I hate GPS. Anybody else?

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
06/17/2014 at 10:08 • Filed to: Maps rule!

I hate GPS with a fiery passion. I don't allow it in my vehicles. I am an extremely calm dude (you have to be to teach middle school shop class), but nothing brings me to a frothy rage quicker than some pushy electronic bitch, telling me some bassakwards way to get somewhere. When we got smart phones a few years ago, my wife quickly learned to stop turning that shit on.

I feel like it's making our society dumber. You should be able to get from the place that you live, to a place that you regularly go to, without step by step instructions. I see it all the time, intelligent people, who turn into drooling morons whenever its time to go from A to B. I'll use my dad as an example, a man who I've seen drive from Chicago to Clearwater, FL and back at least a dozen times, without so much as glancing at a road atlas. Now that he has GPS, forget it. He can't even make it to Indianapolis, a route which has approximately three turns, a route which he's driven at least 100 times. Now I get a call the night before we meet at the Indy 500 every year. "What's the address?". I don't even know the address, I just go there.

For me, part of the fun of driving, is knowing how to get places. Everytime I move to a new area, I drive around a lot. I get lost, I find my way back, I study maps, I drive around some more. Before long, I can get around town better than most people who've lived all their life there. Why do I do it? Because it's fun! Because I love driving. Once I know an area, I can just drive. I don't need to think about where I'm going, I don't need to look it up. I just go. If I hit traffic, or construction, I know three or four alternate routes.

What do I do when I'm going somewhere new? I'm not a complete luddite, I look it up on google maps. Not on my damn phone with the tiny ass screen, on my computer, with a 24" monitor (OK, occasionally on my phone). I look it up, I study the route for a minute, and then I usually just go. If the route has a bunch of turns, I'll scribble the turns and directions down on a scrap of paper. If its a really tricky route, I might sketch a quick little map. Rarely do I actually look at either the directions or the map once I'm driving, but if I do forget what the next turn is, its good to have them to glance at. Occasionally I do get a bit lost, so I look at a map. I figure out where I am (top tip, read the street signs, if you know what road you're on, and you know the last two streets you crossed, you now know where you are, and what direction you're heading), and then I get back on track. That never takes more than a couple of minutes, and even that is rare. As a side benefit, I now have learned more, and can get myself around even better.

Anybody else out there like me? Anybody else so bold as to go somewhere new, without a GPS? It's really quite fun to drive around, knowing where you're going. More people should try it.

DISCUSSION (56)

505Turbeaux > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:12

I don't hate GPS, but in Maine there is only one tried and true way to get around. I never leave home without my dog eared copy of this. I am going to make damn sure my kiddos know how to read it and use a compass too. Who knows when your gadget is going to fail

Kinja'd!!!

mcseanerson > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:13

I don't absolutely hate GPS but I hate what GPS has done to society. I try to take road trips without one because I feel that it gives a more real experience when visiting new areas. Well we got lost in Pittsburgh downtown at 1 am trying to get home and stopped in a Walgreens and asked seven different people how to get to AN interstate, not how to get to Ohio or how to get to a specific interstate, just any interstate. The first six had no clue how to get to any interstate and #7 handed me his iPhone. Honestly I just wanted to buy a map but nobody carries them anymore.

Aaron James > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:14

Just turn the voice off. They are really great if you get lost or have to detour around an accident or road block in an unfamiliar area. I was an early adopter, before hand helds came out I had a Delorme receiver that plugged into my laptop and that was my in car navigation for years.

turdpipe > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:17

Am I the only person to imagine this guy writing this article?

Kinja'd!!!

ncasolowork2 > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:17

I turned my GPS off when I went to LA about 3 years ago. With that said a video game helped me know how to get around LA. Midnight Club Los Angeles does a great job of giving you the highway and main streets layouts.

With that said my trip to Niagara Falls involved using a GPS simply because it is easier to navigate the surface streets with one. I'm fine without it up until a certain point. While I'm perfectly capable of reading a map and navigating that way sometimes detours or other unexpected issues mean having a GPS is a nice thing. Like when black ice shut down a highway in West Virginia (which is a place I've never been to before) and we had to find a way around it.

shop-teacher > turdpipe
06/17/2014 at 10:21

That's exactly how I feel with a GPS on in the car. It's insane how quickly I completely loose my shit.

Milky > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:21

I get what you're saying and believe me I'm on your side for trips and just flat out exploring places and getting lost.

BUT, on the daily commute I like GPS. I'd say most weeks I only take my "normal" route roughly 4/10 times. It nice knowing where traffic jams are. (not my image)

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > 505Turbeaux
06/17/2014 at 10:22

I've got the Illinois version. I absolutely love it! It's got every tiny little gravel path imaginable on it.

505Turbeaux > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:24

exactly, so useful. Especially out on the logging roads up here. DeLorme is a Maine company that makes it. They know what is up

Textured Soy Protein > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:24

1. I learn my way around new places BECAUSE of GPS. If I'm going somewhere new I use GPS and eventually after a few return trips I get the hang of the route and I'm good to go.

2. GPS, specifically Google Maps, is great if you're driving somewhere with a lot of traffic. The two cities I visit the most are Chicago and DC. I know my way around both of them. But Google Maps with its live traffic data will come up with creative ways to avoid traffic. Sometimes when you need to get somewhere by a specific time, that routing is the difference between catching a flight and being stuck waiting for the next one.

shop-teacher > mcseanerson
06/17/2014 at 10:25

I always get a map of the area when I'm on vacation. Sometimes the free maps from local tourism bureaus are fantastic.

yamahog > ncasolowork2
06/17/2014 at 10:25

Haha, I'm the opposite... I actually found GPS, especially Waze, was absolutely vital for navigating daily LA traffic when I wasn't riding the motorcycle. And I didn't use a GPS when I took the motorcycle from Michigan through Canada/Niagra Falls to Albany, NY last summer because I just checked my handwritten directions at every gas stop.

crowmolly > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:25

If you travel for business it can mean the difference between arriving on time and blowing a client meeting.

I get the need for being able to actually navigate (especially since the GPS doesn't always give you the best way) but it has it's place.

Burrito de EJ25 > turdpipe
06/17/2014 at 10:26

Absolutely. Jesus.

Slant6 > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:26

I keep a 12 or 15 year old Garmin Quest on my dashboard. Using it to navigate is useless as there is no keyboard. I like it because it displays my speed, elevation, directional heading and it tells me which road is coming up. I also use it as a virtual map. It's 2oo something megabyte storage only holds a very detailed map of 50 miles around my house (Open street map). It's also waterproof so I can use it while canoeing.

shop-teacher > 505Turbeaux
06/17/2014 at 10:27

I can't remember who made the one I have, but its an invaluable resource when you're out in the sticks.

ncasolowork2 > yamahog
06/17/2014 at 10:29

Let's put it this way. I didn't need the GPS until we hit the surface streets in Niagara Falls. The highway signs were sufficient enough to get me that far easily.

shop-teacher > crowmolly
06/17/2014 at 10:29

I agree, it has its place, it's just not in my car :)

Going to new place on a deadline is an excellent use for one.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:31

I'm on both sides of the fence on this one. I'm an old school map guy; hell, my first attempt at a college degree was one in cartography. I can read and follow any map, but I'm slowly finding my way into the electronic map camp. My family just finished a 4000 mile driving trip from Austin to Norfolk, then DC, then back to Austin. I do the driving, my wife does the navigating. We don't use turn-by-turn directions, but we do key our start/finish points into Google to see what route it suggests. And I have been known to follow the blue dot when going to a new location. But, when we got utterly flummoxed in DC, we had to use the verbal directions (it was more a problem of signage than anything else).

I really am an old school guy. But even though I have numerous dictionaries, atlases, and quotation collections on my shelf, it's just easier to Google it all from my chair. But I still carry an atlas in the van, and my wife still prefers that to anything digital. And she does a great job.

jariten1781 > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:34

I use either google maps or an atlas to plan my route ahead of time because I've had too many experiences where GPS will take you on an obnoxious side detour down some crappy state roads instead of staying on the interstate or route you around 3/4s of a city instead of taking a direct route.

I do also leave GPS on programmed to my final destination when traveling outside my home metro. There's things it can do that I couldn't do on my own. It's nice to have it play the old co-pilot role when I'm driving by myself. "Hey there's your exit dumbass" has saved me a lot of wasted time when I'm traveling alone. Also, the ability to overlay real time traffic info can save from getting stuck in a backup due to a wreck or an event. Not a big deal in my local area since the radio can keep me up to date and I know a lot of alternate paths, but when I'm on travel it's nice to have it pop up and give me options.

I suppose I'm a transitional GPS/Atlas user.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
06/17/2014 at 10:35

I've never driven in DC, but I've taken a couple of rides through it, and that is a seriously confusing road system. It feels like you're always either entering or exiting a road, but you're never actually on a road there.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:38

The biggest problem was around the Lincoln Memorial/Kennedy Center. There are numerous roads that exit to and from each other, and they are all ill-marked. The other problem is that Google labels the roads "Joe Shithead Parkway" when the signs say "US 30" or something similar. It was also at night.

I love a good driving challenge. New York City and Paris were particularly enjoyable for me to drive in, in a perverse sort of way. And I would enjoy the challenge of DC again.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
06/17/2014 at 10:41

HA! I so want there to be a "Joe Shithead Parkway" somewhere in the world.

thebigbossyboss > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:45

I use my GPS for two things: 1) Kijiji/craiglist purchases. I know my way around my city, but I don't know every little residential street, especially if they are in the suburbs and all wierd and knotted. I will look at google, but it's good to not miss your last couple turns.

2) Road trips. I used to road trip without, and still often roadtrip without using it, but it's nice to bail you out, for example, when Interstate 81 was closed, and then when I was told by the cop how to get back on it, his list of directions given verbally consisted of about 9 turns. I am not going to remember that. And I was alone, so I can't really count on someone else helping me.

When the GPS suggests a stupid way on the road trip (for example go down this backroad instead of the highway because it's 1 km shorter) I just go the way I want to go. Overall I use my GPS less than once a month, but I really like mine.

crowmolly > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:45

DC was never that awful to me. Boston takes the cake for me. Streets to nowhere!

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > crowmolly
06/17/2014 at 10:48

Ooffff, never been to Boston, but that looks rough.

JEM > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:54

THIS. EXACTLY.

I have never owned a GPS, and certainly never will, especially after this...

A few years ago, a girl I was seeing asked me to be her date to a mutual friend's wedding. The wedding was in the next town over, and the reception was at a hotel 2 towns over from that. We've both lived in this area (Worcester, MA) for 10+ years so no problem.

I was driving and said I'd pick her up, just give me the addresses of the places, so I know where I'm going. I was almost 100% positive I knew where both places were (both off rt. 9 in Mass.) already, but wanted to be sure. She said she had them already plugged into her GPS and didn't know (first warning sign...) or something. Sigh, ok, not going to make a fuss because I want to get laid later...

Pick her up, she starts telling me where to go based on the GPS. I knew where the church was so basically, just ignored her/it. Get there, everything is fine (except it's hot as balls and I'm in a suit). Then we goto leave to the reception. I ask what hotel. It's a Marriott or something, in Westboro on Computer Drive. Oh, ok, right off rt. 9 , I'll just start heading EAST towards it then.

"But the GPS says you should go this way." - she points WEST.

"But we are going to Westboro - which is EAST of Shrewsbury, where we are now." - I counter.

"GPS is never wrong." - she says.

"Well, I'll just head EAST on 9, and the GPS can figure it out once we get closer." - I say.

I drive into the next town, towards the reception, including stopping at an ATM for her. And all the time the GPS is saying to turn around. She's getting agitated and saying we need to turn around, and no amount of convincing her that we are heading to the correct town will silence things. She just keeps inisting that "GPS is never wrong"

Ungh, ok, fine. We're in no hurry, keep her happy, don't ruin the day. Turn around.

So we head WEST, in the opposite direction. I'm thinking maybe it's got some weird roundabout route it wants us to use. Head west on route 9... GPS is apparently happy and so is she. We keep driving.... back past where we turned off for the church. And eventually we cross back over the bridge into Worcester, getting awfully close to where her apartment is when I hear...

"uh oh. Don't kill me." - her

"I'm turning the car around right now" - me before she has a chance to say anything else. "Get that thing out of my sight before I throw it out the goddamn window"

Turns out she had accidentally hit the "Home" button on the GPS when we left the church, and it was taking us back to her place instead of the reception. The ride to the reception was pretty silent. The reception itself was pretty rad, broke into the hotel pool around 3am with some of the groomsmen.

Moral of the story: GPS sucks, and sometimes girls who give up the A just aren't worth it.

Stephen the Canuck > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 10:56

I like my GPS. I really enjoy trying to lower the estimated arrival time. It's really handy when I'm going some place entirely new, or having to find an address on a little side street. I hate phone GPS's. It's also not bad for finding detours.

I also enjoy just driving without one. When I've moved to new areas, I've also just gone out for drives to explore (often at night). I like getting to know the area and how to get around it really well. Routes I've taken often I don't bother with the GPS unless I just want to have an arrival time.

I can read maps. I know quite a few people my age who I don't think could figure one out. Google maps are great for just having a map, as well as planning when to leave when you have to get somewhere at a certain time. I do find Google maps adds time to the route.

shop-teacher > JEM
06/17/2014 at 10:58

Yep. It's often not the fault of the GPS, its the user who punches buttons and then blindly follows, that's the problem.

Roberto G. > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 11:04

I love GPS. Because I'm a reasonable person.

Just one example: you decide to go out with friends, to a new restaurant far away from your home, on the mountains. You live in a little village outside the big town, and the meeting is downtown, with others who know the way. You meet, greeet everyone and the convoy starts... you with your lady, following the other cars. Out of a town you do not know. Out in the country, on roads you do not know. And the evening comes, it gets dark and the only thing you clearly see are the tail lights in front of you. You start climbing and the road signs disappear... there's not even the white line on the road anymore... till you arrive, after almost two hours of trip. It's dinner time now and you both enjoy the food and the company, till it's the moment to part. You're a little tired and your lady is more tired than you and in a bad mood: she wants to go back home as soon as possible... then you reach your car in the empty, dark parking lot and you realize that you forgot to ask for some basic instructions to go back. It could be quite a tragedy and the certainty for you of having to sleep on the sofa, was not for your trusty Garmin: you power it on, wait for him to catch the everready satellites orbiting in the dark sky over you, and eventually you touch GO HOME : a few seconds, and you hear the familiar voice of the GPS lady..."proceed 1.7 km, than turn right..."...There, now you can relax... and she's smiling again... true story.

Kinja'd!!!

spanfucker retire bitch > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 11:10

A GPS on my phone will always know the fastest route and can in a matter of seconds give me the best route for either time or distance.

A GPS (especially those on my phone) can route me traffic information so I know what streets to avoid at what time. Especially useful when going to an area I'm not familiar with, and thus don't know what the rush hour streets are.

A GPS will give me construction area alerts and even help guide me away from them.

A GPS will give the information in the click of a button as to the route I'll need to take if I want to avoid or take toll roads.

Hell, my GPS provides me directions for public transport, walking and driving. It's great for going anywhere I'm not intimately familiar with. Why the fuck would I want to use a map?

HammerheadFistpunch > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 11:11

GPS has its place, it sounds like you hate Navigation, not GPS. I for one LOVE GPS when Im out on a forest service road, or trail or backway because my guidebooks and atlases have latitude and longitude and or detailed GPS markers for turns so I end up where I want to be and not in some box canyon.

MIATAAAA > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 11:15

I don't know what I would do without GPS - it's never steered me wrong. I love not having worry about directions so I can just enjoy the drive.

And Waze is life changing, especially on long road trips.

shop-teacher > HammerheadFistpunch
06/17/2014 at 11:17

Excellent point. I feel like the terms have been used interchangeably, but you're right. I hate navigation systems.

jariten1781 > crowmolly
06/17/2014 at 11:55

GPS is also not a solution to Boston's terrible roads because tunnels. It's a big fuck you right when you get in since the airport leads in to the tunnel system (which also has tolls). Make a wrong exit, pay the toll twice you rube. I hate being there but it's a constant work destination and my wifes favorite travel spot so I find myself there way too often.

BoulderZ > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 12:59

I guess I just look at it as another tool in the rollaway. There are times when it's the right thing, but I'd say I've found it's a fairly specialized application set anymore. For personal travel, I've never used GPS, or wanted it. Gazetteers, standard paper atlas, and now maybe occasionally check the phone map (while parked!), but that's it. No one breaks in to a car to steal a paper atlas, and a paper atlas never has a problem getting satellite links or power.

For work, though, GPS has been useful. I've used it for surprise travel to a new-to-me city with narrow time windows for business meetings. Or when I have a 4 or 5 day trip with a different city every day, with up to 5 meetings at completely separate and unrelated sites, and who I see when changes while I'm traveling. Finish at a site, punch in the next destination, and go get work done. The printed map stack would be giant, and extra crap in the carry-on, and not very adaptable to itinerary changes or last-minute additions. I found GPS useful in Japan, as I unfortunately can't read Japanese, and there is next to no English available there outside of the big metro areas, and there's enough to concentrate on with right-hand drive anyway. I liked it in Ottawa for both last-minute considerations as well as the language issues, where half the city is in English, and half in French (pro tip: English GPS systems are hilarious when they try to pronounce French words and names). I'm finding the phones, in the last year or two, are now about 95% as good as a good GPS, though. So, at this point, I doubt I'd use a traditional GPS (again, extra junk to carry or an extra charge at the rental counter).

As with any tool, I think the problems seem to arise when people who don't know how to use it (or use it improperly) try to use it anyway. That's when you get people driving down stairs and wildly cutting across lanes for a "required" turn, or running their hands through table saws and chainsaws. Different tools, same phenomenon.

Mattbob > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 13:05

I hate GPS as well. I do however use Google maps to check traffic and plan my route.

turdpipe > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 13:12

In all fairness; for the small percentage of the time I'm in an unfamiliar area and need to get somewhere it's nice to have as a safety net.

But if I'm going to the grocery store.. wtf? Why would I need it?

shop-teacher > spanfucker retire bitch
06/17/2014 at 14:07

So you're not helpless when your phone dies/breaks/gets lost or stolen.

spanfucker retire bitch > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 14:14

That's a complete non-sequitur. If I have my phone, I don't need a map. I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever choose a map over a phone.

Your whole post is about choice, and how you (in my opinion, foolishly) choose to use deprecated means for your travel. This isn't a "what would you do if you didn't have a phone?" it's a "I refuse to use GPS, because...."

My car could die, break down or get stolen as well, that's not a reason for me to take a bus.

shop-teacher > spanfucker retire bitch
06/17/2014 at 15:17

It is about choice. I choose to be aware of my surroundings, and you choose to bury your face in a phone.

spanfucker retire bitch > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 15:52

No, I choose to do both. You can't drive properly without being aware of your surroundings. My phone simply points me in the direction I need to go.

The fact you think you need to do one or the other, and that using a GPS is the equivalent to "burying your face in the phone" shows how completely out of touch and ignorant you are.

shop-teacher > spanfucker retire bitch
06/17/2014 at 16:42

Oh wow, now we're name calling. I thought we were better than that around here.

Out of touch, I'll take, but it's by choice. I don't like the over dependence on phones that I see in society, so I choose to not go that route. All around me, I see people with their face buried in their phones constantly. They can't be bothered to drive, they can't be bothered to talk to, or even look at, the people they're eating dinner with, they can't be bothered to pay attention to their children. This is a bad thing, we as a society are losing touch with the people and the world around us. I'm not anti-technology, hell I teach CAD and 3D printing, but I find the way people are using this particular technology to be disturbing, and unfortunate.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or information. Care to explain how having and maintaining the ability to go from point A to point B, without having a device tell me where to go, means I have less knowledge? Or do you just want to call me some more names?

spanfucker retire bitch > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 17:10

Oh no, you don't get to move the fucking goal posts. Your entire post was riddle with your basically irrational hatred of all things GPS. You don't mention the fact that you just use a map so you still know how to use it, you're outright hostile toward the mere usage of it, regardless of the situation.

You're going off on an entirely different tangent. Having your head stuck in your phone at dinner, or at school, or at work has nothing to do with responsibly using a GPS in a car. You're just preaching at an opinion you have that has literally nothing to do with your opening argument. If you wanted to rant about how distant people have become you should have ranted about that in general instead of trying this BS about how much worse off we are with having a totally digitized map that knows where we are, where we want to go and how long it'll take.

My head is no more shoved into my phone than your head is into your map. The only difference is, my map is better.

P.S. - Funny coincidence about your occupation. I'm a Drafter by trade and I help to teach students as a volunteer mentor through FIRST Robotics.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 19:12

Sometimes, it's okay to let getting to somewhere new become a little easier.

Garrett Davis > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 19:23

I never understood this idea that new tools like GPS or Google somehow make people "drooling morons." I used maps for years, whether it was to help my dad navigate on road trips or camping, or after I learned to drive and had to get around for myself. All GPS does is make that process faster, easier, and safer. I don't know about you, but if I use GPS to get somewhere, I don't automatically forget everything about how I got there, and on my way back or on a second trip, I usually won't have to look it up again.

I used to distrust things like Mapquest and Google maps because they were often very inaccurate, but these days that's pretty rare, and usually the worst these systems will do is direct you through a slightly slower route. Now if I need to go somewhere new, I just tell my phone "Navigate to (insert address or location here)" and off I go. More often than not though, I'll know mostly how to get there and only consult my GPS once I have to get off the freeway and start navigating side streets, I'll tell my phone the location over voice and it will take me the rest of the way. Easy as cake.

Other times I'll just pull up the address on my phone and notice it's extremely easy and not bother, often times because I have been near there before (probably with GPS as my guide) and already know the area well enough to get by.

Work smarter, not harder.

Garrett Davis > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 19:32

I remember my sister driving me to my grandparent's house when she was 17 and I was 12 (before anyone had GPS in their cars). She pulled out the Atlas from the glove box, wrote down directions, then we set off. 3 hours later we're lost because she read the map wrong originally, and it took us waaay off course. The trip was only supposed to take an hour and a half.

I'm not saying that GPS is foolproof, I'm just saying that it mistakes can equally (or more so) be made with a map. I've been lost on more trips as a kid by following maps that were inaccurate, hard to read, or out of date than I have with GPS.

This being said, I do still think it's important to know how to read a map in case of an emergency.

Dusty Ventures > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 19:32

I never use GPS at home, but I absolutely love GPS. I'm often in unfamiliar cities and need to quickly find places I've never been.

Midnight in the Ozarks of Missouri thanks to a delay from a broken trailer (for reference I live in Massachusetts and at the time had been in the area for a grand total of about 6 hours, yet to see a hotel room or any kind of computer) and in need of food. GPS finds me a McDonald's that's open.

Fly into Portland (second time I ever set foot in the city) and my rally driver calls me up saying the torque converter fell off his truck so he'll be about 12 hours late arriving. In the meantime he needs me to find a hotel, a rental car, lettering for the rally car, get to rally hq for registration and pick up the pace notes, zip ties, wipers for a 76 Porsche, and while I'm at it dinner for myself, all while avoiding the traffic jam of pain and sorrow that is I-5. A little GPS voodoo and I've got it all taken care of inside two hours.

2AM, Mojave desert. The race truck broke seven hours ago, losing the right front wheel and hub assembly. We finally got it fixed enough that we were able to get it on the trailer, but now we're in the heart of nowhere. Tired, dirty, starving, and just plain beat up. The last building we passed was 80 miles back on the nearest highway. We sent a runner along to the next town up, a mecca of 3,000 people, but both their hotels are full. The next town we know of after that is 110 miles away. Thanks to the GPS we find a small town less than 50 miles out, far enough off the highway that we would have passed it without ever knowing (there's no signs for it). They have a motel, it has vacancies.

TL;DR: GPS is awesome for people like me with unpredictable lives and spontaneous needs in unfamiliar areas.

shop-teacher > Garrett Davis
06/17/2014 at 20:41

As I've said in other replies, its not the tool's fault, but the user. I've called my Dad a drooling moron when he asked me the address of a place he's been to countless times, and he took it in the spirit it was intended.

shop-teacher > spanfucker retire bitch
06/17/2014 at 20:54

It's a discussion. Discussions have tangents. Over dependence on phones is VERY closely linked to over dependence on GPS, and you were the one who started talking about how much awesomer your phone was, thus launching me on the tangent.

I give precisely zero fucks about those who use GPS responsibly. Never in my post did I say nobody should use GPS ever in any situation. I said I hate it, and won't allow it in MY car, and I was curious if anybody else felt the same way. So far, precisely two people feel like I do, and that's about what I figured.

I also suggested that more people should try going somewhere new without their GPS, as it's a fun and educational driving adventure. Never did I say that you should all throw them away, and never use them.

Re your PS- I used to lead a FIRST Robotics team at my last school district. That's a fantastic program.

Oh, and I too drive an automatic.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > shop-teacher
06/17/2014 at 22:44

Man, I'm in the middle of a road trip right now with my folks and I'm this close to tearing that fucking thing off a tossing out the window. I kind of understand it being wrong about a small, barely travelled town, but when you cross three countries and the damn thing is still pointing a detour at your hometown...

rcasi > shop-teacher
06/18/2014 at 09:32

Though I still appreciate and use GPS, I have to admit that it has made me a lazier navigator. I count on it too much. I can count quite a few times that I've taken a wrong turn or missed a turn because I the GPS directions seemingly conflicted with the road setup in front of me. All that could have easily resolved it if I took a second to look closely at the road signage. Additionally, there are times when I take a drive somewhere and can't figure out my way back without using the GPS, though it was a very easy route.

For the few downfalls it has, however, I do appreciate that at any given time I can take a detour without worrying about finding my way back. And that I always know where the closest Cracker Barrel is.

wkiernan > shop-teacher
06/19/2014 at 11:50

As a land surveyor who uses survey-grade GPS, I just can't bring myself to look at that weak-ass commercial-grade GPS, it's kind of like Christian von Koenigsegg driving a Camry.

shop-teacher > wkiernan
06/19/2014 at 12:02

I bet that's a fun tool to play with.

chadtoddham > shop-teacher
06/20/2014 at 15:26

I've been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, England, Germany, Spain and Kuwait. Not only are the roads in the afore mentioned countries in better condition, but they are better planned and executed than the ones in Virginia Beach. I have never, EVER gotten lost in those places, but I can't seem to back out of my own drive way in VA without losing my bearing.

Still I steadfastly refuse to use GPS, as does my wife. I'd rather be lost and know it, than not lost and clueless.

Reborn Pyrrhic > shop-teacher
06/20/2014 at 20:00

I am right there with you. I also like to drive a lot when I move to a new area, spend a few days getting lost and getting found, and soon I know the roads better than locals. I usually buy a paper map for the area am in, and I use that for navigating. I have a GPS and use it only when going somewhere were I need to be on time and don't know the route.

Kinja'd!!!