Well I don't think it is personally.

Take me outside and spin me around twice and I have no idea where I am

AND I am a sheila and read maps the right way round, which of course, to the male is upside down.

We have two GPS's, one has the Hemma maps and it always looks like we are going the wrong way when I look at that one.

But we still use maps a fair bit regardless. It can really be said about all sorts of modern gadgets can't it, even emails, now thats the lazy way to mail people isn't it, but now, its sometimes the best.

WARNING!!

 

Never take a sip of coffee as you read Jacks posts.....

Quietly wipes the computer screen clean...

I am still looking for an honest GPS.

When I make a wrong turn with ours, it politely says "reroute calculation, etc."

What us Aussies would really like is one that says, "You idiot, can't you folow simple directions.  Now find somewhere to turn around! Geesh."

An Aussie would see the humour in that, an American would pull out his firearm and shoot the bloody thing off his dashboard.

 

Dusty

My son had his on Sean Connery for awhile. He 'put Sean on' while I was in his car, and it's a novel idea, but like son, I think I'd get annoyed with 'him'.

On the Ipswich Motorway (Q), where they're doing roadworks, there's a sign say 'ignore GPS, follow signs'. It's really just for the exit to the Warrego Highway which used to be on the left, now it's on the right.

I don't have one, and probably won't bother, because of the cost. I'm pretty good at reading maps,,,and no, I don't turn them,,,but because I travel alone, sometimes it'd be good to have 'someone' call out instructions.

-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 01:26:25 PM

rockylizard wrote:

---

GDay...

I do not have a sat/nav thingy in my life. I use my Camps 5 and another Hema Maps book - that is how I initially plan my trip.

However, I then use Google Maps to plot the route and see how far, directions and via points. I then use Street View in Google Maps to 'see' the intersections so I have some idea of what to expect. One thing I find is very helpful is to locate a service station in a town I am planning to refuel in, use Street View to 'see' the servo and how easy/hard/impossible it is to get the tug and van into (and out of). Google Satelite is also useful to gain an idea of road surface and to locate/view free-camps too. Then I keep the Camps 5 Book in the car with me for reference.

Google Maps is also excellent for finding one's way around towns instead of a street directory (which none of us carry for every town in OZ). Good for locating 'landmarks' etc using Street View.

The following two excerpts from the SMH article are interesting -

An NRMA study found drivers spend an average of 1.2 seconds each time they glance at their GPS device. At 60km/h, that equates to travelling 19 metres every time they sneak a peek. (and at 100kph?)

In 2009, two neuroscientists in Canada coined the term ''developmental topographical disorientation'' to describe otherwise healthy people who cannot recognise landmarks to work out their whereabouts.

I think both these are very relevant in the danger of sat/nav thingies when in a vehicle by oneself.

All of that said, I guess I just love maps and using them. I would always relate my trip to a 'paper map' no matter what system I used.

Cheers and happy travelling

John

---

 Yes, I've used Google maps a bit too, and now that I have a laptop to take with me, I guess I'll use it more.

I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.

Travel Bug wrote:

---

I don't own a GPS yet as I prefer to look at a map to get a complete overview of where I intend to go.

I will buy one before I go travelling too far into unfamiliar territory.....but I will still check out the map as well. 

---

 It's my personal view that used this way GPS is great AID to navigation.  A good dose of common sense helps too.

I have found mine helpful for finding the caravan park in a town I'm unfamiliar with, also for knowing the distance to the next town or other waypoint.

 For those who follow GPS directions blindly and without reference to other navigational clues I don't think it's case of making them stupid,  I think they already are!

Science and technology are the new religion.  We expect it to solve all problems and to perform perfectly and feel let down when it fails to meet this impossible goal.

wendyv wrote:

---

Although the Melways shows it as a no through road, and it is clearly signed at the corner, obviously sat-nav systems think it is a through road.
It is also a narrow road and the truckies that have to do a twenty point turn at the end do not look impressed as they pass by again.

---

 I rest my case about a dose of common sense!

Beth54 wrote:

---

Happywanderer wrote:

---

I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.

---

 Oh I've gotten lost plenty of times,  but always seem to find my way again!

-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 05:08:30 PM

---

 Gday...

Well - us boys NEVER get lost ....

we just get geographically embarrassed

Cheers (now where was I again?)

John

 

I've been caught out by Tom a couple of times. Like Albany up a steep cul-de-sac. It sure tested my van reversing negotiation skills - backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards, watch the power pole and the car parked on the footpath, backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards. Phew! Down the hill, across the street, and blow me down, there's the caravan park!
Street configurations are changed by councils but the GPS programmers aren't up with the changes, so we fall victim to slow people-programmed technology.
I find it a great help as Jim says, in unfamiliar towns, but I still consult the map.
When I'm planning I Google Maps, and collate it all before I leave, in association with the paper map book.
Now I have the Truckies Atlas for the over-dimension routes around the country. There apparently is a GPS programme to cover this too, but I wouldn't trust it completely. The fines for taking the wrong road with a big load is huge for all involved.
I believe we still need to use maps and brains, referring to the GPS.
It's also handy to check the remaining distance to the destination.
In relation to your warning Firefly, may I suggest you swallow FIRST. Then read and laugh.

I never get lost. Someone always tells me where to go.
But do I go there?
Not on your life - unless I want to.

I put my GPS on sometimes when travelling alone - just to have someone to argue with!!!!!! "Turn left in 600 metres" - "don't tell me where to go!"
But seriously I have found it handy to have it in some cities, just so I can concentrate on traffic, without worrying about which turn to take next.

Firefly wrote:

---

We use ours on long trips as it gives a good indication to arrival times for us.

---

 My main use too,  I turn off the audio so that "Karen" (Garmin GPS) doesn't nag me.