Sir – I have great sympethy for Mr Read and his Sat Nav problem (Daniel Gee's Herald article on February 13). I live on School Lane, Chiddingfold, designated as a public footpath over which vehicles have access to four houses.
Since Sat Nav was widely adopted it has directed cars/vans and lorries down this lane, only to be trapped at the Coxcombe Lane end where the lane becomes very narrow and the end is blocked. As a result vehicles (often heavy lorries and sometimes late at night) try to turn and sometimes hit onit of the houses which is beside the lane.
The turning of vehicles badly damages the surface which makes it unpleasant for parents and children who use the lane on their way to school. Moreover this must be very annoying for the drivers who have to back a considerable distance or turn in a narrow space with a wall on one side and a ditch on the other.
After representations to the parish council they arranged with the ccounty council for small T signs to be placed at the A283 end. This may have reduced the number of vehicles but has not solved the problem, as the drivers, if accosted, say that they are watching their Sat Navs. Moreover, the signs are difficult to see in the dark.
It seems essential to amend the existing Sat Nav mapping, if that is possible, and it would be interesting to hear from any more people who have the same problem. If, as I think likely, this is a nation-wide problem, Ordnance Survey and Satellite-Mapping agencies should be involved.
Martin Monier-Williams, Chiddingfold, Godalming