GPS and SatNav

I am not a car driver, and not a gadgetty type of person either. But I have heard of GPS (Global Positioning System) and SatNav (Satellite Navigation) systems. The beauty of these things is that you know to the fraction of a second (as in latitude and longitude) where you are on earth. And the clever SatNav can then tell you where to go. That's where things do tend to go a wee bit off.

I won't easily forget the story about the bus which was travelling along (I think) the A46 in southern England, and its SatNav system told the driver to squeeze his hulking big coach down a countrylane. It was so narrow and winding, that at one point he shot through a hedge and ended up in the middle of a ploughed field. In the end, the police advised the driver to drive right through the field and onto the adjacent A46.

In North Yorkshire, you have Swaledale and Wensleydale, two valleys in a beautiful area called the North Yorkshire Dales. If you look at the map, there are a few roads crossing the high ground between. They are mostly single-track, narrow affairs. One such road leads along the edge of a 100 ft precipice, through somebody's farmyard and out into the open moor. That is the route, recommended by the SatNav systems. Have a look at the full story on the BBC's website.

I raise this subject because of the Tagging that went on earlier this week. Mapreading can be tricky, but at least on the map it will show what manner of road you're likely to encounter.