Autorouting With The 60cs

[Boxer Crew]

HI everyone,

 

I've just come back from a road trip, unfortunately no time for caching but plenty of time to play with my 60CS. I drove from Toronto to Windsor, the autoroute was fine until we got to Chatham, about 2/3 of the way. Then I had to get some gas. Originally the route was to Ambassodor Bridge and it was fine. After getting gas I said go to Windsor, the autorouting wanted to send me all the way back round Lake St. Claire???? An extra 200km. On the way home from Detroit it did the same thing, all the way upto Sarnia and down the 402. Once we crossed the bridge at Windsor the route was corrected. But it still made a few odd turns that made no snese. As I got closer to work, say within 10km, the 60CS wanted me to drive and extra 20-30km just to use the 407. I had it set to fastest route.

 

Why is it sending me all over Canada? This is a 60CS question, not a CAnada question so I hope it is in the right forum,.

 

Thanks

[+IBcrashen]

What maps have you uploaded to it? the base map will only auto route major roads.

[scarey2004]

i think you need to set the 60cs to shortest route...when set on fastest route it uses the premiss that you are travelling at 60 to 70 mph so in theory you get to your destination faster, but having it on shortest route will get you to your destination in a more direct route..

[Boxer Crew]

I have the detailed maps from city select for the areas I was travelling (although I seemed to have missed Windsor)

 

If I put it to the shortest route, I have to make a gizillion turns rather than crusie down the 401.

[mloser]

First of all, autoroute isn't always the smartest way to get somewhere. It uses algorithms that presuppose speeds on certain road types, and also is not as aware of road types as you are. Once I asked for the quickest route somwhere and it sent me on a 3 mile dirt road. That road certainly was the SHORTEST route, but my speed of 15 was probably NOT what autoroute thought it would be. (It was also blissfully unaware of the "Deliverance" nature of the populace along the road, but I was not surprised about that).

 

It is vital that all the CitySelect maps for your route be loaded. For instance, if you miss one in the middle and the fastest route is not part of the basemap, it will create a route that uses the basemap route in the missing map section, and therefore quite possibly in the sections you loaded. That means that if the shortest route is to go by local Route "xx", which does not exist on the basemap, if you don't have the CitySelect map loaded it will create a route using whatever it can find on the basemap, even if your short route exists on MOST of the maps you loaded.

 

Could that be the issue?

[Boxer Crew]

mloser,

Thanks for the input, you confirmed some of my thoughts. I think the missing data for Windsor did not help.

 

The route calculated to return me to work still amazes me though. The average speed for Dundas must be really low for the garmin to think it is quicker to go for 30km, rather than 2, both on major routes.

 

The moral is not to trust a machine implicitly

[+RJFerret]

There is a difference between intelligence and software algorithms after all!

 

Around here, we have a couple highways that run E-W and a few farther away running N-S.

 

If I don't want to drive away from my destination at 70 mph, past it at 70 mph, then back to it at 70 mph, I set the unit to "shortest distance".

 

OTOH, if I am heading to a destination paralleling a highway, if I don't select "fastest route" it'll exit me onto local roads with stoplights in the middle of the route.

 

That being said, I HAVE listened to it's suggestions and tried possibilities I'd never considered before with delightful results. Neither fastest nor shortest but new life experiences nonetheless!

 

Unfortunately, that means I have mine set to request every time--so to "GoTo" a spot I have to select On or Off road, then Fastest/Shortest...

 

Thankfully those are available options!

 

I remain amazed that it functions so well considering the huge breadth of variables in differing regions of this State, nevermind the entire Country or World.

 

However, it will never be a substitute for intelligence.

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

 

PS: You can turn off dirt roads BTW...

[mloser]

I usually pick "fastest route", which may be a mistake. I attempted a route to a place I was very familiar with today, from a place I was also familiar with, and then blindly and stupidly followed it, thinking it might know of a road I had forgotten. Well, it did!, But it took me by what I think was a pretty foolish routing--a very curvy road instead of a less curvy one. But I bet the database had both roads at 45 mph, when the truth is that you can go 50+ on one and on the other, doing 45, at least at dusk, was a chore, even for a speed demon like me (yellow lines are suggestions to me on most country roads).

 

I am often confused by the routings, but that is how spatial geoinformation works. There HAVE to be rules and it is very difficult to know everything about every road on the route. The end result is that you WILL get where you are going, but blindly following your GPS may not be the best (or second best, or third best... etc) way to get there.

 

P.S. Dirt Roads? In the area where I live we have about zero percent dirt roads, so that isn't really an issue, but it was in an unfamiliar place that I got caught heading into "Deliverance-land". It was a bit scary, but entertaining, just like you said. Maybe it was the cop stopped at the sort-of-auto-body shop that unnerved me most.