Common sense VS. GPS

Trucking is an Art, not a mindless burger flipper job.

Driving an 80,000lb and in excess of 200,000lbs yes trucking is not just your cookie cutter 80k load.

The automated system will be hard pressed to replace a driver. Way to many variables to adjust for that need human intervention.
Seeing trucking in the early 80's was still not as I consider the basis for trucking standards.
I was trained by a 60yr old driver in a twin stick AutoCar. I spent more time learning about my truck,Than anything else. You are taught the the basics.
How does your truck climb a grade.
How does your truck descend that same hill.
What happens to the motor, transmission and axles as you climb.
What happens to these same items on decent.
How do you deal and communicate with a broker.
How do you navigate to a shipper.
Figure out the obstacles to shipper.
Figure out route in and route to drop.
Learning all the specific dates an atlas will teach you.
Then figuring out if your route is during rush hour, is it during daytime or night time.
Once you get close within 20 or even 50 miles. Calling the pickup location. Find out what is special about this place?
Construction blocking a road.
Bridge that is low that blocks your progress.
Specifics about the parking lot or dock area.
Time you need to be on site.
Is your truck and trailer suitable for loading.
Is your dock worker or loader in a bad mood.
How is your load loaded on your trailer.
Will it scale out legal axle and gross before leaving area.
Are you able to make changes and scale before shipper closes it's gates, or puts you on hold while it loads other trucks.
Do you have time to leave a different route than the one you arrived by.
How much time do you have to get down the road.
Simple questions did you goto the bathroom before getting stuck in traffic, or driving out of the city limits into empty highways or back roads.
At this point you have an entire different types of obstacles to deal with.
Food.
Fuel
Drive time
Weather
Sleep
Load checks

All before getting down the road with your GPS. If you look the GPS is just a minuscule part of our work.
Relying on one item, has turned our industry into a group of zombies that drive huge vehicles.
With the Advent of the internet and camera phones not to mention social media. Any error is blasted all over the net.
If only the new breed of up and coming drivers would take more interest into the workings of the job they perform.

Look at the burger flipper, he's at the bottom. If you work and practice and learn you can be a chef. Don't be a burger flipper Excell, make your mark. You are the only one who can. Make the choice to flip a burger - aka GPS and drive
Or
Chef. You use your phone, you brain and your atlas. Be a better driver than who trained you. Prove them all wrong, show the 4wheel media you can be better.

"Getting off soap box"

 

I agree with you for the most part. My question is, not specifically to you, but how can anyone argue against GPS when technology has made HUGE leaps over the past decade(s)? AND within the next 1-3 decades, we will have trucks solely driven by GPS and different technologies (driverless)?

I'm not trying to make a point for plugging the address in and following the GPS blindly, in any way. Common sense always is needed and hugely important, but my question is simply how can anyone say that the technological advances over the past 10-30 years are not better than other options available?

 

My biggest point is don't put all your eggs into one basket. Being as the GPS.
Just like new drivers expecting the Qualcomm to be the be all do all for your logbook.

Do some homework make your job easier. Make some 5 min. Calls instead of wandering around looking for an address the GPS says is suppose to be where you are. But ends up being 2 miles down the road.

Like my grandfather told me
Work smarter
Not harder

 

Mine's blue.

 

But what most don't realize is there are times you still need to work hard.

 

Part of the "issue" with the GPS is trying to get all the current data into the Maps in a reasonable amount of time. It is one thing to "take" a pic of a road and another to get the Road Data entered.

If the time delay between what is out in real life can be shortened to what is in the Map Data then the GPS's will be more accurate.

But, in the end, it is the driver to use the GPS as a Tool and question anything that does not seem right. Use your eyes and all the tools available to make a great trip plan and look at each trip with an alternate route in case of emergencies, be highly flexible in your routing based upon the situations or unforeseen issues.

Above all else.. when getting off STAA highways, look ahead of time in your downtime on other software/websites for things like low overheads and "will I" be able to get in/out safely.

Your brain is the last and final decision maker in how and where you point the front of the truck.

 

Leaving the shipper and my GPS trying to throw me a curveball
Instead of turning right and be on my merry way it wanted me to turn left and then do a u-turn

 

NavTeq was acquired by Nokia and became HERE in 2011, your screen shows NavTeq. How old are your maps?

 

NaviGo
Map Data v15.1 SE

 

My Garmin is bad about assuming "island medians" forbids turns, and does these incorrect routings from time to time. But routing anomalies as noted above are common wether you're talking about Garmin or RM, and is sometimes more a matter of routing software programming, but sometimes is a matter of erroneous Navteq cartography data.