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Sat-nav has route rethink

It's become the scourge of the sat-nav era - small towns and villages clogged up by badly directed coaches and articulated lorries

Better sat-nav mapping will stop trucks being sent down unsuitable roads

15th January 2007

But now, the end of the road for the problem could be in sight after Navteq, the firm which supplies routing information to the majority of sat-nav devices, said it is going to make its UK database more extensive.

This means sat-nav systems will be able to alert drivers to weak or low bridges, warn of road widths and give other previously unavailable information. It should make the units safer and more accurate, and put a stop to trucks thundering through hamlets and driv­ers ending up in rivers or on cliff edges.

Mapping for these new road characteristics has already been completed in France and Germany, and it's set to be rolled out in the UK this year. First to benefit will be truck and fleet operators, but details are expected to filter down to consumer users, too - including caravanners and drivers who need to plan routes according to width and bridge heights. Bosses at Navteq hope the move will bring the company in line with possible new guidelines from the Department for Transport, which is currently carry­ing out a study into the safety aspects of sat-nav. The results of this will be published in the next few months.

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2 Comments

Sat-nav my foot.

This photo has nothing to do with sat-nav at all. The lorry looks to be a BOCM Pauls feed delivery vehicle and will often be found on unclassified roads. Not many motorways to farm front gates.

By Wrinkly on 15 June, 2010, 1:27am

Sat-nav my foot.

This photo has nothing to do with sat-nav at all. The lorry looks to be a BOCM Pauls feed delivery vehicle and will often be found on unclassified roads. Not many motorways to farm front gates.

By Wrinkly on 15 June, 2010, 1:29am

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