Use of GPS for driver job

I am thinking about a change in careers, at least for my day job and one thing that holds me back is lack of knowledge of the city.

I have seen and been offered quite a few driving/delivery jobs for parts stores, non cdl trucks, but lack of knowledge of the city has made me declined them.

I am on the fence about buying a gps system, thinking it maybe my ticket to do the job, if not do it better than the locals since some folks tell me they give short cuts they were not aware of.

Do you think a national or local name brand company would object to use of a gps on the job? Are they easy to program since many seem to lack enough buttons to seemingly enter a street address quickly?

Does anyone do this, use one on the job?

They should not complain and if it saves time might consider buying them for their employees.
Or just suggest they go the Nextel route. They can improve service and see why some drivers take longer.

if you decide on a gps, go with a name brand like garmin or lowrance. they have pretty decent customer support. prices for them have come down alot since i bought them last year!

I was looking at a budget of 400-800 dollars for a unit. There are soo many out there now, not to mention many cell phones offering the same service.

My brother has verizon and seems they too offer a gps service. He said he does not use it that much since it uses his minutes. Not a bad idea, but 80 bucks a month, in almost a year you could of bought a gps system.

It seems reasonable that they would prefer you having a GPS unit as opposed to being lost.

Cobb, I wouldnt recommend a cell phone GPS at all. The screen is so small, gonna be slow in downloading maps, assuming it needs to, as maps are in upwards of a gig for the entire US.

I have a Garmin Street Pilot 2720, named Gina, who gets me from place to place when I dont know how to. It is something like $650 on Newegg now, not bad for the technology it has. Large screen, touch screen of course, all maps are in it so no downloading from the PC, and actually says street names rather than saying "left in 300 feet." I like her very much and have gotten some good use of her.

I cant wait to go to CA this November and do some Geocaching with it and my GPSMap 60. Will be VERY useful as I dont know the streets of San Diego hardly at all.

-Cameron

[edit] how does the Cell phone GPS's work? Do they have an actual GPS reciever or do they use the cell phone tower '911' GPS signal or whatever. I am right in that when you call 911 you are located on a land based GPS system of some sort right? Or is that how it used to be? [/edit]

I have a Magellan 3000T and love it. Like the gps bob mentioned, this one also talks to you but it doesn't say the street name. The reason I bought this model was because it has street maps of all 50 states. I bought it on sale while on a trip because I screwed up uploading map details on another gps I took along. It took a while to fully understand the functions (like any new toy) but once you get the hang of it, it was easy. The 3000T doesn't take you directly to the front door, but it gets you there. And it got us there with no trouble. No more maps for me, that's for sure. If you made a wrong turn, it will recalculate the route to get you back on track. Also if you're behind schedule, the unit will prompt to see if you want to detour. The newer models, for a nominal fee, will be able to use actual traffic broadcasts (gps signals on construction or traffic backlogs) that some states are putting out, and will reroute automatically (I think).

As for work, I don't think the company will object to you purchasing your own equipment. In my opinion, it's like buying your own maps to find your way around. I think any of the "talking" models will be a big help and save you some time. Good luck on your decision.

I guess the company may even encourage you to go for the GPS, if they do not already give you one for your delivery truck.

A GPS may be a good guide for your delivery trips, but it is by no means a substitute for paper maps and people giving directions. Sometimes my GPS gives directions that are longer and further than my usual route. For example, it may guide you to a street that has a shorter distance but with many many traffic lights, as compared to "my other way" which uses a longer route by expressway but takes a shorter time to get to my destination.

I myself have a Garmin 60Cx, and its very useful but its screen may be too small for your use and it does not give spoken directions but only a beep.

If you do get a GPS, do get one with a SiRF III chip in it, or else you have to buy an external antenna since you would probably be delivering in the city and reception may be low. Stick to well known brands like Garmin, Tom-tom, Magellan & lawrence.