Forwarded from roadmaps-l
-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Road signs warn drivers to ignore satnav
Date:   Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:46:04 +0100
From:   Ian Byrne <[log in to unmask]>
To:     maps-l



I wonder if anyone ever had to put up a road sign telling drivers not to
rely on their paper maps!

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The first official road signs to warn drivers about the dangers of trusting
their satellite navigation devices have been introduced in a Welsh village.
The signs, implemented by authorities in rural St Hilary, in the Vale of
Glamorgan, South Wales, to warn drivers about placing too much faith in the
directional gadgets, could be brought in across the country if the trial is
successful.

Problems were reported after foreign drivers found it difficult to
understand phrases such as "unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles" but could
understand pictorial notices.

The four signs have been introduced around one particular black spot in the
village, where the electronic devices direct truck drivers to a shortcut
between the main M4 motorway and Cardiff airport.

The road is far too narrow for many to travel down, causing them to get
stuck and sparking major traffic problems.

More than a dozen large trucks have become stuck in the road in the past six
months, according to traffic engineer Mark Simpson who came up with the idea
for the signs.

"We have had a series of problems with drivers getting into trouble by
trusting their satnavs and we needed to do something about it," Simpson told
newspapers.

"They can send drivers on the most direct routes which turn out to be narrow
roads completely unsuitable for heavy and long trucks and lorries. Satnav
can be a wonderful tool for drivers but it does have its dangers."

If successful, officials plan a national roll-out of the signs to combat
what is seen as a growing problem for frustrated motorists, with recent
figures showing that more than four million of Britain's 32 million drivers
rely on satnavs.

Some have reported that software glitches have sent drivers down one-way
streets or up impassable mountain tracks.

One ambulance driver with a faulty satnav drove hundreds of miles in the
wrong direction while transferring a patient from one hospital in Ilford,
East London, to another just eight miles away.

A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly regional government says that officials
will be "watching closely" before deciding whether to expand the programme.

He also says that officials from the Department of Transport had been
consulted and were also monitoring the experiment.


http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/123503/road-signs-warn-drivers-to-ignore-satnav.
html

Ian Byrne
<[log in to unmask]>
http://www.petrolmaps.co.uk