The Curse of Sat-Navs
The government is having a summit to get sat-navs correct.
In my view the problem goes deeper, in that some companies, organisations and individuals, now think that everybody has one, and that is how they’ll find a particular place. I found that some football clubs, just put a sat nav address on their website to guide visiting fans, with no information on public transport. I won’t give an example, as hopefully they have corrected the omission.
I don’t even have a smart phone, as I don’t need one, so the only maps I rely on in new areas, are those provided by the city, or a small atlas or a page printed from the Internet, I can keep in my pocket. I tend to travel as light as possible and at the moment, if I can’t get it in my pockets or small bag, I don’t take it.
After all, if towns or cities want to attract visitors, they should provide signs, maps and other information. Some cities like Manchester are so badly served, I will only go if I can’t possibly avoid the trip. But if places like Exeter, Norwich and Ipswich can get it right, surely anybody can.
If we assume that everybody has an electronic navigation device, we are making a very bad mistake.
The Anonymous Widower 
unfortunately, a large number of people now have phones with built-in satnav, and as a result there is a demand for satnav data. I am sure it has been the same at every change of technology that the new one is not accepted by everyone. My mother-in-law used to get very angry when email addresses and web addresses were given out on the radio and television. She used to say that they are assuming we all have computers, and she didn’t. I told her that her parents probably said the same thing about telephone numbers, and she admitted that they did. As long as the new information is additional, then I think we have to accept it as the way forward.
Comment by John Wright | January 6, 2012 |