknown destinations to warrent one.

My Dad has one and when my twin babies had just been born and he wanted to visit them in hospital he rang me up to ask what the postcode of the hospital was. "How should I know" was my reply to which he said "how can I find the hospital otherwise". "Look for the big signs to the big building saying hospital" was my reply.

Basically what I'm saying is that people are just relying on this machine and not using any common sense anymore. Is map reading going to be another of those archane skills like stone masonary consigned to history!

What I want is an OS Map that when I open it it tells me where I am!

I agree with so much that fatboy says, have never needed a satnav and prefer to know where I am leaving a motorway in advance, not to be told suddenly I am leaving it in 200 yards etc. I like to have a picture of my journey in my head and to read the map.
However, having recently been involved with somene who has one I can see their merits for finding a specific address within a built up area. It must be far safer than the driver who has route instructions or a map balanced in front of them on the steering wheel, and yes i am guilty of doing that

I understand that the same screen can be used with a DVD player or similar. When legally fitted, that mode will only work when the vehicle is not going. It is easy to disable that safety feature.

i agree with fatboy.

as for satnavs, it simply beggers beleif that you can type in postcodes and drive at the same time. the buttons at the very least should only work when the handbrake is on and the speedo says zero.

I got one in Feb specifically for finding an address after arriving at a town, They are excellent for that, and it was cheaper than updating my existing stock of streetmaps. I have found that it can also be pretty good at choosing cross sountry routes.
In neither case do I ever give it more than quick glances. You dont need to. It shows such a small area that you dont have to waste time working out where you are in order to pick up that you should be following the road round a left hand bend or going off to the right at a roundabout or whatever.
I find the visual display easier to work with than the verbal guidance which occasionally manages to confuse "Follow around lefthand bend" with"Turn left!" and frequently does not give enough notice when approaching roundabouts. Without the visual display it would be worthless to me.
Yes, it is something else to attend to but I have found that I can handle that much better than struggling with more limited guidance that doesnt self correct when you miss your turn.
Before getting one I had a number of reservations about their use. My overall experience has been that they can take so much pressure of your shoulders that I am more aware of where I am, how I got there and what is going on around me.

I find the voice instructions aren't always clear due to map problems. Sometimes they include roundabout exits to business parks in the total, sometimes they don't.

On some new BMW's, the display is projected fighter pilot-style, so it appears, not on a screen, but beyond the windscreen into the driver's area of focus on the road (along with other info such as speed). So the driver can see all info he / she requires, without taking eyes off the road.

gilesjuk wrote:Okay, the screen is kinda essential for entering in the destination. But the screen should be blank when driving.

Should petrol gauges and speedometers also be blank when driving?

Ben

fatboy wrote:Is it my imagination or do many people have sat navs on even on their regular routes?

Yes, because mine has traffic info, so it'll alert me to any traffic holdups on my route, and automatically re-route me around them.

Ben

Ben Lovejoy wrote:Should petrol gauges and speedometers also be blank when driving?

Perhaps the mind should be blank too.

And a cheque, when you fill up with petrol?

My Tom Tom is excellent. I bought it a couple of years ago and it's one of those things I simply couldn't live without, especially since I left Uni and all my friends have dispersed throughout the country.

You may ask how did I manage beforehand? The answer is, I didn't. I remember driving round for ages with street maps printed off the internet, keeping my eyes on street signs rather than on the road. Much more dangerous than a quick glance at the satnav screen.

(p.s. you don't input the postcode while you're driving - you do all that before you set off of course! And the Tom Tom gives plenty of advance notice when you need to leave the Motorway - in fact you know about it *before* the signs tell you which junction is coming up next)

caldini wrote: I simply couldn't live without

(p.s. you don't input the postcode while you're driving - you do all that before you set off of course!

that's water, food, shelter in cold months. you're exaggerating to say it about a gadget

i'm pleased that you do input it before you set off , but the ones i've seen can be programmed whilst driving. this should be disabled by the manufacturers, IMO

i use the trustworthy method of ASKING someone for directions...am i old fashioned???