Hundreds of villages blighted by rat-running lorries may be protected by new regulations preventing satellite navigation systems from directing drivers on to inappropriate routes.

The companies supplying the systems could be forced to include information on weight and height restrictions on their maps. They may also have to improve the safety of systems by preventing drivers from programming them while their vehicles are moving.

Thousands of lorry drivers use cheap sat-nav systems designed for cars and regularly get stuck on narrow lanes or collide with low bridges after requesting the shortest route and ignoring warning signs.

Last month, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said many historic buildings and bridges were being damaged by drivers blithely following sat-nav directions.

Last November a Czech lorry driver was led astray by his sat-nav and became wedged in a narrow country lane in Ivybridge, near Plymouth. He had to sleep in his cab for three nights before a tractor was able to tow him out.

A Department for Transport report, published yesterday, found that part of the problem was that most systems were portable and could be used in any vehicle even though the routes shown were suitable only for cars.

Under one option, the Department for Transport may require all systems to be licensed. At present, only those companies which base route advice on live traffic information, such as Trafficmaster, have to be licensed.

TomTom said it would oppose licensing because it would make systems more expensive. Mark Gretton, its development director, said: “We have an option for HGV drivers to choose to be routed only by main roads, but we can't enforce that.”

He said TomTom did not include information on height and weight restrictions because it did not have accurate data on all roads.

He added that TomTom was also not prepared to direct drivers away from sensitive sites. “You can't adjust for every single not-in-my-backyard complaint,” he said.

Trafficmaster said that, under the terms of its licence, it had included safety measures to prevent drivers being distracted while moving.

These include a single button that connects the driver by mobile phone to an adviser who will take the destination details and transmit a route to the on-board system.

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