tbh I just bang the postcode in google and remember where im going.
Print off googles directions and pull over and have a quick look if im going a lonnggg way.

Cheaper than sat nav, and no annoying voice

I see a point in sat nav, but because I never drive anywhere i dont know its useless to me at least. Maybe when Galileo gets up and running will I invest/or need to invest in a sat nav, although id rather spend the money on a head unit with a line in , so i dont have to use a tape to connect ipod/phone to speakers:bang: :bang:

I have to agree with the pro sat-nav lobby. If you are driving in a strange town,then it makes finding your way a lot easier. It also removes the need to look at road signs when negotiating a busy high street/town centre,thus reducing stress and possibly the risk of having an accident.
I used to prepare routes using a map,but when you come to a diversion for example,then your prepared paper route is worth diddly squat.
Yes, sat-navs can send drivers down the wrong road occasionaly,but I for one will not be going back to maps.

I love our tomtom.

Obviously I dont use it for going to mates houses or places I already know (though my dad does cos he wants to see if it can show him a better route than he normally uses!) but for going long distances or to strange towns its a must. Ebay missions are what I use it for the most.

I think my favourite bit of having it with me is the "get me home" factor. If you screw up all your directions and haven't got a clue where you are even with a map, you can always type in your home postcode and it'll direct you straight there, no more panicking and fussing about oh god where are we, how do we get back, we're so lost.

I used it earlier this year going about 50 miles away from home into strange territory for my first forum meet and the car overheated and died on the side of the motorway without a clue where I was, no AA/RAC coverage, and about 10p of phone credit. Worrying enough at the time without the added stress of not knowing how to get home either which would have happened if I hadn't brought the tomtom. :worship:

I used to get lost all the time before I got my satty, I once got totally lost going down to somewhere in Cornwall so I called the AA & asked them & following their directions I ended up in Glasgow!

Thats the last time I call Alcoholics Anonymous

everyone should use sat nav at all times, it avoids speeding tickets like you wouldnt believe. i got banned once, got caught again after that, had plenty of close shaves and warning from cops, then i got sat nav and i've never been close to getting caught again (touch wood). i dont need to use my speedo because it beeps when i speed in an area where there are speed cameras. it has different noises for different types of camera, it has every type of camera in its database, i can choose the type of warning and when it happens, basically it is my favorite gadget since the mobile phone and a real life saver. the navigation is very handy as well (although as with most things i dont advise idiots to use it)

So you more or less totally ignore speed limits inc 30mph in towns & around schools then & seem quite proud of the fact

jug said:

everyone should use sat nav at all times, it avoids speeding tickets like you wouldnt believe. i got banned once, got caught again after that, had plenty of close shaves and warning from cops, then i got sat nav and i've never been close to getting caught again (touch wood). i dont need to use my speedo because it beeps when i speed in an area where there are speed cameras. it has different noises for different types of camera, it has every type of camera in its database, i can choose the type of warning and when it happens, basically it is my favorite gadget since the mobile phone and a real life saver. the navigation is very handy as well (although as with most things i dont advise idiots to use it)

Click to expand...

What system you got?

usher said:

So you more or less totally ignore speed limits inc 30mph in towns & around schools then & seem quite proud of the fact

Click to expand...

I'm sure thats not what he's meaning!

Its when you`re driving abroad. Been driving all day, its getting dark and raining. You`re approaching a big continental city, but the `Camponile` has been selected from the cities hotel list and the Sat Nav takes you straight there and up the drive.
Thats when its worth its weight in gold.

Sexy Sat Nav voices rule!

i have a Navman, there awesome..just listening to the sexy lady talking to you...u can even have a spanish girl talking...

seriously..i love mine, i have been all over the UK with it. but is annyoing when roads change and the sat nav isnt updated

i prefer to look at maps and memorize the route! though this is only practical when it's to somewhere just off a main road or something. even so sat nav is good for this as it just confirms where you are so you can work out how far away you are roughly.
Sat Nav is at it's best when trying to get somewhere which is following a maze of residential roads!

my sat nav won't take me down roads which are unsuitable. it doesn't have all the small roads on it when i was trying out a new route to sixth form after they closed off the village on the route to it. it just said perform a u turn and didn't show up all the roads i took. which isn't such a bad thing when on this route there's a steeply sloped road at the very edge of a rhyne and with the road covered in wet mud it was a little hairy to say the least lol.

IMO, They're just lazy!! Also, what if on the way, you're goin past say.. Stonehenge.. Something you'd like to see, and the Satnav takes u a route you'd completely miss it! Lookin at a map and plannin your route you could see it and say 'Oh! I'd like to drive past there!'

More people should enjoy Driving. Its not just about gettin where you need to be.

Also, I find maps more practical.. You can actually KNOW what road you need, rather than relying on the satnav telling you in time!!

chrisxn said:

IMO, They're just lazy!! Also, what if on the way, you're goin past say.. Stonehenge.. Something you'd like to see, and the Satnav takes u a route you'd completely miss it! Lookin at a map and plannin your route you could see it and say 'Oh! I'd like to drive past there!'

Click to expand...

To counteract most sat navs have an option (well mine does) that can include routes that go past 'places of special interest' in this example i could have a route mapped out that would include going past stonehenge should i want to

used my satnav in a shoulder bag when in London & selected routes on foot & its invaluable as it obviously takes you where cars can't go so you can get where you want easily

the whole sat nav argument seems to be split by, not how good the technology is, whether it saves time... but more of peoples stubbornness to try something new...

it's like with anything that aids or helps people, the fact is people dont like to think that they are not in control, or are two stupid to read some paper, so the theory of having a peice of technology do the work for them sickens them.

the fact is (however much people dont want to hear it) sat navs save time, they can now save money and points by spotting speed cameras and they can save even more time by avoiding traffic jams for you.

and yes... you could probably plan the exact same route on a map, but when you have a business meeting in the outskirts of Inverness would you like to sit there and plan a route for 2 hours then start your journey.. or would you like to chuck in a postcode and get on your way

I needed to get to the midlands a little while back and popped in the postcode and off I went.
No getting lost, I knew what time I would arrive...and fair enough you can work i out roughly...but adjusting to the exact min is great. So you get a call "how long you gonna be?" .....37 mins

On the way home I wanted petrol before jumping back on the motorway and joy of joys...no more looking for a petrol station or asking directions

I love it And I wouldn't go on an unknown journey without it now

I prefer to plan ahead and use satnav to fine tune it or in case I forget. To get the real benefit of it, you need to know where you're headed to start with otherwise there's a good chance you'll get lost. Examples incluse TomTom and Nokia both wanting to send me down the M61/M60/ M62 instead of straight down the M6, the great A1(M) debacle of TomTom that STILL doesn't seem to be solved (AFAIK it still doesn't 'exist') and not sure of the make, but one sends you down some random local B-road into Bellshill when you're trying to do M74-A725-M8, time after time after time There's plenty more as well! :bang:

Hurrah for Sat Nav!!!

Though I've used it many a time, I still don't have one of my own yet (because I'm too cheap )

Im in love with sat-nav. Had to go to a city ive never driven through before, and never been there urgently. Borrowed someones from work, typed in postcode and off i went. It was absolutely brilliant , loved it so much that im getting one from my parents for my xmas pressie

i think my satnav is brilliant, even if i know where im going and dont set a route it warns in advance of any speed cameras and also woorks as a bluetooth hands free kit aswell.,.