anyone use navigation?

[mainebrown]

i was wondering if anyone here uses navigation? i won a bid, and just started driving in an area that i have no clue of where anything is....what do u guys recommend?

[MR_Vengeance]

use your head man, mind power is everything.

[helenofcalifornia]

Get a good map, that is all you will need. and ask questions. (I know, I know, this is tough for a guy) In two weeks you will be wondering why you even thought you needed navigation.

[Johney]

Are you on PAS? If so just follow it in your DIAD

[User Name]

I thought the same thing when i started driving this summer. Trust me, nobody has a worse sense of direction than me, and after a day or so on a route you will know it. Just be careful and keep your eyes moving...

[woodsy]

look at this guys screen name!!!!!! do you think pas is gonna help him!!! he is a freakin mainer all his stops are out buy some potato farm some where!!! get a map kid and do it the old fashion way GO SEADOGS!!!!!

[pkg-king]

It might take you a while but use a map, no GPS needed...Go Black Bears Hockey!!

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by mainebrown

i was wondering if anyone here uses navigation? i won a bid, and just started driving in an area that i have no clue of where anything is....what do u guys recommend?

Get a map.
Print out the DOL.
Spend the weekend driving around the route and make notes where the number breaks occur.
Look at your pick up stops and ask yourself the best way to get in and out.
Visually looking at where you will be working, while you are not under stress, is a valuable tool.
After 2 weeks, you will be running that route like it was old news.
Most people are not willing to do it this way, but it sure made my mental state relax starting or cover driving a new route.
My best advice is to learn your route and not depend on technology, to do your thinking for you.
PAX

[helenofcalifornia]

Are you on PAS? That's your answer until you get to know your route. Is it a business-heavy route? You have been given some good advice here. Listen and learn, young one.

[govols019]

If you are on PAS then print out the manifest the night before and use Mapquest to look up the addresses you don't know. I do that on rural routes and it's like I've been running them my whole life.

[Dump and Run]

Buy a good map. Ask other drivers and use your DIAD, it will show you what streets are before and after the one you are looking for. If you are lucky and the rte. is set up correctly the number breaks will be close if not you'll have it figured out in a couple of weeks on the same rte. Good luck.

[Fredless]

Use a map and learn the number breaks - you'll never get your day done if you type in every stop, especially in order that EDD gives you, into a GPS.

For example, in my city - the Avenues 99% of the time run east and west, and the streets north and south. So2207 E 25th Avenue would be near the corner of 22nd street and 25th avenue. Learn where the epicenter of your city is - where all east/west and north/south derives from.

In a rual city that I deliver airs to, the 4 digit addresses mean that its a house that faces (99% of the time) a NORTH/SOUTH street and the 5 digit addresses face an east/west street. The higher number the 4 digits are, the farther NORTH the place is - and the higher number 5 digit addresses are farther EAST.

However - when I get in a jam or in suburbia hell - I break out my Garmin iQue M4. I bought it back in early 2006 and its been well worth the $400 I paid for it. Its a PDA with GPS on it, and is battery powered. I could get about 3-4 hours of constant use out of it when it was new, but now that its been used for personal and work - the battery only lasts about an hour. Sometimes I get lucky and get a truck with a cigarette lighter and then I'm good to go. Its much safer than holding a map with your hand and trying to navigate some of the subdivisions around here. The M4 has been discontinued so look around and see what other GPS/PDA's Garmin offers.