"Detour" function in Nav System

Good to see you again JourneyGirl!

I have used the detour function, but not with voice command, and not to destination. Instead, I used the 1 or 3 mile detour. If it could find an alternative, it would, and if not, would tell me it couldn't. I don't remember which button at the bottom of the map would have the detour option.

 

Why would anyone NEED "detour"?

When I deviate from the computers course, the nav system re-maps automatically. I thought that was the coolest thing the first time I saw it.

8)

 

Belle can be real stubborn sometimes when I change the route. It does all sorts of things to get me back on the first path. Doing the 1-3 mile detour lets the system use a new route.

 

I've had little trouble with reroute.

Detour is great when you are in a jam, and know that there are few crossroads that will get you to parallel roads, or even which parallel road is best.

 

I have used the Detour feature three times thus far, each time it worked flawlessly. However, I have never done it with voice control. If I recall correctly, as the NAV system is not in front of me. I push route, then detour option, it asks me how many miles from a preset menu. I have tried the 1.5 and I think 15 mile options thus far. It immediately told me which exit to take, and directed me down roads I would never have thought of taking in areas I have never been. It has saved me probably a couple of hours of torture to date, as I have not had to sit in bumper to bumper traffic on the Garden State Parkway and the NJ Turnpike.

So I guess I am saying, try it with the menu and touch screen instead of voice command.
Steve

 

I've used it three times, all when stuck in LA/Inland Empire traffic, and it worked for me as well. Same here - push ROUTE then DETOUR and I think I tried the 5 and 15 miles detours.

Martina (short for Martina NAVratilova) told me to get off at the next offramp, put me on some surface streets. One of the times I was on a road parallel to the freeway and I could see the logjam, so I got back on myself, and she adapted perfectly. The rest of the time I followed her suggestions, and I'll be damned if she didn't save me 20 or 30 minutes. I thougth - this is great... until everyone else has one too!

I think the big difference between "detour mode" and "regular mode" is that in regular mode, Martina has established a preferred route, say it's the freeway, and most of the time she'll try to get you back onto the freeway if you deviate. In "detour mode" she knows that you're trying to avoid the freeway, so if you deviate from even her new prefered route, she might try other things but she won't try puting you back on the freeway.

Sometimes, though, if you're in the middle of B.F. Nowhere, the Detour function just doesn't work because there is no other way to get there.

 

I do detours about once a week with Seattle's I-5 traffic. I will try today with the voice commands to see how it goes. Most of my problems with voice have been due to highway road noise, but I'm just not talking loudly enough.