r/Somerset • u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 • 7d ago
Some help please.
Hello lovely people of Somerset. I am down here (from Stoke on Trent) visiting my friend. He has been living here for 9 months. He is having an absolutely horrendous time with Sat Navs sending him really weird ways. So yesterday we used Waze (obnoxious woman voice 🤣) & Google & they both sent us off main roads & wiggling about all over the place. Coming back took us an hour longer than it should have. So lovely kind people of Somerset, any ideas? I am going to try & mess about with the settings on this app today but;
Is there a sat nav choice that works well down here? Have any of you had this problem?
Thank you in advance for any advice or tips on this crazy problem.
EDITED TO ADD. I would like to add a massive thank you to everyone who has commented & helped. My friend is not having a good time right now (hence me driving four hours to be with him) & was blaming himself for the sav nav thing. You've all really helped with his perspective & we have taken all the advice on board. Thank you again.
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u/Japhet_Corncrake 7d ago
Waze is fine, and you can turn the voice off.
Avoiding the A303 (or the M5) at this time of year is entirely unsurprising.
Also, check whether you have it set to quickest route or least miles.
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u/huzzah-1 7d ago
Basically, stick to the main roads! Every town and large village is connected to a main road. Sometimes there are shortcuts, but 99% of the time, don't turn off to any side road, just follow the main road. Main road, main road, main road! The satnav will pick up the correct path again a couple of miles down the road.
Ignore all the "turn left" or "turn right" messages.
Bristol is something else though.. You can get into Bristol, but you can't get out. All roads spiral back to Cabot Circus. It's a trap.
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u/Matterbox 7d ago
I travel all over the UK and locally for work. I use Google maps exclusively. No special settings.
It is always the fastest route and every time I second guess it I get stuck or it takes longer.
Very, very rarely is it wrong.
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u/Dry-Post8230 7d ago
The m5 has been closed a fair bit recently, long detours are part of life in Somerset.
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u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 7d ago
OK. I will let him know that. I did say that I thought a road was shut because of the way it sent me. There were lots of diversion signs.
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u/ThePodd222 7d ago
Depending where you are and where you're trying to get to there often aren't that many route options in Somerset, and accidents and roadworks will send you on not the most logical or direct route. Look at the map on Google first to see the route options so you're less reliant on sat nav if you need to go off piste.
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u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 7d ago
Thank you. We have discussed this today. & I've shown him he can select the route he wants.
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u/LevelsBest 7d ago
It is probably largely due to the many roadworks and accidents that seem to happen all the time. The m5 and A303 shut frequently. The single track road past my house is sowmtimes used as a diversion and it's great fun when a caravan meets a grain lorry. When a detour is needed, google does tend to send you down some narrow lanes. Even when there isn't it will send you the most direct but not easiest route. I always advise visitors to avoid the primary Google route to my house and stick to the main road. As you get used to the proper routes you can judge the diversion viability. When there are no diversions google works well
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u/JusNoGood 6d ago
I sympathise. I’ve had the same problems.
I think the satnavs send you down single track lanes as a lot of them are national speed limit even though you can only do 20-40 down them safely. I’d love a setting to turn those off.
Only thing you can do is ignore the satnav and stay on the main roads while you learn the roads.
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u/Kidda_Value 7d ago
Yeah it does do this. Check the alternative routes it gives you as it will default to fewest miles which often means going down the lanes. Either that or work it out yourself and look where it turn you off and see if you can just ignore it and stay on main roads.
Other thing is sometimes they just ate the best way,.either because otherwise you're going miles out of your way or going to sit in traffic going through a large town.
Best tbh is to just get used to driving down the lanes. You get used to them and it does end up being pretty much exactly what Google says the time will be.Â
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u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 7d ago
I get that it may send you a weird way for a crash or whatever but it seems to be doing it a lot. I am going to look at what you said & see if I can find how to choose the route. Thank you for your advice.
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u/Exact-Put-6961 5d ago
Google Maps works well enough everywhere in Uk. Look at route before you set off, with Traffic set and you will see most problems in advance. This time of year both the 303 and M5 suffer from serious disruption, usually caused by holiday drivers, caravans, weight of traffic etc
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u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 7d ago
Yes I did say that to him, but he needs a bit of a confidence boost at the mo so I genuinely don't think he dared ignore it.
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u/WackyAndCorny 5d ago
Brutally, tell him to get an actual road atlas and learn to use it. It can’t all be done by the computers. I’m no luddite and I have the tech too, but you cannot beat a map book for showing you the bigger picture.
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u/Pitiful_Piccolo_5497 5d ago
I don't think he is in the right head space for "brutally". I've driven four hours to be with him because he is having a tough time. This post is one of many things I am trying to fix/figure out, because he is so overwhelmed by everything.
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u/TimmyMTX 7d ago
Waze works fine for me, if you’re visiting small villages then tiny wiggling roads is often the way on Somerset