Driving standards

[figworthy]

1 hour ago, Jonboy said:

That’s the wife’s favourite habit, texting me when I am likely to be driving to collect her….

 

I was going to visit someone once.  The traffic en-route was a nightmare due to a road closure.  The person I was going to visit heard about it on the traffic news, so sent me a text to tell me warn me about it (too late by that point), rather than phone as they didn't want to phone me whilst I was driving.  I'm still trying to work out the logic on that one.

 

Adrian

[kevinlms]

4 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

I was going to visit someone once.  The traffic en-route was a nightmare due to a road closure.  The person I was going to visit heard about it on the traffic news, so sent me a text to tell me warn me about it (too late by that point), rather than phone as they didn't want to phone me whilst I was driving.  I'm still trying to work out the logic on that one.

 

Adrian

That is an advantage of something like Google Maps or something in real time. They will attempt to send you another way. Sometimes it works, other times everyone else has been sent the same way and then it's worse than the original problem.

But perhaps your friend doesn't drive and the implications are lost!

[faulcon1]

On Dash Cam Owners Australia in one of their "on the road" compilations, a cop books someone sitting at green traffic lights totally absorbed in texting on their phone with drivers behind who had been tooting this stationary driver but all to no avail. Many a driver here and around the world texts on their phone whilst at traffic lights and motorcycle cops ride down between lanes of car looking into them to see who's texting.  

[faulcon1]

56 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

That is an advantage of something like Google Maps or something in real time. They will attempt to send you another way. Sometimes it works, other times everyone else has been sent the same way and then it's worse than the original problem.

But perhaps your friend doesn't drive and the implications are lost!

The last time I was in the UK in 2017 I hired a Hyundai i35 diesel which had a built in sat nav but it was so annoying. I'd be driving along a motorway not something I usually do in the UK because the local roads are far more scenic than a motorway and when approaching an exit which I didn't intend to take the sat nav would speak "in 800 yards bear right". It would count down in 100 yard increments. On reaching the exit I didn't want the sat nav would say "now bear right" which meant just keep driving on the motorway. Every time I planned a route it did it's best to try and take me straight to a motorway which I didn't want to do. In the end I gave up and switch it off and used a AA big road map atlas bought in East Grinstead. Being of the older generation I can read and easily follow a paper road map.    

[kevinlms]

2 hours ago, faulcon1 said:

The last time I was in the UK in 2017 I hired a Hyundai i35 diesel which had a built in sat nav but it was so annoying. I'd be driving along a motorway not something I usually do in the UK because the local roads are far more scenic than a motorway and when approaching an exit which I didn't intend to take the sat nav would speak "in 800 yards bear right". It would count down in 100 yard increments. On reaching the exit I didn't want the sat nav would say "now bear right" which meant just keep driving on the motorway. Every time I planned a route it did it's best to try and take me straight to a motorway which I didn't want to do. In the end I gave up and switch it off and used a AA big road map atlas bought in East Grinstead. Being of the older generation I can read and easily follow a paper road map.    

That's why I use Google Maps, rather than a Sat Nav, it doesn't keep prompting you, unless you deliberately go a different way and it tries hard to get you to go around blocks (never a U turn) to fix your 'mistake'.

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, faulcon1 said:

On Dash Cam Owners Australia in one of their "on the road" compilations, a cop books someone sitting at green traffic lights totally absorbed in texting on their phone with drivers behind who had been tooting this stationary driver but all to no avail. Many a driver here and around the world texts on their phone whilst at traffic lights and motorcycle cops ride down between lanes of car looking into them to see who's texting.  

I've tooted them and they have been so busy that they've ignored it and they look up just as the lights change and they go anyway and leave you stranded, especially on right hand turn arrows. No wonder there is road rage!

[boxbrownie]

16 hours ago, faulcon1 said:

The last time I was in the UK in 2017 I hired a Hyundai i35 diesel which had a built in sat nav but it was so annoying. I'd be driving along a motorway not something I usually do in the UK because the local roads are far more scenic than a motorway and when approaching an exit which I didn't intend to take the sat nav would speak "in 800 yards bear right". It would count down in 100 yard increments. On reaching the exit I didn't want the sat nav would say "now bear right" which meant just keep driving on the motorway. Every time I planned a route it did it's best to try and take me straight to a motorway which I didn't want to do. In the end I gave up and switch it off and used a AA big road map atlas bought in East Grinstead. Being of the older generation I can read and easily follow a paper road map.    

You could have just pressed the “avoid motorways” option. 😆

[boxbrownie]

13 hours ago, kevinlms said:

That's why I use Google Maps, rather than a Sat Nav, it doesn't keep prompting you, unless you deliberately go a different way and it tries hard to get you to go around blocks (never a U turn) to fix your 'mistake'.

What vehicle was your sat-Nav in you never use, it sounds like a badly implemented system.

 

[Guest]

For thirty or so years I've gone past the exit for Stourton on the way to Leeds and always wondered what Stourton might be like.

Then when I tried using the sat nav built in to the SEAT phone app it directed me off at J7 and towards Stourton! Finally I would get to see the wonders that Stourton held in store!

No. It just sent me off on a little go on the A61, round the roundabout and back on to the M621 because that cuts the corner a little bit.

Stourton still remains a mystery to me.

 

[Sir TophamHatt]

18 hours ago, faulcon1 said:

The last time I was in the UK in 2017 I hired a Hyundai i35 diesel which had a built in sat nav but it was so annoying. I'd be driving along a motorway not something I usually do in the UK because the local roads are far more scenic than a motorway and when approaching an exit which I didn't intend to take the sat nav would speak "in 800 yards bear right". It would count down in 100 yard increments. On reaching the exit I didn't want the sat nav would say "now bear right" which meant just keep driving on the motorway. Every time I planned a route it did it's best to try and take me straight to a motorway which I didn't want to do. In the end I gave up and switch it off and used a AA big road map atlas bought in East Grinstead. Being of the older generation I can read and easily follow a paper road map.    

Turn off "use motorways" in the settings.

There's also a setting for toll roads, tunnels and the like.

[figworthy]

20 hours ago, kevinlms said:

That is an advantage of something like Google Maps or something in real time. They will attempt to send you another way. Sometimes it works, other times everyone else has been sent the same way and then it's worse than the original problem.

But perhaps your friend doesn't drive and the implications are lost!

 

In this case, it was too late to avoid the area, the road closed was a bypass, so the only option was to go through the town.

 

The person I was visiting does drive, and never uses his phone when driving, hence part of the reason why I'm scratching my head on the thought process.

 

Adrian

[Compound2632]

10 hours ago, figworthy said:

The person I was visiting does drive, and never uses his phone when driving, hence part of the reason why I'm scratching my head on the thought process.

 

The thought might be that you could pull over at a suitable place at a suitable place to read the text. I know many people are conditioned otherwise but a text does not need to be read the moment it is received, whereas a phone call demand an immediate response - though it too should be ignored unless it is safe to answer. The caller could leave a message.

 

I used to get tremendously irritated with co-workers who routinely regarded speaking to an unknown interruptor as more important than continuing a conversation with me face-to-face. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Compound2632

[Enterprisingwestern]

16 hours ago, 30801 said:

For thirty or so years I've gone past the exit for Stourton on the way to Leeds and always wondered what Stourton might be like.

Then when I tried using the sat nav built in to the SEAT phone app it directed me off at J7 and towards Stourton! Finally I would get to see the wonders that Stourton held in store!

No. It just sent me off on a little go on the A61, round the roundabout and back on to the M621 because that cuts the corner a little bit.

Stourton still remains a mystery to me.

 

 

You haven't missed much!

 

Mike.

[boxbrownie]

16 hours ago, 30801 said:

For thirty or so years I've gone past the exit for Stourton on the way to Leeds and always wondered what Stourton might be like.

Then when I tried using the sat nav built in to the SEAT phone app it directed me off at J7 and towards Stourton! Finally I would get to see the wonders that Stourton held in store!

No. It just sent me off on a little go on the A61, round the roundabout and back on to the M621 because that cuts the corner a little bit.

Stourton still remains a mystery to me.

 

Most likely had the “shortest route” ticked………we’ve done that before driving on the motorway and seeing it say take the exit……luckily checking the map shows it goes up the the overpass and back down the other side onto the motorway, must have been a slight curve and it cut a few feet off the journe🤣y 

[kevinlms]

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

The thought might be that you could pull over at a suitable place at a suitable place to read the text. I know many people are conditioned otherwise but a text does not need to be read the moment it is received, whereas a phone call demand an immediate response - though it too should be ignored unless it is safe to answer. The caller could leave a message.

 

I used to get tremendously irritated with co-workers who routinely regarded speaking to an unknown interruptor as more important than continuing a conversation with me face-to-face. 

If you stopped so that you could read/listen to a message, you'd never get anywhere! I would only stop, if it was convenient, however I would reserve the right to stop whenever I want, if I was expecting a call, or I knew who it was.

 

As for interrupting a conversation, to answer a call, again it would depend on the circumstances - if you were at work, it's probably an expectation of your job to answer a business call.

[kevinlms]

59 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Most likely had the “shortest route” ticked………we’ve done that before driving on the motorway and seeing it say take the exit……luckily checking the map shows it goes up the the overpass and back down the other side onto the motorway, must have been a slight curve and it cut a few feet off the journe🤣y 

Shortest route and quickest route are often not the same thing.

[Compound2632]

12 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

If you stopped so that you could read/listen to a message, you'd never get anywhere! I would only stop, if it was convenient, however I would reserve the right to stop whenever I want, if I was expecting a call, or I knew who it was.

 

Well, of course one would only pull over if one had reasonable grounds for supposing the message to be of some importance - and that also depend on how many texts you normally get.

 

With my sons, I established the principle that if I am due to be collecting you and you are getting impatient or fear that I have forgotten, by all means text but absence of a reply from me should be taken as evidence that I am on my way!

[Enterprisingwestern]

Isn't there an app to convert text messages to speech?

 

Mike.

[kevinlms]

26 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

Isn't there an app to convert text messages to speech?

 

Mike.

Yes, but I turned it off.

 

After it read out a message that I'd forgotten to pay a utility bill and to ring a 1,800 ### ### number and it read it out as 'One Thousand Eight Hundred Million etc' or some such nonsense.

My customer nearly died laughing!

[boxbrownie]

56 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Shortest route and quickest route are often not the same thing.

No they are not, which is why the better systems have them as separate options.

[kevinlms]

48 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Well, of course one would only pull over if one had reasonable grounds for supposing the message to be of some importance - and that also depend on how many texts you normally get.

 

With my sons, I established the principle that if I am due to be collecting you and you are getting impatient or fear that I have forgotten, by all means text but absence of a reply from me should be taken as evidence that I am on my way!

Or that you are busy yakking to the neighbour outside, while your phone is on the kitchen table!

[Coldgunner]

2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

You haven't missed much!

 

Mike.

There's a bit somewhere near Melton Mowbray where my old satnav directed me to take a left into a weird access road for houses then out onto the main road, rather than go a bit further up and take a left on the main road. A weird anomaly that the sat nav though was fractionally quicker. And in my laziness to think, I took that weird shortcut.

[PaulCheffus]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

Isn't there an app to convert text messages to speech?

 

Mike.

Hi

 

My wife's car does this automatically when the phone is connected via bluetooth.

 

Cheres

 

Paul

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, PaulCheffus said:

Hi

 

My wife's car does this automatically when the phone is connected via bluetooth.

 

Cheres

 

Paul

So does ours, and it is definitely turned off 🤣

[Guest]

6 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Most likely had the “shortest route” ticked………

 

I think I'd already done that after the first time I tried it...

Google maps was much better but the directions didn't break through the radio sound or come out of the phone speaker regarless of the app's settings. The SEAT app was worse but you could hear the directions.