Vocal Voices

These damned things are sending lorry drivers down narrow lanes, over weak bridges and under low ones. They are forcing lorries through picture postcard villages where they knock down walls and tear up verges. Some have even been sent down dead-ends with no way of turning round. Sat-navs should be banned, banned I tell y....

Oh wait! It is not sat-navs, is it? It is all down to the person driving the lorry. They are the ones in charge. They should know the dimensions of their vehicles, and their weight, and their route, and have information about the load being carried. It they get things wrong it is their responsibility and they should be made to pay for any damage or delays. That is how things used to be.

But now the Local Government Association (LGA) wants legislation brought in to make sure lorry drivers in England and Wales use a GPS system suitable for HGVs. Yes, take the responsibility away from the driver. Blame something else. It is the modern way.

I agree.

But I also think that Sat-Nav manufacturers should make it clear when a Sat-Nav is only suitable for small cars.

I've never bothered with a satnav, as experience shows that I'm quite capable of getting lost, thank you, without the necessity of a machine to assist me ....

Yes, take the responsibility away from the driver .....

Well, fair enough, I guess, whilst there's still some drivers out there who don't seem capable of knowing the dimensions of their vehicles, and their weight, and their route.

Any HGV driver who does not know the dimensions of their vehicle, the weight or the signs which control the access of that vehicle, should not be driving a HGV on the roads. I speak as a 14 year holder of a HGV license.

This whole thing about blaming the SatNav is total ballcocks. No HGV driver should be driving on a route without a physical map and should have a reasonable idea of the route they should follow and the restrictions on that route. The SatNav is nothing more than a guide. Even if the company provides specific SatNav's for the truck the driver should always have gone over the route even in large.

There are some small exceptions to this. Rescue and recovery vehicles like AA/RAC/Green Flag have to travel so far and go to places that are not normally travelled that they will need the help of the SatNav. However, still, they should have a physical map and absolutely must pay more attention to the road signs than the SatNav.

I am totally and completely with WM on this. Whilst car drivers can, pretty much, do any old stupid thing they want with a SatNav (I don't often use them), HGV drivers should be held to a completely different standard. This is their Job and there is no excuse.