Paper maps

[jmak]

Specifically car road atlases. Are they completely obsolete?

 

Just clearing out my car and in the seat back pocket I came across my >20 old London A-Z from when I used to regularly drive in London (I have never paid the congestion charge!) and a 2012 Britain and Ireland roadmap.

 

Both cars we own have built in sat nav and obviously so do our phones. Is there any point in keeping them?

 

It'd feel like giving in to accept they're completely superceded and I like having a good idea of where I'm going before I set off rather than just relying on the sat nav, but insisting on keeping them makes me feel old.

Edited June 4, 2020 by jmak

[samba_man]

I always keep them as a backup in the car. Useful in the event the phone becomes broken or out in the sticks without a signal.

[LeMarchand]

Mme LeMarchand likes to keep a road atlas in the car so she can advise me that the satnav isn't doing its job. Edited June 4, 2020 by LeMarchand

[hardtailstar]

I have a sat nav in my car and on my phone.

 

I also keep a road map and local OS map in my car.

 

Quite often im in the countryside with no signal so use those maps. Although I tend to use the OS map more than the road atlas.

[jthompson]

I've always kept a paper road atlas in the car just for that super unlikely occasion when it's really needed. That's not to say that I've ever used it or that it isn't a road atlas from 1994.

[MatthewL]

When travelling across the UK I put my trust Philips UK one in and do have some of the county ones. Car has built in sat nav don't use it, do have a TomTom with traffic but don't rely on it, always know where I'm going, only comes into play if lots of traffic or in towns/cities. Also out in the middle of no where no all places are on sat nav, sometimes no phone signal but generally on a map!

[mikeprice]

I like to have a 'proper' road map when I'm somewhere I don't know very well.

 

I find that if I just use the Sat Nav to take me everywhere then I end up with no clue of where I am most of the time - and no feel for the layout of the local area

 

I prefer to have a reasonable clue about where the towns lie and which direction I am travelling in.

 

However, I do normally use the Sat Nav to actually get there

 

 

and, of course, I frequently override the thing as I know better that it does

(wife may have a different opinion!)

[3s-gtech]

Haven’t had one for years. I do pre-plan unfamiliar journeys though, including using Street View to recognise a destination, and I usually have a backup satnav (offline).

 

I remember the fun of trying to use Google Maps on a Sony C905 over 3G while late for a booking, so I try to be a bit more prepared now!

[MatthewL]

Totally agree with you @mikeprice we was only discussing this the other day about the following of a sat nav on a driving test, people are too reliant on them and actually don't have a clue where they are. I like to know where I am.

 

When I don't know where I am I do have What3Words installed, has its advantages especially if you ever need to call 999.

[unixman_again]

in my case, no satnav or mobile phone, means an atlas and a couple of A-Zs are essential.

[StevieM]

I bought a new AA one from a garage, earlier this year. Should have paid more for a better one, as it doesn't have enough detail. I don't have satnav, anymore, since I ditched my smartphone.

[ricki]

I hate paper maps wife sent me 30 miles out of the way because she was reading map upside down

[jmak]

So it's not just me then.

 

Always slightly concerned about holding on to the "old ways" when I'm supposed to be some kind of techie!

 

I'd never rely on my phone (although the apps are generally much better than the ones built in to the car) as they might run out of battery or signal, but if the battery on the car runs out, I'd be pretty stuck with or without a map and the cars don't rely on a data signal, just being able to see a satellite or 3.

 

Think I'll treat myself to a new road atlas [emoji846]

[jmak]

I hate paper maps wife sent me 30 miles out of the way because she was reading map upside down

As a teen-ager, I sent us into the wrong country on a family European driving holiday!

 

I'm my defense, that was more about not being able to work out how a big motorway junction worked while being driven at speed, rather than an inability to read the map. My dad took a while to see the funny side...

[River]

So it's not just me then.

 

Always slightly concerned about holding on to the "old ways" when I'm supposed to be some kind of techie![emoji846]

 

It's not just you! I prefer to have checked a map before going on long journeys so I have a rough idea of the route and am not just relying on the Sat Nav. Also, as I am getting old I find that when planning longer journeys I tend to use paper maps so I can try to stop off at a National Trust property rather then use a service station for breaks!

[Andrew_C]

Yeah, how I wish one of ours had been in my car instead of both in Mrs_C's when we found that the A1 was shut one night. Don't know the area well, but the diversion was via Corby (knew that was WAY out of our way) but the SatNav kept sending us back to the A1. No easy way to tell it to do otherwise.

[jthompson]

So it's not just me then.

 

Always slightly concerned about holding on to the "old ways" when I'm supposed to be some kind of techie!

 

Techie's know that a road atlas will still work after it's been dropped on the ground at a motorway services.

[mikeprice]

It also will not normally burst in flames when you drive in Tesco

 

 

 

 

 

the woman walking past when I chucked a smoking thingy out of the window must have thought I was a nutter

 

 

 

mind you - once it was unplugged, and out of the car, and had stopped smoking

 

then putting it in the bin was probably not a good idea - nothing bad happened (like the whole bin bursting into flames) but still.......

[E_G_R2]

Why wouldn't you have a paper backup in case the tech fails?

 

Also I despise Sat Nav and how lazy it makes you. I've known people plot a course for a trip that they regularly make ending up in the wrong part of the post code - again like they did last journey because they haven't remembered/learnt the route.

 

It may well be just me but usually if I've been somewhere once I can find my way again without the need of digital or paper help

[elsiegee40]

I’m another map user.

 

We have detailed road atlases of both the UK and France.

 

They’re very useful for getting an overview of an area... you spend too much time zooming in and out on a phone as the screen is so small.

 

I also find it useful to have seen the basic route on a map in advance.

 

The satnav on our Volvo isn’t great and Google maps or Waze generally do a better job. I prefer Waze for driving, Mr gee40 prefers Google maps.

 

The pocket London A-Z was a permanent fixture in my handbag, but has been replaced by Google Maps on foot. The standard sized version hasn’t been used for years either. We have an enormous Greater London version dating from the 1990s which we did use a couple of years ago, but I cannot remember why!

 

OS Explorer maps are my preference for walking. I do have some of them electronically, but prefer the paper version especially for route planning

Edited June 11, 2020 by elsiegee40

[LeMarchand]

I use Waze on all but the shortest journeys; definitely on my commute to/from work. 90% of the time it's the same route - but sometimes I will be diverted past a hold up*. You don't get that with a paper map!

 

I do replace the AA atlas in the car every couple of years, but (as stated above) it's mainly for Mme LeMarchand's benefit.

 

*Or it could just be Waze messing with me.

[jthompson]

OS Explorer maps are my preference for walking. I do have some of them electronically, but prefer the paper version especially for route planning

 

I usually take a photo of the relevant part of the OS map and use that for quick glances at the route whilst out on the walk.

[elsiegee40]

I usually take a photo of the relevant part of the OS map and use that for quick glances at the route whilst out on the walk.

 

I often do that too.

[SamanthaD]

I try to buy an OS map of the local area when I go on holiday to another part of the UK - just to look at and see the lie of the land, as it were. Often there's little places to find that you'll never see on Google.

 

For driving though I'm firmly in the TomTom camp - though I have TomTom Live inbuilt to the car so it's quite easy. Usually on silent when navigating though so the music doesn't get interrupted every 10 minutes and often just as a reference, and very useful for speed camera alerts!

[Andrew_C]

I try to buy an OS map of the local area when I go on holiday to another part of the UK

I do without fail!

 

I trust all of you cartophiles have found Alan Godfrey historical maps?