Map reading skills? Who needs them any more?

[Schnellzug]

Even the Army just goes where the sat nav tells them now, it seems ...

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9748388.Road_closed_after_lorry_hits_low_railway_bridge/

:roll:

 

[GB]

The maps I have seen do not show bridge heights so I fail to see how this is a sat nav fault.

This is a failure of the driver to acquaint himself with the vehicles size and the height restriction of the bridge.

 

[GearJammer]

Bloody idiot.... how the hell did he think that would ever fit under there, you only gotta look at it to see it would'nt have fitted, he was probably to busy chatting to his mate!

I'd like to know what punishment he got, any commercial driver would have got the book thrown at them!

Id also like to know how fast he was going, not like hes gently tapped it is it, container is one side of the bridge, the truck the other, what was it secured on the truck with??? Elastic bands???

 

[Nym]

Erm, if you must know...

It's secured to the vehicle with an overload break DROPS drophook and designed to do exactly that.

Also, the empty vehicle would fit (It's on the other side), it is possible to forget you have a load on the vehicle, we are all human ya know...

He will well and truely have the book thrown at him and will probably be returning to see the instructors at Leconfeild and be the laughing stock of the re-training course, and will likely receive points on his licence like any civil driver.

And them things aint fast, so yeah...

Anyway enough defence of the silly **** now, he should have:

1: Known the height of his vehicle with load, the cabs of these vehicles have adjustable reminders for this very purpose.
2: Better secured his load, using the hook only in Basara when you're loading an MLRS is all well and good, but in this country, you have time to strap the load into place on your vehicle, and place the drophook into 'locked' mode.
3: Known the route, relying on Sat Nav for military traffic is ridiculous...

PS: I've been in the RLC (Really Large Corps) and trained at Leconfeild, I know that these things are covered in MoD vehicle operator training!

 

[David]

The maps I have seen do not show bridge heights so I fail to see how this is a sat nav fault.

Easily rectified - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Nav...1438/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339103769&sr=8-2

Coincedentaly, the BBC put an article on their website this morning saying that sat-navs can, and do affect driving ability. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18349499

 

[Tomonthetrain]

What's a SatNav? I use a OS map and compass

 

[ainsworth74]

I can navigate roads using maps (we have a satnav but hardly ever use it) and I can navigate everywhere else using a compass and a map. I can't imagine not having this particular skill set, it's so useful!

 

[The Informer]

Map reading was part of the PICOP course years ago but sadly now removed.

 

[Ivo]

What's a SatNav? I use a OS map and compass

+1

Map reading is an essential skill. The only real uses of sat navs are the map functions anyway.

My niece can read maps (because I taught her ), and she's 4. If she can manage it, I should these most people can.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

As part of my BTEC in Public Services we had to learn it and be thoroughly tested with it in the Ashdown forest.

One thing I've learnt I'm not to good with Grid Reference!

 

[michael769]

The maps I have seen do not show bridge heights so I fail to see how this is a sat nav fault.

Several manufacturers make Sat Navs specifically for LGVs that have height, width and weight information. Unfortunately you get what you pay for in this world and most drivers choose to make do with a cheaper and unsuitable car unit.

However I have yet to see a Sat Nav manual that contains the following

When using this device you should forget everything you needed to learn to pass your driving test and blindly obey this device's instructions even when it conflicts with the law or posted traffic signs.

Unfortunately the humble Sat Nav has now become an easy excuse for bad driving.

 

[HowMuch?]

The height sign is in proper measurements. But perhaps the military are metric now ("What's a foot, Sarge?" "Don't come all Shakesperian with me, laddie!")

 

[Nym]

It's not an excuse or a reason, it's just stupidity not knowing how to drive properly.

Only once did I ever follow sat nav without checking the route first, it took me nearly an hour to reverse out of York Markets down a street about 1 inch wider than my vehicle.

 

[mappman1000]

I am always glad when I meet people who have no clue, or no sense of direction, as I've always taken an interest in maps and all things geographical (hence the username). Just knowing where places are is surely a sign of general knowledge, and common sense alongside is always handy.

 

[aspierail]

Relying on the sat nav for directions is not very clever at all as you must also look at the road signs too.

 

[Ploughman]

Map reading was part of the PICOP course years ago but sadly now removed.

Still got and use the compass issued when I did my PICOP refresher course years ago.

 

[HowMuch?]

Do we have to be on one side or the other?

I love maps (I REALLY mean that, I can read an OS map for hours). OS 50k and 25k maps are amongst the most useful and beautiful maps ever made. And I can use map and compass for hiking. And do.

But being a bit techie, I also like SatNavs (and GPS-enabled maps on my phone, eg for following a train journey).

The thing that surprised me when I started driving with SatNav was how it encoraged me to do side excursions, rather than (What I has assumed) discouraged it. Because I knew it would always get me back on route whenever I wanted, I did a lot more of "I wonder where this road comes out?". I was probably lucky (or perhaps just sensible in just how narrow a road I was willing to go down!) because I never ended up in a duckpond, or unable to reverse.

My Android phone gives me almost the best of both worlds (if the screen was bigger and the battery life longer) OS maps of the entire country in my pocket, and a little pointer showing me where I am.