I was in London’s Soho tonight for a meal with my book publisher (more on that soon) and at the end of the night, I headed over to Leicester Square tube.
I was just about to cross one of the characteristically small Soho roads when an ‘air ambulance’ car came screaaaaaaaming round the corner, with sirens shreaking and lights blaring. I took a step back and avoided crossing the road, letting them pass. They came to a halt as they passed and I glanced in at the passenger seat. I was really surprised to see the chap — the ambulance driver’s wingman — pouring over a London A-to-Z streetmap, finger tracing streets. I glanced across the dashboard. I saw a small dispatch computer (like you’d find in many licensed taxis) and … Nothing else. No TomTom. No customised live GPS-enabled street map routing guidance system. Nothing. Shouldn’t these chaps have the best tools in the business for saving lives? Or perhaps the reality is a physical A-to-Z map is still simply more reliable?Posted via email from MIR Live
Whilst I believe the Met Police and London Ambulance service have some sort of satnav, the Met's CO19 armed response crews have a bloke in the back with an A-Z. Sometimes it's just easier that way.