Navigation mystery tours

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: Thursday, 11. May 2006

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When in-vehicle navigation systems come into their own they may do a lot to reduce congestion and improve time-to-destination. However, as some recent reports from the United Kingdom indicate, they're not there yet. Sometimes drivers may be re-routed to worse congestion, or even into impossible situations.

For example, drivers of large vehicles re-routed along the A4 near Bristol in the UK found themselves jammed in a street too narrow to get through. People living in the area have written to Wiltshire County Council to suggest a ban on large vehicles using the route.

Residents of Tutton Hill who parked their cars outside their homes have had truck drivers banging on their doors to get them moved. Sometimes the truck drivers, who are frequently on a tight schedule, are quite angry, although their anger is generally directed at their nav systems rather than the locals.

Things were more congenial in an incident last year in which local residents hosted a bus-load of Japanese passengers with cups of tea while their dilemma got sorted out.

The problem is likely to get worse before it gets better. Navigation systems are good on main traffic arteries but on less traveled, and less known roads, traffic information is less available, and road condition information may not always be up to date either. Being rerouted into even worse traffic congestion is a distinct possibility.

As well, residents of normally quiet roadways, towns and villages are not too happy about the ever-increasing invasions of their tranquility.

Residents of another UK village claim up to 10,000 vehicles a day are being rerouted through their community on their way to Bristol airport. The airport's official directions take traffic onto the A38, but satellite navigation may select alternative routes where residents are unaccustomed to such traffic levels.

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