Reasons I do not want a satnav

[bunn]

I've just had a call from a bloke who is coming to our house to fix something.  He said he was going to follow his satnav to the village, which he confidently pronounces is 10 minutes away from his current location.

10 minutes later: panicky call: " Help!  Where am I!  I'm in a wood!'   Discussion concludes that his satnav has directed him to the wrong side of the river and  he is, therefore,  in the wrong county.   What's more, on enquiry it turned out that he did actually know where the village was, roughly - only because the satnav told him, he went another way.  Why do people believe what computers tell them, so confidingly?

If he has not been eaten by beavers, I expect another call when he gets to the pub, because satnav is no use in a village that only has one postcode anyway.

Give me a map any time.

Comments

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Oh those things. I was out riding a few of years ago, and was down a very small single track lane about five miles outside Tow Law.

For those of you not familiar with Co Durham, this can be pretty much classed as the middle of nowhere.

He was looking for location which turned out to be over 20 miles away.

I've not trusted those things since I worked for the AA on a satnav project- you wouldn't believe some of the routes it came up with. Fortunately, having worked for the AA I can mapread like a good 'un. Give me directions and I'll get hideously lost. Give me a road name, number of 6 figure grid ref and I'm fine.

Incidentally- have you ever had anyone go to the wrong town because they put the postcode in wrong?

[(Anonymous)]

I don't remember ever having someone put the postcode in wrong, but we have had a few people put the village name in, and then go to the wrong place because there are two of them, one in Devon, one in Cornwall - the Devon one is slightly bigger so comes up first in lists.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

adaese's mother lives on P***** Road, which is part of the A404. The first time I went to see adaese there, she gave me very detailed instructions, which I didn't really listen to once I'd found it on the map.

Er, it turns out I found the other P***** Road that's part of the A404 ...