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Original poster

Is there a sat nav that has a setting to avoid narrow country roads? Or a trick to make mine avoid them!?

53 replies

Bagelsandbrie · 03/10/2021 16:39

Just that really.

After another horrific journey where I had to reverse for about a mile as there was no passing place I’m feeling pretty traumatised. Blush

I live in South Norfolk and we have a lot of very narrow one lane country roads and I have a new Kia with built in sat nav - without fail every time I use it it takes me down the most obscure routes, often turning off a lovely A road to take me down a 3 mile stretch of dirt road only to rejoin the same A road later on…!

Obviously I do check the route beforehand but sometimes I get pretty lost, I’m human.

There is a setting to avoid motorways but no setting I can see to stick to A roads and main roads! Am i missing a trick?

Is there a way to do this or does anyone have an amazing sat nav / app that allows me to do this?!

OP posts:
idiotfacelicker · 03/10/2021 17:02

Waze only has car taxi and motorbike options.

Mariell · 03/10/2021 17:04

My sat nav spots a traffic jam which may only be a delay of a couple of minutes but then reroutes you take me off the M4 and then rejoin the M4 further up!

I tell her to be quiet and ignore her and she recalibrated then route to the M4 but I can tell from her voice she’s not happy I didn’t take her advice as her next directions always sound just a little bit snippy!

Chemenger · 03/10/2021 17:04

We have a Kia and the satnav is hopeless. We usually just use a phone through ApplePlay. We used the car satvav a couple of days ago and it took us one junction down the motorway then told us to get off and go back past the point we joined on. It always prefers a cobbled street in town over a nice smooth one as well.

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 03/10/2021 17:07

I wondered about an HGV nav / setting. Hmm Just the thought of trying to drive one of those things and being taken down one of these roads gives me nightmares.

I wish there was an option to say you don’t care if the journey takes you 5/10 mins longer as long as you don’t have to go down some horrible little road!

OP posts:
Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 03/10/2021 17:08

@Mariell

My sat nav spots a traffic jam which may only be a delay of a couple of minutes but then reroutes you take me off the M4 and then rejoin the M4 further up!

I tell her to be quiet and ignore her and she recalibrated then route to the M4 but I can tell from her voice she’s not happy I didn’t take her advice as her next directions always sound just a little bit snippy!

This made me laugh. I tell the sat nav lady to shut the fuck up. BlushGrin
OP posts:
TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder · 03/10/2021 17:08

@VikingNorthUtsire

I really want this too. We have to drive hire cats when travelling for work and I ended up in tears swearing at the sat nav last week when it took me down a tiny single track road in a heavy rainstorm with hardly any visibility, in an unfamiliar car (obviously it was unaware of all of these issues 😂).
I can see why driving hire cats could present problems, yes 🐈‍⬛ 🐈
TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder · 03/10/2021 17:18

Actually, despite being very familiar with most of the country single track ‘roads’ round here, I did get caught out when going to DDs friends farm to collect her recently. The usual route is bad enough, but I know it so I’m ok if I end up having to reverse a mile back, but there was road closed and so the sat nav recalculated and off I went. It wasn’t long before I was on a single lane track, with high banks either side, so no hope of pulling over if I met anyone coming the other way, and in to such dense forest it literally went dark. And then it started hailing!! I thought I’d slipped into a parallel universe. I get the feeling if I ever tried to find it again, it wouldn’t be there……WinkGrin

DGRossetti · 03/10/2021 17:18

@BuffySummersReportingforSanity

I live near a road whose "not suitable for HGVs" sign is entirely obscured by a bush 🙄. Every week, and I mean wvery week it is shut for a period of time whele and HGV is bloody stuck on it

I know it's actually the council's problem, but it sounds like a vigilante 5 minutes with clippers might be a valuable investment.

Not really. HGV drivers haven't had to read signs for years. As the parade of stories with lorries stuck under bridges would suggest.

There are specialist map databases out there (some loads can't go over bridges, or in tunnels, so they need to be routed very carefully). However as I said, very few drivers will pay for them when they can stick up a free version and offload the pain onto the residents.

There's also the vexed fact that no database supplier can actually guarantee their maps because OS themselves don't guarantee the base data.

That said, if anyone is worried about the "rise of AI" a few minutes following a sat nav route will put their minds at rest.

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 03/10/2021 17:32

@TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder

Actually, despite being very familiar with most of the country single track ‘roads’ round here, I did get caught out when going to DDs friends farm to collect her recently. The usual route is bad enough, but I know it so I’m ok if I end up having to reverse a mile back, but there was road closed and so the sat nav recalculated and off I went. It wasn’t long before I was on a single lane track, with high banks either side, so no hope of pulling over if I met anyone coming the other way, and in to such dense forest it literally went dark. And then it started hailing!! I thought I’d slipped into a parallel universe. I get the feeling if I ever tried to find it again, it wouldn’t be there……WinkGrin
That’s giving me the chills just reading it….!
OP posts:
CovidCorvid · 03/10/2021 17:37

Snooper Ventura might work for you, it’s aimed at caravans and motor homes.

opinionminion · 03/10/2021 17:41

I live in the depths of Norfolk - I find Waze the best for exactly the problem you have which I had !

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 03/10/2021 17:41

If you really want it, but a Tom Tom caravan. Not cheap but a lifesaver at avoiding narrow lanes not suitable for our caravans.

Or for a cheaper price google 'xgody' sat nav on eBay Chinese one that quite decent.

ProfYaffle · 03/10/2021 17:46

I'm in South Norfolk too and have the same problem. I use the google maps sat nav and tend to check the route with street view before I set off (if I remember Hmm ) I might have to check out Waze though.

NecklessMumster · 03/10/2021 17:46

I've tried to research this as I absolutely hate this, various forums seemed to be saying that only if you buy the camper van/hgv Sat nav system. I got stuck in Devon with this, there were loads of signs saying 'Ignore your Sat Nav..Don't drive on this road ' so obviously a big problem. Basically if Google maps tries to send me on a b road I try and ignore it.

iknowimcoming · 03/10/2021 18:01

Weirdly I was reading up on this on Friday as my sat nav had royally screwed me over again the previous week Angry and I found out that apparently most sat navs use a database which automatically defaults unclassified roads (single track etc) to being 60mph because it doesn't know better! So if you're trundling along a nice A road which has temporary traffic lights setup for roadworks and you've a handy 4 foot wide, crater filled lane, mainly frequented by combine harvesters and rally drivers nearby it'll check it and go - oh that's not classified so it must be a 60mph road and it'll be quicker to go that way - yay I've found you a shortcut! Hmm

I've looked in the settings on mine and can't find any way of avoiding narrow roads. The only thing I found was a setting to offer me a choice of routes rather than just one (so I can look at the routes and pick a non-scary one) but I don't think it would help in a traffic avoidance situation or similar Sad

Autumngoldleaf · 03/10/2021 18:05

Op I'm still recovering from a trip to Cornwall where sat nav took us down endless tough lanes.

I'd also like to know if tyere is way to avoid it

Clymene · 03/10/2021 18:06

I've heard good things about CoPilot

EdgeOfTheSky · 03/10/2021 18:14

An actual map shows A roads.
Just jot down your route.
Like people did before sat navs.

Theunamedcat · 03/10/2021 18:15

Don't set it to fastest route? Most "short cuts are 60mph so deemed faster

AnguaUberwaldIronfoundersson · 03/10/2021 19:01

We used to joke that our old satnav hated us. It would take us down some awful roads. She was called Kate (the name she came with). We used to swear about her often.

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 04/10/2021 08:17

Thank you very much everyone for your suggestions and comments - and sharing your stories of similar experiences! Flowers

OP posts:
squashyhat · 04/10/2021 08:37

I'm glad the love for paper maps seems to be returning. You can't beat a lovely OS map.Star

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 04/10/2021 09:08

I do write routes down and pre plan and use paper notes etc. It’s just hard to follow them when you’re the driver and alone in the car!

OP posts:
Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 04/10/2021 09:19

I also find part of the issue - as I’m sure others in norfolk / Suffolk can relate to- is that a perfectly reasonable main looking roundabout can turn off into a perfectly “main” looking road and then 2 mins down that same road it becomes narrower and narrower and becomes a one way / country road. There’s no warning, no looking at the road and knowing it’s going to turn out that way. And by the time you realise you’re too far down it to turn back! It’s like something out of a weird Alice in Wonderland world!

OP posts:
MrsLargeEmbodied · 04/10/2021 09:22

i use my phone as my sat nav and so many country lanes, i hate them