Are GPS units taking away our common sense?

I bought a GPS unit a few years ago and use it on occasion when going
someplace unfamiliar. Handy technology, a good aid when traveling. Today
though, I heard of two cases of GPS use that makes me wonder if it is going
to make drivers soft in the brain over a few years.

Case #1
A couple I know is renting a house in Florida for two months. She will stay
there, the husband will commute every couple of weeks to his business. They
are about 15 minutes from the airport. They set the GPS to go from house
to air port, but the route was interrupted by a closed bridge. The driver
did not know how to get around it, did not RTFM and know to hit "detour".
Took her three tries and kept saying "but she says to turn right". OK,
maybe this driver was going to have problems no matter what.

Case #2
My grandson use my GPS to go from MA to Garwood, NJ. He followed the
directions, but has no idea where he was and could not repeat the second
half of the trip from memory. He knows he was on 95, crossed the GW bridge,
and used the NJ Turnpike. That's it. Does not know any of the local route
numbers and once at the destination, could not come back unless he used the
GPS again. He never looked at a map and figured that a different route
using the Tappan Zee and GP Parkway may have been a better drive. It is a
few miles longer, but faster in most every case.

My point is, if you look at a map first, drive the basic route from
directions, you retain that information to use it again. If the GPS would
die, he'd have been in trouble, whereas the more knowledgeable driver would
have simple made the return trip from memory. And could repeat it again and
again, if needed. I think we may have an entire future generation unable to
find any place unless the little voice from the map tells them how to get
there.

Yesterday, he was following another driver through Providence, RI and they
got split up. He was pretty much lost, but fortunately the car he was
transporting was equipped with navigation so he was able to get back by a
different route. Without it, he may still be circling in Providence.

Getting lost is not such a bad thing at times. You always learn something
or see something that will be of assistance on another trip to the area.

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:12:07 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:


All modern technology has this problem, to a substantial extent, does it
not?


Bridges are a problem in any case if you are using a memorized route.
Still, very few people know about the detour feature. Although I can agree
with you that some ability to use a map is important, there were plenty of
people who could not do so, to save their lives, before GPS was so widely
available.


I don't see this as a problem, frankly. I have a terrible memory for route
numbers, and am still vague about some of them, even after decades of
living in the same area.


This is the same old swan song that happens every time there is a shift in
technology, and I sympathize, but I do not buy the argument.


No, he would have stopped and bought a map, gotten directions, or called
someone on his cell phone.


I use my GPS on familiar routes, just to see what it will do. Sometimes it
shows me a short cut, or another interesting way to get to the same place.

It's time to let the luddite in you have a rest, LOL. New technology is
here to stay, and while there is some validity to your objections, what,
exactly, would you suggest be done to address it? Should we continue to
use paper maps and compass, when superior tools are available, just to keep
our minds in trim? Not gonna happen.

Your point is well taken - every new technology begins to supplant the old
one, leaving some features unaddressed. A skilled human stitcher can
provide a superior result to that of a sewing machine. Memorized poetry is
more compelling than reading. Illuminated manuscripts are more precious,
and convey more, than a printed book. Time marches on, blind to these
nuances, as well it should.
--
Mike Russell - http://www.curvemeister.com

This reminds me of the story (apparently true) of the person who drove off
in their motorhome, engaged cruise control, then wandered into the kitchen
to make a cup of coffee! When the vehicle crashed they complained it was the
salesman's fault and/or the vehicle manufacturer's fault for not telling
them to engage brain before driving!

Chris

well, now, there you go again with that danged fancy new technology!
Cell phone? It just makes kids today lazy. Why, in my day...

I've been hearing this kind of things for awhile now, and I don't buy
it. Honestly, how many different ways can you find to get to the same
places? After awhile, you're just playing the dashboard video game.