AndrewG:
If im off my ususal route i normally glance at a map first and then just use the nav for the final address maybe a few km’s away, navs will always find the shortest route but can take you onto roads you really dont want to be on…
That’s just not true, I have a tomtom 6000 & it will find the fastest route suitable for hgv’s not the shortest route for anything, it will also offer a couple of alternative routes. The trick is to set it up properly & try using a bit of common sense along with google maps for looking at the actual destination, hasn’t let me down yet although there’s always a first time
Cant comment on the systems you guys have but the system I have fitted offers choice of "shortest/quickest/most economic settings". All of the options fall short of a working "common sense" option mixing together all of the above. Not yet capable of predicting traffic either: I know if Im gonna try running around a big city at 17hr30 Im gonna hit traffic, but my SatNav will start routing me that way if Im starting out 3hours away, then panic and divert as I approach and traffic builds. I often look at the routes it throws up, but they are only advisory after all.
Are any systems yet capable of looking at frequent traffic snarls and predicting/allowing for them?
They will never be able to predict traffic but to be fair as a live traffic system the tomtom is reasonably good at what it does, the “common sense option” is hopefully what the driver brings along
AndrewG:
If im off my ususal route i normally glance at a map first and then just use the nav for the final address maybe a few km’s away, navs will always find the shortest route but can take you onto roads you really dont want to be on…
That’s just not true, I have a tomtom 6000 & it will find the fastest route suitable for hgv’s not the shortest route for anything, it will also offer a couple of alternative routes. The trick is to set it up properly & try using a bit of common sense along with google maps for looking at the actual destination, hasn’t let me down yet although there’s always a first time
Cant comment on the systems you guys have but the system I have fitted offers choice of "shortest/quickest/most economic settings". All of the options fall short of a working "common sense" option mixing together all of the above. Not yet capable of predicting traffic either: I know if Im gonna try running around a big city at 17hr30 Im gonna hit traffic, but my SatNav will start routing me that way if Im starting out 3hours away, then panic and divert as I approach and traffic builds. I often look at the routes it throws up, but they are only advisory after all.
Are any systems yet capable of looking at frequent traffic snarls and predicting/allowing for them?
They will never be able to predict traffic but to be fair as a live traffic system the tomtom is reasonably good at what it does, the “common sense option” is hopefully what the driver brings along
Clearly no system can predict a jam due to an accident, but Im wondering if any current or future systems will take account of "normal" jams? Example: Oxford to Worthing? A route going around the M25 might be best if leaving Oxford at 04hr00. But maybe via Southampton if leaving at 07hr00? A live traffic SatNav may give those options. Would any current SatNavs recognise that leaving at 05hr00 the traffic on the M25 may be light, but will be heavy when you arrive there? Im sort of thinking out loud here. . the example may not be a good one but I hope you can get my drift.
Drivers pay thousands to get their licences, entrusted by their employers to look after kit worth up to £ 120,000 ,potentially carrying somebody elses cargo worth a million pounds .
BUT you all compete who has the cheapest Chinese or Taiwan sat nav that will send a 44 tonner down Old Nags Lane bridleway up Batley Bottom Down Dingly Dell.
Ffs men, grow up and cough up for something decent.
Some models have a tv in them, ideal for night outs .
Trucks with only car sat navs is silly to me but your choice.
If money is so tight not to buy decent kit, get a loan.
Its like a commercial pilot paying £130,000 for his/her ATPL CPL to then fit a recon jet engine for Atlantic flights and hope it doesn’t fail mid flight to save money .
My Cheapo E bay sat nav has what’s called historical traffic which is exactly
what you are describing.
It will route differently depending on the time of day knowing about traffic hot spots.
At least that’s what it is meant to do, I’ve not really looked into it in much detail yet.
Meduc:
My Cheapo E bay sat nav has what’s called historical traffic which is exactly
what you are describing.
It will route differently depending on the time of day knowing about traffic hot spots.
At least that’s what it is meant to do, I’ve not really looked into it in much detail yet.
Xgody 886.
That sounds like the sort of thing I was woffling on about. Thanks for answer.
Tomtom has a similar thing if you go online on the Mydrive app, it lets you put in the departure or arrival time & date so must take known traffic issues into account.
wrighty1:
Tomtom has a similar thing if you go online on the Mydrive app, it lets you put in the departure or arrival time & date so must take known traffic issues into account.
The Windows version of MyDrive also has a truck setting where you can put in height, weight etc.
If you have one of the later TomToms that connects to Mydrive you can plan the route on your pc and download
it to your satnav, even the car ones.
Don’t know how good it is but a cheap alternative to the full blown truck version.
Tomtom have had “IQ Routing” for years now, with routes calculated using the actual driving speeds achieved by millions of users in real traffic, varying according to time of day, day of the week etc.
It’s certainly not perfect, but when combined with their rather good Live Traffic service it works very well - and far, far better than relying on National and Local radio which always seems to do a good job of telling you why you are currently sitting in a three mile queue rather than providing any useful information to help you get around it…
Roymondo:
A couple of quid a day just to use the satnav? [zb] me Pat, UK lorry drivers would rather offer their firstborn or let the phone company have first dibs on the missus rather than pay that sort of money!
But a professional driver should never need it, if you can’t drive a lorry and find your delivery point without a satnav you are in the wrong job. How do you think we coped without them ? How do you think we found our way across Europe to some unheard of town somewhere in Poland or Greece for instance ?
If you really need a satnav, you need to get a job driving a milk float.
Roymondo:
A couple of quid a day just to use the satnav? [zb] me Pat, UK lorry drivers would rather offer their firstborn or let the phone company have first dibs on the missus rather than pay that sort of money!
But a professional driver should never need it, if you can’t drive a lorry and find your delivery point without a satnav you are in the wrong job. How do you think we coped without them ? How do you think we found our way across Europe to some unheard of town somewhere in Poland or Greece for instance ?
If you really need a satnav, you need to get a job driving a milk float.
What a load of rubbish, got to love the old school map & compass drivers that slate anyone that dares to use technology to make their job easier. Maybe it’s time you moved along as you are obsolete in the modern world. It’s not about “needing” a sat nav but totally about making the job as easy as possible for yourself, quite a simple concept that some of you old school drivers fail to get
Roymondo:
A couple of quid a day just to use the satnav? [zb] me Pat, UK lorry drivers would rather offer their firstborn or let the phone company have first dibs on the missus rather than pay that sort of money!
But a professional driver should never need it, if you can’t drive a lorry and find your delivery point without a satnav you are in the wrong job. How do you think we coped without them ? How do you think we found our way across Europe to some unheard of town somewhere in Poland or Greece for instance ?
If you really need a satnav, you need to get a job driving a milk float.
What a load of rubbish, got to love the old school map & compass drivers that slate anyone that dares to use technology to make their job easier. Maybe it’s time you moved along as you are obsolete in the modern world. It’s not about “needing” a sat nav but totally about making the job as easy as possible for yourself, quite a simple concept that some of you old school drivers fail to get
