Death by GPS

[Aaron Coffee]

Are you trying to tell me that computers lie?
I have a gps on my phone that I will use if going to Omaha/Council Bluffs, but for long distance I will print dirctions from google maps and mapquest and then will also carry a paper map, I have ended up on gravel road in Nebraska once (hey, I found out where shell valley was)but luckily I ended up back on the road I was supposed to be on. One problem I have is sometimes I lose direction and can't tell north from south from east or west. Around here in the winter time it is cell phone they warn not to trust because if you are stuck in a snow drift, the cell phone won't save you, it may alert others to your location, but that doesn't do much good if they can't get to you because of blizzard conditions. Here in South Dakota if the Interstate is closed due to snow or if travel is not advised and they have to send someone to rescue you they can and will issue a fine. Think it is like $1,000, and if your car is stuck on the interstate when they go to plow they can just push it out of the way.

[Woodstramp]

Slowcowboy,

I know you have a bias against GPS but....you put me in mind of someone I've known since birth (brother).

My brother lives out in the boonies of WY (30 mile south of Gillette) on his little farm. He hates about anything high-tech. If it aint country boy related (fishing, horses, farming) he doesn't care for it.

He messed up and told me that he and his wife like to find BLM and state land to fish on. I got him a Nuvi. Nuvis come with street navigation software. That is all you see...roads and Points of Interest. You can also load other mapsets on memory card. On his card I loaded free topo maps (GPSfiledepot.com) of Wyoming and the surrounding states as well as a land ownership (BLM/State) boundary maps.

Sent it to him and gave him some pointers on the phone. He loves the thing. Now, if he wants to find new fishing spots on BLM land he turns the street nav maps off, turns on the topo and BLM maps and goes. He can identify every chunk of public land by just looking at the GPS screen.

Speaking of the free topos....these could actually save a stranded person if attempting to walk out in a self rescue. The Topo maps I mentioned show more roads than the maps that come with the Nuvi car units. Also, they show water features (thirsty...there's a creek, spring, well) Also, water ways out west tend to almost always lead to a farm/ranch. These also show terrain to avoid (deep canyon, swamps) that you might not see from your current position.

[Cliffmeister2000]

This hangs in my Weekender

[Conestoga]

when i saw this thread title "Death by GPS" i thought oh-no ...
someone must have lost complete control and killed their significant
other over that rotten GPS...

check your settings,
save your marriage.

[Mightydog]

check your settings

That seems to be the first common sense thing to do.

The second common sense thing is to ask if what the GPS is asking you to do is smart. Our nuvi has been very good about getting us to gatherings and camp grounds we want. We do look for one-way signs and other visual hints that might keep us out of trouble.

A few years ago, a tech-oriented family was killed in Southern Oregon when their GPS sent them to a snow-bound road that--even in the dead of summer--was questionable at best. The parents held college degrees, the father had a high-tech job of some sort, yet they were killed when they put too much confidence in the mass produced piece of electronics on their dash board.

We take the GPS as a suggestion and then reserve final decision based on our good sense.

[Danno]

in a local town near me there was a 4 lane street (2 lanes in either direction separated by a median.) This was new within the last oh, I dunno, ten years. Prior to that the two northbound lanes were all that there was, and one of those lanes was southbound back then.

When southbound my GPS would consistently try to get me to make a left and then an immediate right, apparently thinking I was on some frontage road. I knew right away that it would actually be a bad idea to turn heading the wrong direction down the northbound lanes, but I always wondered why I hadn't heard of any accidents from it.

I updated my GPS last fall and the update has it right, but it sure was annoying.

[emiller]

I like my GPS and I use paper maps also. I can't believe so many have issues with GPS units. I bet more people have out of date paper maps. I buy a new map every 3 to 5 years and always look for updates for my GPS.

[vreihen]

slowcowboy. gps wont' show you a hill your going by a river your crossing or a store building in a town your going by it just shows you a map of the place.

Have you ever seen Google Navigator on an Android phone? Among the map layers available for display while you're driving are aerial photo (Google Earth) view, live traffic data, and of course the usual points of interest such as gas stations and restaurants. The only down side is that it needs a cellular connection to work, which is sometimes a problem in some remote/wilderness areas.....

[emiller]

Just like here where I work at the airport my GPS of choice is Garmin. Pretty much 99% of the aircraft use Garmin. My daughter bought a Tom Tom and doesn't really use it that much, she say's it doesn't always work. I don't think she ever updated it.

[Woodstramp]

Just like here where I work at the airport my GPS of choice is Garmin. Pretty much 99% of the aircraft use Garmin. My daughter bought a Tom Tom and doesn't really use it that much, she say's it doesn't always work. I don't think she ever updated it.

I second the recommendation for Garmin units. They are usually the most pricey, but the reason is that they are just the best. I've used Magellan (handhelds), Delorme(handhelds) and Garmin (handhelds/car units). My family now has 3 Garmin handhelds, 3 car units. All of them work as billed.

[Gaston]

GPS is a Great tool BUT....
some basic rules for use should be followed.
1 If the road don't doesn't have a stripe don't use it unless you know where it goes
2 if you haven't been there before, check the route with a paper map before you go
3 if your "half way" there and your GPS dies do you have the info needed to finish the trip or back out?
4 If the road recommended by your GPS has a gate across it (open or closed) you might ask yourself if maybe its a good sign to question the route and get out
5 if your too dumb to get there without a GPS there's a good chance things won't improve with one
6 remember while it may be true "GOD looks after the foolish" some times they get to meet him in person
7 "Sh*t happens, be prepared for it!

[Cliffmeister2000]

When leaving IRG3.0, I saw an interesting road and took it. It was very bumpy, tedious, and often one lane for both directions of traffic. Pulling the weekender, I occasionally doubted my sanity. However, my Garmin got me through it, and the photo ops were unbelievable!

http://tinyurl.com/Roads-less-traveled

[Bear_Rider]

I don't know about other GPS units, but my Garmin has a choice of two ways in which it calculates routes: SHORTEST and QUICKEST. I've found that you set it on SHORTEST only if you want an adventure, because it will do everything in its power to send you to your destination in as straight a line as possible. The QUICKEST setting forces the unit to take the road quality into account. In addition, there is a secondary setting that tells it to avoid unpaved roads. My unit came from the factory in the SHORTEST setting, and I wonder how many out there have GPS units that are still set in factory mode.

However, the unit's computations are no better than the database it is using. Thus far, I've had it ignore paved roads, evidently thinking them unpaved, and had it send me down a street that had been removed by construction/rerouting.

I try to program my routes ahead of time, when I have either Google maps or a good atlas available, and check its choice of routes against the maps and my knowledge of the general area.

[eamarquardt]

Here is an excerpt from my "trip report" of early August detailing our experience trying to get from Applegate Lake to the Oregon Caves:

We’ve all read about people blindly following GPSes into the hinterland and getting lost, stuck, and nearly “biting the big oneâ€

[Dale M.]

Just for what its worth.... Was out scouting some back country and found the ENGLISH VERSION of this type of sign....



note the GPS with the European NO symbol on it...

Bet we are going to see a lot more in future...



Dale