Sat Nav
Sometimes technology throws up something that revolutionises the way we live: the mobile phone is a good example of an item that, just ten years ago, few had that everyone now possesses.
While Satellite Navigation devices – or Sat-Nav as they have become known – do not have the all-round capability and usefulness of a mobile phone, they have become a must-have item in many people’s lives, and have transformed road travel in a very short time.
The problem with Sat-Nav, however, is that it still suffers from the trauma of the early days when roads were incorrectly mapped, journeys ended down country lanes with no destination and lorries got stuck under high bridges. The truth is that one has to be very stupid to allow this to happen, for it is always possible to see what is on the road ahead; if the sat-nav tells you to keep going yet ahead of you is a river, it is quite obvious that something is wrong.
Sat-nav is a brilliant invention, drawing on the copious satellites that orbit the planet spying on our day to day activities, and on computer technology that allows mapping to be incorporated electronically into the systems.
If, like many, you have no trouble following maps or road signs then you may consider it an unnecessary addition, but that is a bit like not having a DVD because you don’t watch films. Sat-nav is becoming cheaper by the month, and more advanced as it does so.
Where sat-nav really comes into its own is when tackling journeys that one is not familiar with. A trip abroad can become a lot easier, for instance, if one is unfamiliar with the language, or a journey to an off-beat place can be made a lot easier by the voice on the dashboard and the display that goes with it.
Easy to fit, easy to use and easy to buy, it is little surprise that sat-nav is rapidly becoming standard in new cars – not just those up-market, but in everyday commuter-wagons, too.
Once it overcomes the stigma of being popularised before it was perfected sat-nav will become an everyday part of driving and will, as the authorities embrace the technology and use it to convey information on hazards and hold ups ahead, become very much an integral part of the travelling experience.
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