Topic
Where following the instructions is no longer enough
Most journeys are straightforward. Enter a destination, follow the instructions, arrive. Some journeys are not. Delivering to an unfamiliar industrial estate in an articulated lorry, finding a remote campsite with a caravan, or working through twenty drops in a day asks more of a driver than a standard car satnav was ever designed to provide.
This topic collects the articles about those harder journeys. They describe what experienced professional drivers actually do: check the address rather than trusting the postcode alone, examine the final approach on satellite imagery or Street View, enter accurate vehicle dimensions into a satnav built for larger vehicles, and keep an alternative in mind for the moment the technology lets them down.
Running through all of them is the idea of a continuum. Navigation is a single skill that deepens with the demands placed on it, from the pedestrian reading a street sign to the LGV driver weighing up bridge heights, weight limits and turning areas before setting off.
The principles themselves do not change as journeys get harder. They are simply applied with more preparation, more observation and far more attention to the last few miles.
Couriers, HGV drivers and caravan owners face journeys where following a satnav is no longer enough.
Why professional drivers check satellite imagery and Street View before trusting the final approach.
The tools, checks and habits UK truck drivers rely on alongside a satnav when the route has to be right.
Why a postcode only gets you so far when a site has several entrances and unsuitable approach roads.
Six checks that keep a larger vehicle safe, legal and stress-free on an unfamiliar route.
From pedestrians to professional LGV drivers, how one skill deepens at every step of the journey.
A professional driver's account of learning to read the satnav's own map under constant time pressure.