SatNav no-go areas: warning signs

[artyfysshe]

New member desperately seeking advice:
I'd like to find out how to have my home location marked as a no-go area by SatNav mapping companies.
For 25 years I've lived, and worked from home, in a rural area, by the side of a 'C' class road where my stone&slate-built house and outbuilding are on opposite sides of a lane which is on a series of bends and forms a pinch-point between the buildings, and includes a 1:7 hill with 180º & 90º bends at bottom and top. There are blue & white advisory notices either end of my section of lane, but these are regularly ignored by drivers of med - large trucks, incl artics. On average, there is some kind of untoward incident once or twice a week. Multiply that by 25yrs. I suffer stress, actual damage, repair costs, and will have difficulty selling my home under these circumstances.
My local Council have systematically refused to instal mandatory warning notices (such as you might find for a Low Bridge, for inst) as it might 'set a precedence'. The SatNav companies I have contacted in the past tell me that without such signage, they cannot include alerts on their mapping. Is this true? I am sympathetic to drivers whose time is wasted by getting stuck, lost, stressed, damaged - especially as there is an A-road which more-or-less parallels my little lane. Imagine the cost and stress to myself.
Any feedback will be welcome. If any regular users know of a better place within this forum to gain more coverage - please advise. Thanks.

[Andy_P]

Have you tried contacting the mapmakers themselves?

Teleatlas (now owned by TomTom)
Navteq
Google

...are the only ones you really need to worry about.

I very much doubt they will do anything, but it's worth a try.

Unfortunately, all they seem to be interested in is whether a "road" exists (irrespective of whether it's a decent road or just a track). Although they have "time to travel" info about most roads, they don't usually log individually any difficult gradients or tight bends.
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[artyfysshe]

Many thanks for responding. Having had a negative outcome from companies like TomTom and Garmin in years past, I felt that everything hung on my local Council's decision to do nothing, so it's only now, with the increasing frequency of 'incidents' that I've taken this up again in the hopes that something has changed. Various research and feedback (in particular, a comprehensive reply from Ordnance Survey on 'how stuff works) is gradually getting me closer to source, and just yesterday I was able to use the online reporting facilities on TeleAtlas (TomTom) and Navteq (Nokia), to pinpoint my exact location and send a detailed description of my difficulties. I have yet to use Google's (Open Street Map) facility, but as you say - these three should cover just about all satellite mapping of any import. Fingers crossed!

[Privateer]

Hi artyfysshe,

Unfortunately car SatNavs do not usually appear to worry about road properties if anything that could be classed as a car can safely navigate the road. In addition SatNavs for lorries and LGVs, which should take into consideration road width, height, weight limits as well as gradient and angles, are much more expensive so you may find that rivers of these larger vehicles might use car SatNavs. These drivers should use check their route by using a trucker's road atlas.

I don't know what "angle" you took when you contacted your local council. Do you have any neighbours or know of any other properties on your road that are affected by this problem? Is your road an essential route for access to, or for, an important place for your local community such as a hospital, fire station, police station, large local employer, or workplace or home of a local councillor? If so try banding together to get support so that you can re-approach your council.

My parents had a problem with a chicane built about 100 metres from their house. The chicane was built on a straight road at the bottom of a hill. Unfortunately it became a regular thing to have cars land in the ditch in front of my parents' property as the drivers failed to negotiate the right/left of the chicane. In the winter time they'd have at least one vehicle a month end up in the ditch. The fields on the other side of the chicane also lost yards of hedges due to crashes. We were concerned that the chicane was death trap and wrote a letter to the council and attended several meetings but the council weren't interested. Eventually there was an awful crash in which several young people were serious injured and tragically one of them died. It unfortunately took that crash to make the council remove half of the chicane.

I guess that you are already keeping a detailed diary of incidents with plenty of photographs of each incident. You could always get a website/blog up and running to detail the incidents.

It's best to keep trying, write to the council again and again. Ask the council to speak to local media, radio, newspaper, tv.

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[artyfysshe]

Many thanks for explaining the difference between car, and truck Satnavs - essential info shouldn't come down to money, methinks. And yes, for many years, I kept a log of all incidents that I witnessed - about 10yrs-worth, most of them supported by vehicle reg nos, photos where time and opportunity, and as much detail as poss, especially where damage ensued - in an effort to support my request for more informative signage - as much to be of help to truck drivers as myself - but all my efforts were rejected by my local council as merely 'anecdotal'. Unfortunately, and in this respect only, I live in a secluded, rural location where I am the only property affected (apart from other road-users who might get caught up in an incident) and not helped by one of my out-of-sight but otherwise nearest neighbours behaving in a particularly belligerent (and malicious) manner, having failed to sustain a haulage business from their completely unsuitable home property whilst fraudulently claiming their 'centre of operations' was elsewhere. So - no, while I have sympathy from all other folks in the village, I do not have access to co-operative effort. The problem facing larger-vehicle drivers is not apparent until they are right on my doorstep (suitable signage would of course, solve this), but there is no will from my Council, and no enthusiasm or requirement from anyone else, to get involved.
I have now contacted the two main mapping companies, put a digital pin on the exact location and given a detailed description. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

[mccririck]

Can you not get the council to install no entry for HGVs sign if they keep getting stuck?

[M8TJT]

Here's the answer to that one in post #1.

[MaFt]

The main problem with this (and yes, I am aware that it's an old post that's been brought back to life) is what Privateer says earlier. Truck drivers are using car satnavs because they cost £50.

There ARE specialist satnavs designed for HGVs where the operator enters the height, width etc of their truck and routes are calculated accordingly - however these cost quite a lot more so they don't buy them.

It's all about education - truck drivers need to learn to use equipment that is fit for the job...

MaFt

[DennisN]

[M8TJT]

Some people seem to try

[MaFt]

[AliOnHols]

I once had a pallet's worth of bricks in the back of a 1.3L Ford Escort, hatchback. (Circa 1988, pre enforcement of road laws).

I felt like an astronaut on my way to the moon! Obviously, not as fast though.

/Sigh, They were the days.
_________________
Garmin Nuvi 2599
Android with CamerAlert, OsmAnd+, Waze & TT Europe.
TomTom GO 730, GO 930, GO 940 & Rider2.
SatMap Active 10 & 20.

[Andy_P]

[AliOnHols]

Exactly so. Although my front wheel steering was not as light as this poor ass' is.
_________________
Garmin Nuvi 2599
Android with CamerAlert, OsmAnd+, Waze & TT Europe.
TomTom GO 730, GO 930, GO 940 & Rider2.
SatMap Active 10 & 20.

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