04-15-2010, 03:27 AM
I have been using a Tomtom (the old mk1 version) for a couple of years now (was working as a courier driver before moving into the mining game)
IMHO they are the best thing ever for driving in unfamiliar cities, even if they do sometimes take a slightly different route to one I would if I were a local (but then if I was a local I wouldn't be using it then would I???)
Best thing is the advance warning about lane changes and turnoffs without you having to take your eyes off the road- as an ex courier I can tell you there is nothing worse than having the map propped on the steering wheel, trying to spot street signs with one eye and read the map with the second- with the occasional glance ahead with my (third???) eye to see what the traffic is DOING!! (scream of brakes...)
My work one was was a Garmin- I bought the TomTom mostly due its larger (at the time) screen and simpler operating menu- it doesn't have as many features as the Garmin, but I found that most of them you never use and made setting it up on the move more error prone (try hitting the right spot bouncing over the potholes in a 6 tonne truck)
I haven't found anywhere that it wont pick up sats (except in underground loading docks for some strange reason) but on the street it always picks up within 10 seconds or so, no matter how crowded the skyline is with buildings.
I also found it useful for travelling out in the country since I started working in the mines, altho some of the roads arent `quite' where they should be and some dont exist at all (I suspect that many of the maps were made from old survey maps)
This is in country Qld in Australia tho mind you
IMHO they are the best thing ever for driving in unfamiliar cities, even if they do sometimes take a slightly different route to one I would if I were a local (but then if I was a local I wouldn't be using it then would I???)
Best thing is the advance warning about lane changes and turnoffs without you having to take your eyes off the road- as an ex courier I can tell you there is nothing worse than having the map propped on the steering wheel, trying to spot street signs with one eye and read the map with the second- with the occasional glance ahead with my (third???) eye to see what the traffic is DOING!! (scream of brakes...)
My work one was was a Garmin- I bought the TomTom mostly due its larger (at the time) screen and simpler operating menu- it doesn't have as many features as the Garmin, but I found that most of them you never use and made setting it up on the move more error prone (try hitting the right spot bouncing over the potholes in a 6 tonne truck)
I haven't found anywhere that it wont pick up sats (except in underground loading docks for some strange reason) but on the street it always picks up within 10 seconds or so, no matter how crowded the skyline is with buildings.
I also found it useful for travelling out in the country since I started working in the mines, altho some of the roads arent `quite' where they should be and some dont exist at all (I suspect that many of the maps were made from old survey maps)
This is in country Qld in Australia tho mind you
poopsie chicken tush