Drivers: Tips for Finding the Best Route Planner

Many people use a SatNav when they’re driving, but personal use often only requires a route from A to B for a single journey. People who drive for a living, or who run a business that uses drivers, understand the importance of having a good route planner when you need to make multiple stops. When you drive on your personal time, you might look at different routes to see which is faster, easier or more fuel efficient. But for businesses, the different between two routes means precious time and money. There’s also a lot of pressure on businesses to be greener these days too, so using less fuel saves money and saves a business’s reputation. There are lots of route planners you can use, both online and built into SatNavs. But it’s difficult to know which is best. Below are some things to look for in a good route planner and some examples.

Detailed Driving Instructions

Detailed maps are useful when you want to go anywhere, but when you’re driving you need the instructions too. Unless you have a navigator in your passenger seat, you need to have detailed driving instructions to keep you on the right path. A planned route is also best used with GPS and a navigation system that will adjust if you take a wrong turn. Look for a route planner that gives you clear turn-by-turn instructions. Most route planners will do this, including Google Maps.

Route Planning with Multiple Stops

A lot of route planners will only map a route from A to B, but many people and businesses need to keep going to C, D and beyond. When you have multiple stops, you need your route to be as efficient as possible, so you’re not wasting time and fuel. There are some SatNavs that have a multi-destination function, but you can plan routes with more than one stop online too. Try MyRouteOnline.com, which specializes in working out the most efficient route for multiple stops.

Choice of Routes

When you plan a journey, you want to be able to choose your route. Although you want your route planner to do the bulk of the work, you still want to have the control over which way you go. The shortest route might not be the quickest, and the fastest route might not be as easy as you were hoping it would be. You should be able to choose the route that suits your driving and preferences. For example, Driving Route Planner will show you the quickest and shortest routes. Some planners will show you the most fuel-efficient routes too.

Export to SatNavs and Smartphones

If you’re using an online route planner, it must have the ability to export to your SatNav or smartphone. A well-planned route isn’t much use if you have to print it out and view it as a stack of paper. Luckily, most route planners have this function, so you can easily export to your TomTom, Garmin or even iPhone.