What do they use if they don't own a sat nav?

Do you class map apps on smartphones as sat navs as I do?

I'd be more inclined to get new drivers to learn how to use maps as young people are OK with technology but lack in old school skills.

My experience of using Google Maps as a satnav, is that for city driving it is too slow to respond, and unless you have a second person doing the navigating with the phone for help, you are generally past any turning before the app tells you to turn.

Over here is so small you use Google Maps and follow the signs when you're close! But we're talking 6 small counties here.

+1 X.

As I said before, I managed a couple of decades without a satnav and I found I get lost more when following the satnav than when I follow road signs...

I use the Apple maps and 99.99% of the time they get me exactly where I want to be and I don't need anyone else to read it.

When compared to other sites such as AA/RAC they are more reliable too and show when traffic is busy.

Sop why don't people you know have sat navs? lol

They used to! What I'm getting at is not many people seem to use actual sat navs anymore. No need to maintain one really with Google Maps.

Yep. By the time it tells me to exit a roundabout, I've already exited the roundabout.

That is the biggest problem. Often, when driving in town, I look at a junction and think, "I need to turn here." I then look at the satnav / Google Maps and they say carry straight on for another 50M. 5M later, as I am in the middle of the junction and it is too late to turn, it suddenly says I missed my turning and starts to calculate a new route...

If only I had followed my intuition instead of following the directions of the satnav, I would have saved a lot of time and stress.

Gernerally I look at a map before I set off and only turn the satnav on as a last resort.

I've happily used my car's OEM satnav for the past 8-9 years. One of the features it has is an overlay window that can be adjusted to various things eg compass direction, how many miles/metres to next junction or turn. But it can also list the next three roads/turnpoints, along with distance and estimated time to get there. It means I can look out for the road names in real life and correlate with the map and the list.

Obviously google maps are not to the same standard as the apple ones