Do you get reliable street addresses for GPS?

Like many have said GPS is a tool.The best tool I have in getting directions to a shipper/reciever is my cell phone, just be sure to ask for the shipping dept. The office personnell will tell how to get there, but the directions they use will more than likely the way they drive to work in their car.

 

I honestly dont see why anyone thinks it's a good idea to use GPS for directions, especially in a truck. I would never. However, I like GPS for the mapping..

 

i couldnt believe how many customers i've asked directions to, who seemed to be totally unable to give directions that were correct...let alone correct for a truck. How the heck do they get to work, i always wondered?

One time in particular, was the first time I went to Con-Way in South Bend, IN. Now, this is embarrasing as heck because I live 20 miles from South Bend. but there was a confusing intersection on my route. I turned the wrong way. I called con way, they said (and note that i told them exactly the route i took), oh, you passed us! you better turn around! I turned around and ended up back where i came from, called again, Oh, you passed us again!

Finally, the third time, i talked to a different person. This guy realized what I did wrong, and finally gave me sane directions.

Even worse, I now know a much more direct route that is not confusing at all. And its a truck route, and infact, the one that con way trucks take. Why the heck didnt they tell me THAT route? Also, I was only going there to drop off an empty so i could go home. I was tired, running illegal, and totally P-Od by the time i got there.

 

When I last drove, I used Microsoft MapPoint on my laptop with a GPS antenna. MapPoint allows you to flag points anywhere on the map. I set mine up to where each flag was a different color. With the flags, along with the text box, I had parking areas marked, truck stops, Walmarts, you name it...it was a pain in the ### entering in everything at first, but was a really nice tool once the data was in.

 

google maps is your friend. you can even do the street view in most places. it's awful helpful in those cities where low clearances are common. i had no directions to a customer in fort worth, tx. there were several different ways i could have gone. however, ALL of them had overpasses along the way that i had to get under. after checking all five of them on the street view, only one was good enough, and it was cleared by about 2 inches at the most. the other alternative is mapquest. it's not nearly as awesome as google is, though.

 

absolutely right. I had a delivery in the heart of detroit with rather confusing directions. I went on Google Earth and walked the route, so to speak. Turns out the directions were not all that confusing once you SAW what they were referring to.

As for my GPS, the things I like the most is estimating ETA, total distance traveled and remaining, and the average speed is neat although not particularly useful. I like the GPS to keep my on my route in case I get caught by surprise by an interstate splitting off or such. However, once I get near my delivery, if i am not SURE where it is, I use my GPS, Microsoft trips and streets, and most importantly, CALL the customer to at least let them know you are in the area and looking for their establishment. The GPS can be VERY useful as a map (when it is not barking orders at you and "recalculating!") I like to compare it to somebody sitting in your passenger seat holding a map with their finger on it pointing out exactly where you are and what road is coming up next. Often times i find myself consumed by trying to avoid the honda on your left, the bicyclist on your right, the ped in the crosswalk ahead of you, the car disappearing and reappearing behind you, and by the time I am close enough to see the street sign, I do not have enough time or room for a proper set up for a right turn per say.

GPS can be your best friend or your worst foe. Depends on how you use it.

 

I have had situations where I followed customers directions from rec dept. When my GPS was telling me otherwise and the customer was wrong. Went back to my GPS and it walked me right in. People who are dead against GPS units and like the old timers way can still get lost following co and customer directions. Any and all info you have can be wrong on any given day out here.

 

Bought my husband a garmin last year, he has cursed me many a time, cause it was not a trucker's version...told him, before you had a gps what did you do? Check the map to look for restricted routes....so the GPS was just supposed to be kind of a "extra" tool...Anyway, it has helped him many a time get to a customer, and when he uses BOTH the Gps and a map it works wonders...It was not meant to be relied on! He has been using maps and instincs for 9 years, why would you just STOP! LOL

Anyway, now Garmin has the new trucker version with restricted routes and Hazmat, we will be upgrading, but will probably still hear him complain about WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I BUY HIM A GPS THAT IS USLESS FOR TRUCKERS! LMAO, there goes my wife of the year award....

Be safe.