Help with buying a Sat Nav please

no_more_cards_for_me

iamana1ias wrote: »

Perhaps not, but it seems it is to switch your brain off when there's one of these in the car.

Rubbish.

They are a tool to be used with a little common sense. If located correctly they are a benefit to road safety with clear spoken directions. The problem arises when people located them dead centre in the windscreen so that they obscure the view of the road.

Satnavs should be bottom right of the screen and should not be programmed whilst driving.

I drive extensively for work and wouldn't be without one for the time that it saves, with live updates on traffic reports and redirection plus the dafety camera alerts.

If people choose to "check their brain" at the door and not apply common sense then that isn't the fault of the sat nav.

no_more_cards_for_me

sec79 wrote: »

Can anyone advise me which model to go for please, or what features to go for?

Tom Tom - with a wide screen. The latest ones are Ok, can be a little fickle but generally reliable. I have one with everything including live updates on traffic, speed cameras, bluetooth, internet search on local area etc. Probably over spec but as its for work it saves a huge amount of time.

The small screen sat nav's can look cluttered and I much prefer the 4.3 inch screens and layout.

Navman - don't bother - unreliable piece of rubbish. Poor maps and direction. Lack of updates. Traffic functions and computer sync that never worked. Avoid.

You will need a case for it and I would suggest a Brodit mount to fit on the dashboard. Brodit and their equivalents fit to air vents and keep the windscreen clear of obstructions. Run the sat nav on a power cable from the 12v socket.

Good luck.

iamana1ias

no_more_cards_for_me wrote: »

Rubbish.

They are a tool to be used with a little common sense. If located correctly they are a benefit to road safety with clear spoken directions. The problem arises when people located them dead centre in the windscreen so that they obscure the view of the road.

Satnavs should be bottom right of the screen and should not be programmed whilst driving.

I drive extensively for work and wouldn't be without one for the time that it saves, with live updates on traffic reports and redirection plus the dafety camera alerts.

If people choose to "check their brain" at the door and not apply common sense then that isn't the fault of the sat nav.

But without the sat nav they wouldn't be so able to switch their brain off would they, because they'd have to prepare for their journey and possibly even (having consulted a map) have some idea of where they're going!

no_more_cards_for_me

iamana1ias wrote: »

But without the sat nav they wouldn't be so able to switch their brain off would they, because they'd have to prepare for their journey and possibly even (having consulted a map) have some idea of where they're going!

I think you confusing people switching their brain off with relying on clear concise instructions.

Its far more likely that a map will cause the driver to take his or her eye off the road when trying to identify where to go or when arguing with whoever is map reading. Sat Nav with spoken instructions removes the need for the driver to consult with other references.

I won't disagree that the screen can be a distraction, see my previous post - how many people put the sat nav in the middle of the windscreen and obscure their view of the road ahead. if correctly mounted then its a safe tool. If its stuck in the middle of the screen at eye height then its a liability and a distraction.

iamana1ias

no_more_cards_for_me wrote: »

I think you confusing people switching their brain off with relying on clear concise instructions.

Its far more likely that a map will cause the driver to take his or her eye off the road when trying to identify where to go or when arguing with whoever is map reading. Sat Nav with spoken instructions removes the need for the driver to consult with other references.

I won't disagree that the screen can be a distraction, see my previous post - how many people put the sat nav in the middle of the windscreen and obscure their view of the road ahead. if correctly mounted then its a safe tool. If its stuck in the middle of the screen at eye height then its a liability and a distraction.

Not if consulted before starting the journey! I wasn't advocating map reading while moving!! :eek:

no_more_cards_for_me

iamana1ias wrote: »

Not if consulted before starting the journey! I wasn't advocating map reading while moving!! :eek:

How many people can remember each turn of a route. if map reading then the attention of the driver is not on the road.

Driving on a motorway is pretty straightforward but sat nav comes into its own on the last few miles of an unknown journey. Exactly the place where trying to read a map presents a danger to other users. Sat Nav removes this danger.

People still smoke, drink, change cd's, apply make-up, use the phone etc all of which could be considered driving without due care - a sat nav correctly set up is a minimal risk (provided the driver is not trying to programme it whilst driving.)

cyclonebri1

Only one word or two of advice, get one that has full 6/7 digit post code recognition, and only switch it on when you are within a knats of your destination. And yes I do have and use one, invaluable if used sensibly ;)

plane_boy2000

I have a navman S80 and its fab - nice 4.3" clear screen, trafic alerts where it tells you if a diversion is best or not, trip logging so you can pull all your journeys into excel on your pc, camera allerts, bluetooth so you can use it as a hands free for your mobile, and text to speach where instead of saying turn left it gives you the full road name so it will say "turn left into north road" - makes it a lot easier to use without looking at the screen plus you can get factory refurbs from navman for 99 quid http://ukstore.navmanstores.com/Factory%20Repacked%20Devices/4.3inch%20Screens/S90i%20Factory%20Repacked___328.htm

Round_The_Bend

I have a Garmin, which came out tops with 'WHICH', when I was looking a couple of years ago. I did borrow my wife's Tom Tom initially but found that it would often lose its signal within built-up areas of Manchester, where I was working at the time. I've never had any problems with the Garmin and the instructions are clear and definitely audible for somebody like me, whose hearing isn't that great...well, according to the wife, that is.

I bought mine from 'Amazon' marketplace, which was the cheapest for what I needed at the time. Hope this helps.

Coveredinbees!!!!

I borrowed a sat nav of my dad to get to a funeral in a kettering, an area I don't know well. After it tried to send me through the middle of Wellingborough rather than around the ring road I new things were going to get complicated. It did the sat nav took me to the middle of no where miles from where I was supposed to be. I ended up doing the usual and asking someone where to go. Total waste of money IMO just check the AA or google maps before you leave the house.