I bought a Sat Nav..

[Admiral Huddy]

I thought it was about time I bought a Sat Nav so I can find peoples houses when being called out. I was feedup of printing directions from Google maps before leaving. So I got the NavMan S80 from Halfords, half price!

Ok, so I get home and set it up for our weekend trip to Alton Towers. Off we go, and it takes me to the M25... Why oh why did I listen to this 7inch piece of silicon.. 8 miles down the road.. BANG - 1 hour of traffic on the A12!!!!

Then half way up the M1, the Sat Nav said, "Please plug in external power source".. So I plugged in the power from the cig lighter. Nope, the fuss on the cig lighter had blown!! So no sat nav and not a clue where I was going.. I had to buy a bloody map!!!!!!!

Anyway, coming home our exhaust pipe fell off and sat nav (now charged) told me to go the M25.. on A Sunday evening!!!... No F**** way matey

[Burble]

Sat nav units aren't perfect but a lot of the issues can be traced to how they are setup. Was yours set to use the quickest or shortest route? They're often not the same thing.

As far as the traffic goes - how was it supposed to know? You can get units that use TMC to receive traffic updates or even ones that have a mobile phone sim card in so they connect to the web to get updates but if your unit doesn't do that then it isn't the fault of the unit that you got stuck in traffic.

Sat nav units aren't a replacement for common sense. If I set mine to take me to Will's place (Crystal Palace) then it always wants to take me down the M1, Edgeware Road, around Park Lane and so on but I know to avoid that route like the plague at certain times of day.

My unit receives traffic updates but they are only as useful as they are accurate - it isn't uncommon to be stuck in traffic that the uni knows nothing about, but that isn't the fault of the unit as it can't warn me about traffic it doesn't know about.

[Belmit]

Originally Posted by Burble

Sat nav units aren't a replacement for common sense.

I think we can forgive Huddy for getting his hopes up.

[Burble]

Originally Posted by Belmit

I think we can forgive Huddy for getting his hopes up.

Good point, well made

[Admiral Huddy]

It has TMC

[Burble]

Yeah, but like I said it isn't uncommon to be sitting in traffic that TMC hasn't broadcast about.

[LeperousDust]

Sat nav is excellent if you use it righ as burble says. It's not going to do the driving for you, nor will it always take the "best" route (best is subjective anyway) what you could have done is avoided anywhere you knew would be bad and then let the sat nav pick you up again after re-routing. Following a sat nav religiously is a recipe for disaster and something a woman would do (oof).

[Will]

Burble, you just love coming through the BW tunnel and you know that's why you hate Edgeware road

[Burble]

I am quite fond of the Blackwall Tunnel. Can't think why though

Plus last time I went home from yours the other way it took sodding hours (literally!) to get to the M1.

[Feek]

I put it down to the user. Huddy, you've seen yourself how good it can be *pokes*