Well, once you've driven into Wales, you might as well just drive straight to the crematorium. There's bugger all else to do.

/even the sheep are ugly

Pip pip cheerio!

People complain all of the time about sat-nav systems, but paper maps are no better.

They're both subject to GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Plus the fact that fallible human beings use them ;)

SpinStopper: People complain all of the time about sat-nav systems, but paper maps are no better.

They're both subject to GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Plus the fact that fallible human beings use them ;)

Not to mention the intentional errors cartographers put in as signatures....

Wow, if that wasn't a confusing article I dont know what is

That headline has me imagining Roger Ebert reviewing porn.

The worst thing the UK has to worry about is drive by arguments.

Hey Reginald.....

What the bollocks is this rot? Bugger off, you limey punters!

Can anyone translate this into American?

Approves

Do people actually say "cock-up" over there?

Pus Gut: Do people actually say "cock-up" over there?

Only in the event of a cock-up.

SecretAgentWoman: Can anyone translate this into American?

Satellite navigation snafu sends semis gatecrashing through a peaceful funeral service.

HTH

well that's a sticky wicket!

Good there were no trucks involved. Could have been a lot worse.

You Brits are on a whole nother level where swearing is concerned

Who is this Lorrie chick and why is she gate crashing?

/got nuthin

Well Bob's your uncle!

I just had a cock-up with my wife.

Is that a bad thing?

I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

knows the perils of trusting GPS
/link's a scorcher

who where the what now?

SecretAgentWoman: Can anyone translate this into American?

Lorry = Truck

/Proud speaker mutable English dialects!
//Jamaican still farks with me though...

MIguy: I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

Depends. The few times you need one, a GPS unit is safer than a map or written directions- you spend less time with your eyes off the road. I do think the units built into new vehicles are way too expensive- usually $1000-2000 or so. You're also limited to maps from the maker, which themselves are expensive. Standalone quality units (Tomtom, Garmin) can be as low as $150, are movable from one car to another, and sit on the dash or windshield (more in line with your line of sight). Updated maps are getting more reasonable in price- with the units themselves at $150, if the updated maps are more than $75 you might as well just get a new one altogether.

I don't use mine every day- maybe once every couple weeks, but when I need to use it, nothing compares to its utility if you're going into a completely new area. A basic street guide can be useful if you know the area reasonably well, but a GPS is still a bit safer to use.

Could somebody kill the submitter?

MIguy 2008-09-21 04:17:13 PM
I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

Well, I've tried texting for directions but I keep careening off the road.

I dated a gal named Laurie once.... she was about as much fun as a cock-up.

jjorsett: MIguy 2008-09-21 04:17:13 PM
I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

Well, I've tried texting for directions but I keep careening off the road.

On the plus side, you're now qualified to be a train engineer apparently..

SecretAgentWoman

Can anyone translate this into American?

A satellite-navigation system error sent some trucks off-course and into a Welsh bachelor party.

The other great thing about GPS is the locations guide. Yeah, we could probably find that place upstate with a paper map but once you're in BFE and need to find the closest gas station/grocery/motel/whatever nothing beats just punching it into the Garmin and letting it tell you where to go, particularly once you're off the interstates.

MIguy: I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

Pretty frequently, actually.

wankers

British to American Translator (new window)

The dictionary needs some work though.

MIguy: I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

I know how to get from home to place A.
I know how to get from home to place B.
I would like to go place A to place B and I am unfamiliar with the back roads.
This happens pretty often.

MIguy: I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

If you're in an unfamiliar city, they're great for finding liquor stores.

So is it ok when lorries gatecrash non-peaceful funerals?

SecretAgentWoman: Can anyone translate this into American?

Do Texans know anything about the world outside of their state??

Cool tag?

Get a read
on the nav. Sat.

It's a registered transport,
you must be able to locate.

Sir?

Yes, have you found
a nav. Sat. Trajectory?

Sir, we found seven.

hot like River

Never used GPS, don't want to. Where's the adventure in that? It's like playing a video game by following along with the Prima Guide.

Hey does anyone happen to know if PhiloBeddoe has ever used GPS? I am curious.

When not teaching I work for a family business delivering machinery. I use the Garmin Nuvi even if I know exactly where I'm going to see just what it thinks the shortest route is.

About phony streets in GPSs, some coders put them in their maps just to see who is stealing their work. If I put a Dingleberry Ave in Stinktown NJ that doesn't exist when I check a competitor's map and find that street I know them sonsabiatches stole my work.

hudef: Good there were no trucks involved. Could have been a lot worse.

I dunno, there was at least one dead.

MIguy: I don't understand the fascination everybody seems to have with GPS units in their vehicles. It's obviously a valuable tool for people who spend their lives driving for a living, but for everybody else it seems like a waste of money. How often do you actually drive somewhere that you actually need directions to get there?

I bought a set of Europe maps for my GPS for my trip to England, and saved a bundle over renting one with the car. I don't have one for day-to-day driving, though occasionally it might find me a shortcut so I consider it from time to time.

Reminds me of my trip this past December. We were driving from Norfolk, VA to Edenton, NC.

We had a device we nicknamed Miss Navigator in the car with us. Miss Navigator was vehemently telling us we were driving through water when in reality it was Miss Navigator didn't know that they'd re-located U.S. 17. It was finally happy again when we drove onto the portion that was the OLD U.S. 17.

It isn't the satellites that are wrong, they give correct lat/long/elevation and time. It's the software that sucks.

Isn't this just the reason these things still have drivers? I mean really, don't these people have any common sense when it comes to what street to take? Having some experience myself with street-guides, I know they aren't always accurate (intentional errors and non-intentional are surprisingly common). If you've used street level maps in the past you have to know this. And if the driver had any common sense he/she wouldn't take a semi-truck/HGV down a narrow lane if you weren't absolutely sure it was the way through.

Without pics of the turn onto this street, it's really impossible to judge exactly how stupid the lorrie drivers are who take this turn.