Quote:
Originally Posted by Bulldog
I don't know, it just seems to me that the technology is great, but if it puts you in a position to possibly do yourself or others harm by the fact that there are omissions or errors, and you can't trust it 100% of the time, then whats the use. If you are utilizing company generated directions, coupled with the map, it doesn't take all that long to look it up, and if your'e going to do it anyway, do you see where I'm going? I cannot say that the technology isn't fascinating, or sometimes useful, but it seems that if you have to go back and do it the old fashioned way anyhow, whats the point? It strikes me as using a calculator to sovle a math problem, and then pulling out the old abbacus to double check the computer. I'm just trying to get thoughts from the other side, so thank you for the input.
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As I said, I don’t use one of those glorified trucking specific GPS devices that only provide pseudo truck routing at best as opposed to real truck routing. Thus, I don’t throw away my hard earned money on a device that doesn’t work and is incapable of doing what it falsely claims to do.
If drivers would do a modicum of research before they spend their hard earn money, they would learn and find out that for myriads of reasons building a device that does truck specific routing reliable enough to be trusted is beyond the reach of technology. It’s literally an unachievable fantasy.
Nevertheless, the reason I use Streets & Trips as opposed to a MCRA, pen, and paper is because it is much easier and exponentially faster, and easier and faster translates into a lot less stress and much more money in my pocket.
For instance, a MCRA doesn’t have street level mapping, where as Streets & Trips does. With the street level mapping I can follow the final directions to my shippers and consignees before I ever drive them and when I get to the location where they are supposed to be located, I can click Get Bing Map.
When I click Get Bing Map, I get an overhead bird’s eye view of my shipper or consignee’s facility if my directions are correct. If I get a bird’s eye view of nothing, on the other hand, then I instantly know my final directions given are wrong long before I ever drive them and find out the hard way that they were wrong. Therefore I have plenty of time to find the correct locations of my shippers and consignees long before I ever drive them.
Another thing is I can zoom in and out with the Streets & Trips maps. In other words, I can make the maps as big or as little as I need them to be and you can’t do that with a MCRA. With a MCRA I was forced to use a magnifying glass to focus in and it still wasn’t nearly enough, and because it didn’t have street level mapping, you were at the mercy of your final directions which about half the time were wrong.
In Streets & Trips you simply sync your company supplied truck routes in it and then save it, and once you become proficient at doing that, and it won’t take long to become an expert since you will use it every day to plan your trips, you can plan out an entire trip in a couple of minutes.
On the other hand, in those so-called glorified trucking specific GPS devices because the auto-rerouting feature can’t be turned off, you can’t plug in the company supplied truck routing the way you can only with Streets & Trips and you are therefore forced to use the pseudo truck routing the so-called trucking specific GPS device provides, which many times will lead you down roads with low clearances, restricted routes, or low weight bridges.
You see with that auto-rerouting feature that can’t be turned off every time a driver turns into a rest area, truck stop, etc., the GPS device will automatically recalculate the route and every time it recalculates the route, depending on where you are at the particular time, the route in the device may change. Thus, the incompetent drivers that use those truck specific GPS devices are forced into mindlessly following a device that does pseudo truck routing at best only. In other words, it is a ticket, accident, or worse waiting to happen and one of the reasons you hear and read about so many horror stories.
The other main reason truck drivers want a trucking specific GPS device is to have the ability to search and route to truck specific points of interest, such as truck stops, turnpike service plazas, rest areas, parking areas, turnouts, Wal-Mart Supercenters, etc. and to also see and know where weigh stations and inspection stations are located.
However, you don’t have to buy a $500 glorified so-called truck specific GPS device that only supplies a crappy and inaccurate POI database that isn’t tailored for truck drivers to have that capability, for a nominal fee you can simply add the Truck Stops Plus add-on template to your Streets & Trips and the truck specific POIs you get are not only tailored for truck drivers, but also pinpoint accurate.
Why is pinpoint accuracy in a trucking specific POI database very important to truck drivers? Because if the POIs in the database are inaccurate, you may find yourself driving many miles out of route just to find a legal and safe place to turn around. That is if you are lucky and don’t end up in a residential area or worse.
Also, if the POI database is tailored specifically for truck drivers like the Truck Stops Plus template is, you won’t need to buy expensive truck stop directories and exit guides. Not to mention that with the Truck Stops Plus template you can also check for restricted routes and low clearances right from the convenience of your laptop screen. So you don’t even need to use an expensive and very bulky MCRA.
Finally, because I use Streets & Trips as opposed to one of those glorified so-called truck specific GPS devices that only does pseudo truck routing at best and because I also plug in the company supplied truck routing into Streets & Trips and then save my trips, I don’t have to worry about putting myself in a position to possibly do myself or others harm, and thus I only have to worry about the omissions or errors that may be contained in my company supplied truck routing. In any event, if I had to do all the things you are erroneously envisioning and absurdly assuming, then there would be no way I would use GPS technology because it would be redundant and very time consuming. Not to mention, very self-defeating at the same time.
Like I said, I can plan out an entire trip or also search and route to any trucking specific POIs in only a tiny fraction of the time that it takes for you to do it the old fashion way with a MCRA, pen, and paper, and I therefore can drive with a lot less stress and much more peace of mind because I know I have precise visual and voice guided turn-by-turn directions the entire way. Not only that, but I can also see all the trucking specific POIs on the Streets & Trips navigation map while I’m driving for miles ahead in advance as I approach and pass them up along my route while I’m driving as well. Thus, it is also like having radar in the truck with me.
GPS in a big truck?
