H.B. Elkins wrote:
If my GPS is telling me to take a certain route but the sign says Dead End or
Bridge Out or Do Not Enter, I think I will pay more attention to the sign than
what the voice in my GPS is telling me. Don't these guys know what No Commercial
Vehicles or Low Clearance means?

Sure. But if the first Low Clearance sign is posted on a bridge, after
you've spent the last 20 miles on a narrow road lined on both sides with
telephone poles so it's impossible to turn around, it's a bit too late
for the trucker to avoid the problem.

Last time on rec.autos.driving, John David Galt
jdg at (no spam) diogenes.sacramento.ca.us> said:

H.B. Elkins wrote:
If my GPS is telling me to take a certain route but the sign says Dead End or
Bridge Out or Do Not Enter, I think I will pay more attention to the sign than
what the voice in my GPS is telling me. Don't these guys know what No Commercial
Vehicles or Low Clearance means?
Sure. But if the first Low Clearance sign is posted on a bridge, after
you've spent the last 20 miles on a narrow road lined on both sides with
telephone poles so it's impossible to turn around, it's a bit too late
for the trucker to avoid the problem.

So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

Perhaps they tended to stick to the main roads more instead of trying
to find "shortcuts?" Perhaps if they went back to that strategy the
"GPS" problem would go away?

I don't have a modern GPS--but I keep thinking it would be interesting
to know how it would route a big truck from South Boston to Big Island, VA.

Larry Sheldon wrote:
snip
I don't have a modern GPS--but I keep thinking it would be interesting
to know how it would route a big truck from South Boston to Big Island, VA.


If you had a laptop and were using a MapSource install on that to give
you a route, the route below is what you would get. I put a waypoint at
intersection of D St and Summer St in So. Boston, another at the
intersection of US 501 and Hwy 122 in Big Island, VA.

Scott in SoCal wrote:
So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

I assume the trucking companies and/or shippers took responsibility for
directing them to usable routes. I would like the law to assign
responsibility that way, because shippers (especially) have the ability
to know local route information that a driver from another state does
not.

Perhaps they tended to stick to the main roads more instead of trying
to find "shortcuts?" Perhaps if they went back to that strategy the
"GPS" problem would go away?

Main roads are a great solution if they lead to your pickup/drop-off
point. But the problem only arises when they don't.

So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

Perhaps they tended to stick to the main roads more instead of trying
to find "shortcuts?" Perhaps if they went back to that strategy the
"GPS" problem would go away?

Scott in SoCal wrote:
So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

I assume the trucking companies and/or shippers took responsibility for
directing them to usable routes. I would like the law to assign
responsibility that way, because shippers (especially) have the ability
to know local route information that a driver from another state does
not.

Scott in SoCal wrote:
So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

I assume the trucking companies and/or shippers took responsibility for
directing them to usable routes.

I would like the law to assign
responsibility that way, because shippers (especially) have the ability
to know local route information that a driver from another state does
not.

Perhaps they tended to stick to the main roads more instead of trying
to find "shortcuts?" Perhaps if they went back to that strategy the
"GPS" problem would go away?

Main roads are a great solution if they lead to your pickup/drop-off
point. But the problem only arises when they don't.

Last time on rec.autos.driving, John David Galt
jdg at (no spam) diogenes.sacramento.ca.us> said:

Scott in SoCal wrote:
So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

I assume the trucking companies and/or shippers took responsibility for
directing them to usable routes. I would like the law to assign
responsibility that way, because shippers (especially) have the ability
to know local route information that a driver from another state does
not.

Of course, if the goods were shipped long-haul by rail and then
transferred to a local driver's truck for the "last mile" the whole
problem would just disappear.

Garmin now has a GPS specific for truckers. This is what Garmin says
about it:

Ease your way down the highway with the nüvi 465T – our first nüvi
designed specifically for the over-the-road trucking industry.
Featuring a preloaded NTTS Breakdown Directory, specialized routing
options throughout the lower 48 states and truck friendly points of
interest, this full-featured navigator was made for life on the road.
The nüvi 465T also lets you create custom vehicle profiles tailored to
what you’re driving and what you’re hauling. It’s convenience created
with over-the-road drivers in mind.

Not sure if this will help though but at least it is something.

Rail tends to serve only the major metro areas, and indeed a lot of
shipping to Chicago, LA, Atlanta, etc. does go intermodal. The
problem arises when companies that are going to regularly send/receive
big-rig sized loads build their plants in locations that are hard (or
it's not obvious how) to safely reach by truck.

It would help if there were still direct rail tracks into most
industrial locations. Many have been torn up because rail lines are
subject to property taxes -- which doesn't make any more sense for
them than it does for roads.

Scott in SoCal wrote:
So how did Truckers avoid this problem before GPS?

John David Galt wrote:
I assume the trucking companies and/or shippers took responsibility for
directing them to usable routes. I would like the law to assign
responsibility that way, because shippers (especially) have the ability
to know local route information that a driver from another state does
not.

Of course, if the goods were shipped long-haul by rail and then
transferred to a local driver's truck for the "last mile" the whole
problem would just disappear.