disaster journey home w w u have done...

[Sarah510]

So, coming back from campsite yesterday, the battery in my phone was low-ish but I wasn't too worried as I had bought a solar charger, which worked perfectly on the drive down, and I was able to charge my phone as I was driving. 2 kids and a dog in the back (just FYI!)

Couldn't get solar charger to work :( Battery getting lower and lower. I tried to get the directions into my memory, but the last bit of the journey is all motorways and junctions, and always rely on google maps to get me home - only lived in the area a few months. Soooo, phone dies about an hour from home. Tried to find the way on the motorway but came off at wrong exit, ended up so lost, miles away from home. Thougth could I charge my phone in mcdonalds - found one, but they said it wasn't allowed (understandably). Went to a petrol station to buy a map - didn't have any. Asked lots of people, nobody knew. Finally found a sign to a town that I've visited a few times, so went there, Its about 10 miles from home. It was pitch dark by now and we'd been travelling for more than 6 hours, so very fraught in the car. I thought I recognised the 'road home', but went wrong somewhere. Finally stopped at another petrol station, no maps again, but asked the lady, and thank god she knew my town. If it wasn't for her I think I'd still be driving round. I learned my lesson anyway. Never ever go out without a map, or backup written directions. I felt so guilty for my poor kids, I feel like I let them down. (and they think that too, rightly so as it was idiotic). I do have a sat nav in the car but it just stopped working one day, for no reason, so I always just use my phone now. Anyway, I dont' think I'm even going to tell my friends/family as I'm so embarrassed at putting us all at risk like that, and putting us through it. A 3.5 hour journey took more than 7 hours :( Voting: UANBU - ok to rely on technology. UABU - always have a map in the car!!!!

You don’t need a map (which would have been hard to follow if you were driving too) but you do need a phone charger that plugs into your cigarette lighter if you don’t have a USB port.

We keep a map in the car for emergencies. I can’t remember the last time it was used but it is nice to
know that it is there. We travel up to the west coast of Scotland quite a lot and some areas just don’t have any signal so Google maps is no good.

A phone charger that plugs into the cig lighter is a good idea too though, will have to get one for our next tri.

I think it’s just one of those things, not really much you could do.
I would have done the same as you, try and find somewhere to charge the phone and/or asked for directions.

I don’t think you let the kids down, and it’s strange that they think that too.

Just get a map for the car for future so you can at least find out what main road/town you need to aim for.

Why couldn’t you charge your phone from your car? Most garages sell usb ports that plug into the cigarette lighter.
It’s done now though, it will be a funny story in a years time so don’t worry

I have a satnav but always write down the junctions on a piece of paper in case it doesn't work. I always have a map in my car too. It's the same one I bought years ago.

Most petrol stations sell in car phone chargers!

I always have a back up map in the car but have been caught out and just bought an in car charger!

You need to get a phone charger to use in the car. Or a decent power bank (Anker are good and reasonable) rather than a solar charger. Also have a spare cable incase it's the cable that breaks.

As above or invest in a portable charger and keep it with you all the time.
Could you not have brought a cigarette lighter charger at the petrol station?
I also keep an A-Z map book in my car and would have just pulled over every now and again.

@Iheardit

Why couldn’t you charge your phone from your car? Most garages sell usb ports that plug into the cigarette lighter. It’s done now though, it will be a funny story in a years time so don’t worry

Agreed, this story will run for years and your DCs will add their own embellishments.

We had an absolutely horrendous outing with family friends once which has become legendary, with catchphrases and all. It was an awful day with lots of things going horribly wrong, but we all survived and think it’s hilarious now.

Id check the route first and write the directions down, but Im an old fashioned codger 🤣

I travel most places by motorbike, its easier to just print off the directions as theres nowhere to run a satnav on my bike.

I read road signs more than I read my satnav.

ach , it's done now, just be better prepared next time!

Get a battery pack and keep it charged, have a spare, plus wires in the car, especially if you know you are going off grid/long journey

Get a map and keep it in the car , and generally familiarise yourself with basic directions/place names....for example to get from mine to my mother's it's follow signs to nearest town, then X, then Y, then Glasgow, then Carlisle ....so even if you get punted off the usual route you can pick it up even you if do go on a bit of a detour. It's too hard to remember the roads and numbers, but places are easier.

Teach your children to navigate...dd once helped dh off the motorway around a nasty smash at Bristol and on through to Dorset, she'd only have been about 10 or 11.

I always scribble down the main points of the route , road names , junctions etc do that its at hand . I find doing that means it’s also in my memory as well to some extent

You do need a map for the car, as you have found sat navs, phones etc can fail.

Also, I've always found a map much easier to navigate from if there's a diversion, satnavs just want to take you stupid routes. I usually just get a cheap map for the car that I can refer to if I need to and replace it every few years.

This is probably an age thing. I've been doing a job where I've had to find my way to unknown places in the days before sat navs etc, so can do this using maps and directions so always have an idea where I'm going, eg which motorway junction and what way to go after the junction at least.

My younger colleagues who've never had to do this think it's witchcraft that I can find my way to a place a hundred miles away on memory alone, even though it's a fairly simple route (Motorway X, onto Motorway Y, then Motorway Z until JA, and then it's the giant factory in the middle of village B which is signposted from the motorway junction) and they know I've been there annually for the last 20 years.

Tried to find the way on the motorway but came off at wrong exit, ended up so lost, miles away from home

Why didn't you just go back on the motorway?

Your children sound like they are being ridiculous, of course you haven't let them down. These things happen.

When I am driving I have my phone and a charger cable plus a spare. I do have a solar charger like you but it's also a power bank which can be charged in the car if I need to.

How old are your children? Ordnance survey do a map puzzle book which is good to get them learning map reading skills if they are older.

Unless there is something wrong with the car I don't really understand why a charger could not have been purchased for the phone at a petrol station. They all sell them now and even without a USB port (if an old car) then they sell ones that plug into the cigarette lighter. I hope you had air con for the dog.

I'm probably going to sound very pantronising, but how do you not know how to travel ten miles to your house? Do you not travel by car a lot?

You need to learn the names of the motorways and learn the junction numbers you come off at. They are always written in a black box in the corner of motorway signs. If you come off at the wrong exit, turn around and rejoin the motorway. There is always usually a way to do this.

I used to work in an emergency control room and despair at the amount of people (and sorry it was usually women) who had broken down and couldn't even tell me which motorway they were on!

An emergency phone charger or battery pack in the car is always a good idea. Or a UK A-Z.

Just get a phone charger for your car.
Keep it in your car.
Job done!

You got there in the end any way.
As you knew you would.
It was an adventure and you didn't let anyone down.
You used your instincts and then asked people.
It's exactly what used to happen in the 'olden days'!!!
We all got there in the end and without all this satnav stuff and we got lost often.

Stop beating yourself up!
Everyone is home.
Everyone is safe!

As PP have said, you could have bought a phone charger at a petrol station or services.

I've got back on a motorway if I've come off at the wrong exit - have a plan in mind what you'll do if you get lost in future. I don't have the strongest sense of direction myself so a satnav is great for me. Or, if you have advance notice of where you are going, check any local roads out on google so you'll recognise the junctions when you get there. I still do this, even though I've got a satnav now.

Yes, why didn't you buy a phone charger for the car? They're usually only a few pounds, probably cheaper than a map and double the amount of petrol it would have taken driving round lost. It's done now, you came to no harm and it'll just be a funny memory in time.

Well you know for next time.

But I never totally rely on Google on my phone anyway. It has in the past, tried to get me lost due to poor signal. That's thanks for living in East Anglia, some parts of the UK still have shockly poor signal. So I always check I know where I'm going first and we have old maps in the cars as backups. The kids know how to map read to. And I've still gotten lost sometimes.

I wouldn't worry about letting the kids down, it was an adventure. Just try to prepare better next time and don't panic if it happens again. Your kids are going to love telling this story.

A few years back we did a 2 month roadtrip around Europe with my son.
Loads of "legends" from that trip:

1. we ended up in a different city, had to book a new room for the night in a random motel as I couldn't find the town we were going to. And I had satnav, but forgot to update the Europe map and there were new roads and the old ones closed.

Next day it turned out it would have been about 10 more minutes.

1. Satnav got lost and we ended up in an unused quarry in the middle of nothing in a slavic country.

1. Different time, no satnav in car: got lost on the way home from LEgoland. We live in SW london.

You shouldn't feel bad... things like this happen :)

I don’t think you let the kids down, and it’s strange that they think that too.

Really strange that your kids think you let them down. We all make mistakes.

If you don't have a map, but have a home printer, google the directions to where you're going and print it off beforehand; just in case. I have a morbid fear of getting lost so I do this whenever I'm going somewhere unfamiliar.

You need an in-car phone charger. If your car doesn't have a USB slot, you can buy ones that plug into your cigarette lighter. They're only a few quid.

But I think it's very, very bizarre that your kids feel like you "let them down" - is that something you've said and they've picked up on?