TOMTOM

[dazzawhipple]

Well last night I had to go to Tenby wells from Oxford

So I used TOMTOM for the first time in anger,

I selected the shortest route on it, Driving along the A44 it tells me to turn off, so not really having a clue where I am, I follow it, I driving down a country lane

I just glimsed something hit the brakes and stopped very quick

A ford 3 ft deep fine in the disco but I was in a Rover 25 :shock:

I think it was this one Co-Ords

which is Pinvin on Wetroads

[Boggert]

LOL, there has been a few instances whan the Tom Tom has done a divert and people have ended up on unsurfaced roads!

I know of a sales rep who got stuck on a BOAT and had to be pulled out by the local farmer. :lol:

[MudRat]

YOU WIMP!!!!!!  :twisted:

[gords]

Selecting "shortest route" was your problem  I find it really is very much better to select "fastest route" unless you have a good reason not to.

Even though the fastest routes are usually longer, they tend to stick to main roads and are faster :)

Sometimes, I switch between fastest and shortest during the journey or you can "recalculate" the journey to get alternatives.

But basically, it only knows where the roads are - or should I say where they were when the set of maps you are using were produced

There is a new version of TomTom and a new version of maps available.

[sleeplessparadise]

We used TomTom the other night to get us somewhere in lancashire where a friend needed recovering. It took us all round the houses and some of the lanes were only just wide enough for the 90 :shock: I know it tried taking me down a greenlane in the mondeo once but fortunately I thought it looked dodgey so didnt go down it but went back later to explore in the disco

[Mudlark]

They all like green lanes mine took me to the edge of a 3 foot ford the other day - I chickened out being nearly 200 miles from home :roll:


But it's a good excuse for being on a green lane :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Dennis the diesel]

I live 1/4 mile down a Byway and, in the summer, the number of people coming down the track in posh shiny cars is unbelievable. "The sat-nav sent us down here, is that right" is a FAQ down our lane. we usually advise them to turn around and go a different way.

Another story, slightly connected;- my mate runs a garage, and for a laugh, he used a route calculator to get from the Isle of Wight to this companies service centre in Wigan.
The computer told him - "Travel to Portsmouth, board the Cross-Channel ferry, get off at Lehavre, drive to Calais, board the ferry to Dover, then drive to Wigan",  taking 2 days and who knows how far out of his way. Clever aren't they??

Regards,   Chris

[Mudlark]

I think they like water - every route of mine begins with BOARD FERRY! It's not the only way out of this town :roll:  :roll:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[orbspeed1]

When will people learn BYWAYS ARE ROADS ofcouse your sat nav will ocasionaly find a dirt road but at the end of the day YOU are in charge of the car and WERE you drive, use  your COMMON SENSE.

Also most sat navs have a DIVERT BUTTON or ROAD BLOCK BUTTON or similer if you need to find a alternative route.

Also nothing beats local knowledge a sat nav works to a simple rule a Motoway is faster than a dual carageway an A road should be faster than an B road and so on.
People think the fastest way between two points is the shortest but not if its 10 miles at 30mph or a slightly longer route at 40mph+will get you there sooner.

Oneway roads is another one remember councils will change road priorities/layouts at will and without telling the rest of the world let alone telling every sat nav maker on the planet.

Now add this to the equation how many roads in the UK alone do you think there are let alone the rest of europe, WE DO NOT LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD what are the chances of anyone/company of getting it 100% right.

And theres more, POST CODES will be wrong they have nothing to do with getting from A to B they are made by the post office for the post office to deliver the mail, they will get you fairly close in towns but as you get in to the country side they will cover a bigger area as houses get more spaced out.
That said there are a lot of unamed roads so post codes can be very usefull.

HOW YOU SEARCH for a place makes a difference as well do remember a road may be part of two towns/villages so try both, also if you cant find a place by the town/village name try the next big town (heres a example on a bigger scale dont seach fo westminster try london if you cant find your place) most towns etc will have smaller parish or village names that arent on the system.
If using the bigger town name doesnt work try a more local search eg westminster not london.

Look out for duplicate town names try searching for Farnham and see how many you get same with road names like green lane or the high street.

If you still fail to find the road try a road it joins or comes of off or its opposite, see if you system has a map scroll or search feature and then piont to or touch on the map where you want to go.

It will crash or feeze as well its a computer they do that find the reset button and all things being good it will then start up again.

If you dont want it STOLEN then dont leave it or the Bracket on the window when up leave you car or in the glove box etc thats the first place someone will look.

NIGHT MODE why do so many people not change to the night time colours or use the brightness control.  (ok dont answer that one)

Rember most of these things come with a marvolous invention its called the INSTUCTIONS. (some are better than others though)

Please dont think I hate sat navs I dont I love them but as long as you understand there limitations you will not be disapointed and hopefully always find your desination and to date non of the systems I use have let me down yet.

Ok RANT OFF hope all this helps. But fed up of seing the same silly statments about sat nav on other forums.

[dazzawhipple]

:shock:  :roll:

[dazzawhipple]

Oh it was a surfaced road not a Byway

[DarrenG]

What version of TomTom were you using OOI?

[dazzawhipple]

Darren

Mobile 5 I think

Darren

[AS90]

My TOMTOM took me down an old dirt track the other day, I was in my Alfa 156 and was gutted to find it reaked of s***e when I got out, I had just washed it as well  :D

[DarrenG]

You do know it's a 'guide' and not an Auto-Pilot ;

[dazzawhipple]

Yes it is only a guide but it did take me down down a b road the only problem was the ford was flooded at 3 ft because I asked it to

I didnt want to go m40 , m42, m5 at 4pm on a friday

I actually thought it was very funny but there you go  :lol:


Darren

[AS90]

You do know it's a 'guide' and not an Auto-Pilot ;

Yes I know! For that I have one of those inflatable one's like on Airplane!  :D  I do get some funny looks when Im blowing it up  :oops:

[tomarse]

you really get to see some interesting scenery when you put it on shortest route. Sometimes i drive home from different work places using the tomtom on shortest (I know the normal routes). It always takes longer but takes me to places ive never been to before which can be nice when you are not in a rush and its a nice afternoon :)

[rollazuki]

I just love shortest route on tomtom. It takes you on some amazing back roads, thru dodgy estates you would never drive thru.

I tell ya, a 3 foot ford is safer than some tricky estates its taken me thru!


Like its been said tho, it aint autopilot.