WHY I WROTE THE BOOK

My background in management and quality assurance inevitably influenced the way I viewed road navigation. Rather than seeing satnav as a device that simply gives directions, I came to see navigation as a process that can be planned, managed, and improved.

The questions I naturally asked were:

• Where can the process fail?
• How can those failures be prevented?
• What systems can be put in place to reduce errors before they occur?

Most satnav users see the device as something that tells them where to go. I came to see it as only one component of a complete navigation system in which the driver plays the central role.

My six navigation principles are therefore more than driving techniques. They represent a quality assurance framework for navigation, encouraging drivers to prevent errors rather than simply recover from them.

In many ways, this book is not really about satnavs. It is about navigation as a managed process. The principles are based not only on driving experience but also on the philosophy of preventing errors before they occur rather than merely correcting them afterwards.

Good navigation, like good quality assurance, is fundamentally preventative. A few minutes spent planning, confirming, familiarising, observing, anticipating and positioning can prevent the costly consequences of a wrong decision later in the journey.

I believe the approach advocated in this book could just as easily be applied to map reading. The technology may change, but the principles do not. The six principles are a timeless, preventative approach to road navigation, helping drivers reduce errors regardless of whether they use a satnav, a paper map or future navigation technologies.

Preventing errors before they occur, rather than merely correcting them afterwards.