Re: Yet another motorist stuck in snow, blames GPS for misrouting

On Dec 29, 10:29 pm, Larry Sheldon <lfshel...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 12/29/2009 5:51 PM, Oscar Voss wrote:

This sounds kind of familiar (many of these stories seem to come out of
Oregon, for some reason), except this time nobody died.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/29/ghassemi.lost.by.gps.katu

I got a Garmin n vi 255W for Christmas and have it out for test runs
around town--first trip was complicated by the fact the Medical Center
destination has a street address on a street that you can't get to the
Medical Center from.  Good thing I knew where I was going.

Tonight we used to a restaurant 25 or so miles away--I have no idea
where the listed street address is, but where the GPS wanted is to go
was away from the restaurant that we could see.

So far my estimate (carried forward from an old attachment to my palm
Pilot that has a number of issues--LCD screen, large map errors, no
useful search function as I recall) is--it is a fun toy, it is very
useful for telling me where I am so I can use a map (its, or my MCA) to
figure out how to get where I want to be.

On the way home, it routed us over icy gravel and dirt roads (which I
have no trouble with but in marginal conditions might not be so good).

So, based on two trips I find that I need to figure out more how it
works so I can get useful answers (I wish it came with a users manual
that explains that stuff--I'm still stumbling over useful stuff--the
down side is that some times I can't figure out how I got there.

I am still strongly convinced that the correct order of information
acceptance is:

   Experience (mine and other trusted people;'s)
   paper maps
   road signs and indications (and local information)
   view out the windows
   dead reckoning
   GPS (which is a great assist to the DR function)(I especially like
    the turn-direction-and-distance for the next turn.  That will
    keep me from being 150 miles north of where I am going someday.)

I am not at all sympathetic toward people who blindly follow computer
instructions.  I'm sorry.  But if I ever did anything that stupid, I
would explain it as "I was stupid".  (I've needed help getting out of
messes I've gotten myself into because I did something stupid--the GPS
is just another tool.)

(I am again reminded when my wife and I were in some kind of store that
had a display of Warn winches--I said longingly "We should get one of
those."  My wife said: NO!  If we had one of those we'd get past the
places we get stuck in now into places that harder to get us out of.
She was probably right.)

here's your manual:

http://www8.garmin.com/products/manual.jsp?product=010-00718-20

folks need to remember that ALL map data comes from manual collection
methods done by humans and then put into paper AND digitized forms by
humans.

paper maps and GPS do not tell you the current road conditions. Seeing
a line on a map or having a GPS tell you to "take this road for 8
miles" ASSUMES that you are using other mental skills in that
decision.

getting messed up with a GPS is just like getting messed up with a
paper map.

in both cases, both can have errors. My favorite map atlas is the
Delorme Atlases because they tend to show many more back roads
especially in national and state forest land but a line in that atlas
does NOT mean a piece of cake road. We've found them gated .. barely
passable .. and fords across waterways where the map showed a
bridge... and dead ends...

my experience with GPS units is somewhat between the Delorme Atlas and
regular road atlas but you might have noticed that when I use the GPS
word.. it's usually in conjunction with road atlas (paper).

Lastly.. isn't it just slightly ironic that we could buy a brand new,
up to date road atlas every year for $20 bucks or less but we are
willing to pay a whole bunch more for electronic versions of the same
thing projected on a tiny screen on our dash and pay a hundred bucks a
year to get the latest maps downloaded to it?


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: PDA for Moving Map
    ... map in his 150 to be seeking advice from a soaring group, ...   And the current run of aviation GPSs all seem high... ... You might do better finding a used aviation gps on ebay. ...
    (rec.aviation.soaring)
  • Re: A new, simpler GPS?
    ... "unremittingly user hostile" are poles apart. ... I never said that the Active 10 isn't easier to use than a conventional GPS. ... and you can take the map out and use ... Battery consumption is worse, there are fewer features, no altimeter ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • My comments about the etrex Vista C
    ... with walking excursions at sea level. ... I have had GPS before so the behaviour is more or less like a etrex ... altimeter is sure to indicate a change in elevation. ... The Metroguide map is in general very accurate where there is map;) I ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: GPS Vs COMPASS
    ... > using my compass to orient my map and to take bearings when it is not ... > Clearly you must be using your GPS merely as an emergency device ... > checking your route is correct by consulting your map in combination ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: A new, simpler GPS?
    ... Fine if you only want to use it in the UK, but a normal GPS isn't ... Only if you're using those features, ... going out with a compass and no map ... UNIX command line: easy for habitual users of UNIX command line. ...
    (uk.rec.walking)