Editor’s Blog on the satnav summit

A SATNAV summit. Not quite the same clout as a G20 summit, that’s for sure, but useful nonetheless.

What am I talking about? Well, the government wants a satnav summit in March to make sure routing down inappropriate roads no longer happens. You know the sort of thing – lorries jammed down narrow lanes, drivers blindly following the satnav voice…into a river. See our news story Satnav summit to route motorists the right way.

Satnavs: unquestionably useful for business. I use mine in my Audi A6 all the time. Usually it’s brilliant. I particularly like knowing how long it’s going to take me to get to my destination. If you’ve had a hold up – or were too late leaving the office – you can always phone ahead with a good idea of when you will appear.

But even with the Audi’s set up, there are times when I find it frustrating. Yesterday was a prime example – I knew a route I could take that would avoid potential traffic. But the satnav system clung on for about five minutes trying to turn me around and back to the original route.

It goes without saying, you should always look at a map as well as consulting the satnav. Some knowledge outside the box on your dashboard is always useful. Including a good dose of commonsense (like not turning left down a dirt track because the satnav says so….).

“We do hear satnav horror stories with headlines such as ‘Sat-Nav directed me into path of train’, AA president Edmund King told me this morning. “Then there’s ‘Satnav’s latest short cut…through a cottage’; or ‘Satnav got truck stuck in tunnel’. However, these are few and far between. We should embrace new technology after all. And if a satnav is used in conjunction with a good atlas and common sense, then they can enhance safety and reduce journey times. But common sense is important, for instance someone thought she was being taken to a Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge by taxi but ended up 230 miles away in rural village of Stamford Bridge near York.”

And I think that’s the point: you have to know your geography. There’s no point setting off for Burnham in Somerset and ending up on the east coast at Burnham Market.

Whatever the satnav might say.

Previous blog on the editor’s Audi A6
Winter tyres fitted to my Audi A6