Tom Tom Travels

(Author: Sarah Maple | Article Views: 9 | Word Count: 538 | Published: Jul 4th 2008)

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When my brother proudly announced that he'd purchased a TomTom Rider, so wouldn't have any trouble finding my new house, I thought he'd lost the plot.

I had visions of politically incorrect 'Cowboys and Indians' films running through my head.

"Does it send out smoke messages?" I asked.

"No!" He replied. "It's the latest model, I bought it online."

I was still none the wiser as to what he was actually talking about. Online or not, 'TomTom' still suggested that he'd bought a drum. I hoped he wouldn't arrive with a mohican, claiming that it was the latest retro trend hair cut in Islington this month.

When I saw the shiny new sat-nav system proudly displayed in the front of his car, I kept my mouth shut. As he showed it off, I pretended my queries had been purely ironic. It's name was TomTom Rider. So at least there was still a little 'Cowboys and Indians' connection.

You see, I don't drive, so the latest innovations in car navigation systems kind of pass me by (literally). If I get lost on my bicycle I stop and ask for directions. If I need to go further than my legs will carry me I get the bus or train. If I had sat-nav on my bike, I'd inevitably just cause a traffic incident whilst trying to look at it.

However, I do 'get' the point now. Well I did, until the other day.

Whilst waiting during one of those infuriating delivery slots 'some time between eight and one' I realised that sat-navs might not always be such a good thing.

As the clock ticked forward, and I was dangerously close to missing a one o'clock appointment, the phone rang.

"I'm on X road." Said the deliveryman. "But I can't see your road."

What a relief – he was just around the corner. I gave clear directions to my house. Admittedly, it's quite a tucked away road, but since I could hear the dulcet tones of a sat-nav system in the background, I figured that between the two of us he'd find it.

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. I couldn't understand why he was now, according to the road name he gave, further away than when he'd first called. So, I stayed on the phone and gave even clearer directions. The sat-nav was still chattering away in the background.

My calm directions became rather less calm, dare I say sarcastic, as the running dialogue between myself and Mr Delivery went, quite literally, round in circles. He drove up and down, failing to make the simple left hand turn I suggested about four or five times. I can only assume that living in a cul-de-sac was more than Mr Delivery and his sat-nav could cope with between them.

He did arrive, eventually. But if, he'd looked up for a moment, he would have seen my road name on the wall and saved ten minutes of frustration all round.

And the moral of the story is? Beware. Sat-navs are only as clever as the people who use them.

About the Author

Sarah Maple uses Shopping.com to find great TomTom Rider prices and find new and exciting products

Source: http://WhoisArticleDirectory.com

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