Sat Nav solution 'needs to be simple'
Date: 16 May 2008
The haulage work industry should avoid over-complicating the situation in its attempts to solve the problem of trucks being directed down the wrong roads by Sat Nav equipment, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said.
James Firth, roads policy manager for the FTA, was responding to a Department for Transport report about in-vehicle information systems.
He claims companies that specialise in haulage work along with transport contractors could benefit hugely if a simple solution, such as having a commercial vehicle option on standard navigation units, could be implemented.
Mr Firth said: "The technology to alter a route's bias in favour of major roads already exists in some computer-based route planning software but Sat Nav manufacturers seem slow to pick this up in in-vehicle units."
Workers in transport companies who deal with heavy loads and haulage work on a daily basis could use such technology to avoid driving down roads that do not support the weight of trucks or where height restrictions are in place and trucks cannot fit through.
Meanwhile, UK firm Navevo has launched a Sat Nav device for drivers of trucks and vans and calculates a route based on the height, weight and width of a vehicle as well as the loads.
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