Navigation and the Road Network

The road system in France is twice as complicated as in Ontario.  I think the following factors define this:

1. There is scarcely any grid system to the road network.
2. Intersections rarely have only two roads crossing at 90 degrees.  This is why the roundabout is such a great idea - roads can intersect with a roundabout from any angle.
3. There are many ways to get somewhere because roads go in all directions.  This makes it very difficult to figure out how to get somewhere.  Imagine you are in a traffic circle frozen in time at the due north position.  You may know you want to go north, but the only choices of roads may be north-west or north-east. By logic, you cannot determine which is road is best.
4. Signage is a 50:50 chance that it will be helpful.  Signage may tell you the road name, the next town, a far off big town, or a direction to a highway.  All this can be helpful, but it may not be helpful when the place you are going to is not mentioned on the signage.  Also, in a roundabout you only have a couple of seconds to make a exit decision.  Trying to read signage, drive on a curve, and not hit impatient drivers bobbing and weaving for their exits is a special challenge.  One of the great things about a roundabout is that you can just keep going around until you figure out what to do.

The best way we found to get somewhere is going to sound ridiculously simple, but it works - first know where you are going and then figure out your preferred route for how to get there.  The twist that makes this not ridiculous is that the tool to use here is a paper MAP.  A hand held GPS is not a map, even though the GPS shows a map.  The problem with a hand held GPS is that it does not show the entire route in a legible, single image.  This is a problem when dealing with multiple routes to get anywhere - one needs to know the big picture.

We started our road trip with only the rented hand held GPS that we obtained with the car, and then graduated to a GPS and a map.  That worked out better and I would not do it any other way in the future.  The GPS was great at dealing with roundabout decisions, but the lack of the big picture of the route was a problem when the GPS doesn't work.  The critical point in this discussion is that every time you make a roundabout decision, it is really comforting to be able to confirm where the new road is taking you in relation to your planned route to your destination.  Otherwise you really are flying blind and are putting a lot of faith in your electronic navigator.

As we discovered, too much faith can be a problem.  Our GPS kept shutting off - probably due to a faulty power cable to the unit.  Several times it went dead just when we needed a key piece of information - very upsetting.  Also, when you program the destination, there is no choice regarding recommended alternative routes.  The route is selected based on routing preferences set in the GPS prior to the destination address being entered.  And on the very small screens of the GPS, looking at the entire route at once eliminates all the detail about other roads.

Perhaps there are better GPS units out there that can solve this shortcoming - but I would be sceptical.  Cathy had her iPad with her, but to use that effectively we would need to have a cellular connection and use cellular data.  We didn't want a big bill for data usage in France, so the paper map seemed a lot cheaper, and a really good backup if/when the electronic equipment doesn't work.

We did received a full refund on the rental of the GPS because of the power shut down issue.  If we were to do this again, I think I would purchase a GPS from a European store.  We do know that you can download european maps onto a North American unit, but we have heard of problems doing this. It might also be best not to use Garmin equipment.  Elaine bought a Garmin GPS when she arrived in France and had problems with it as well.  

So, at the end of the day, the big issue is how you choose to navigate, and having a backup plan that will get you out of trouble.  It is really quite unpleasant to get lost in a foreign country, especially in the dark and after most stores are closed.  Make sure your plans will solve this high stress disaster.