subject: Sat Nav Horror [print this page] Satellite navigation systems have been in our lives for the last half a decade, and we can ll say that for the majority of the time, they have made our lives easier. But a couple in the USA would disagree, as they made the trip from Reno through Oregon, their sat nav took them down the wrong road. They had checked a map before they went and the road looked much like the one they should have taken, so they followed it, to find the road getting thinner and thinner. And then it started to snow. After three days of being snowed into a dirt track, the emergency services found them, but told them if it had carried on snowing they would to have been found till spring. Scary stuff.
Environmental factors can play a large part in sat nav systems giving you the wrong results; like tall buildings or the weather, these things all interfere with the signal between your machine and the satellite. The companies who make the systems try to get round these obstacles by updating the maps on a three monthly basis, but sometimes the signal will bounce around, causing the machine to get a little confused.
Emergency services suggest that if you are making a long trip, you have a back up map for in case the machinery goes haywire. They also recommend telling your family when you are due to arrive, keep a spare mobile charger for the cigarette lighter, and pack blankets and lots of food for a journey.
If you are driving on Britain's roads, make sure that you have Car Insurance!
