Is Gps a great invention or over hyped?
By ronnyb
@ronnyb (6113)
Jamaica
January 4, 2010 7:04am CST
Another family has been led astray by GPS and this brings the total to 3 during holidays. This time though it almost led to the demise of Jeramie Griffin, his girlfriend and eleven months old baby after taking a shortcut suggested by the GPS tracker that got them stuck in snow. And what should have taken off 40 minutes off the travel time nearly shaved several years off their lives.
According to the story carried on the yahoo web site they had no cell service ran out of formula for the child and had filmed their good bye video when they were rescued. This is a link for the story http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100102/ap_on_hi_te/us_stranded_motorists.Luckilythough the two other parties who ended up in snowbanks like Griffins family were also rescued and are now counting their lucky stars and saying that they should have used paper based maps and more common sense.
Now is it that travellers need to be know that they cannot follow the system blindly or is it that GPS is an over hyped technology ?
5 people like this
10 responses
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
6 Jan 10
I am sure that a GPS is a great piece of technology and a very helpful one but not foolproof. I would still carry a street directory or a map and not rely on a machine alone especially if I was travelling long distances in unknown territory. Anything technological is great when it is working properly but when it fails it is obviously devastating. These people were very unfortunate I guess to end up in such a situation; thankfully they were rescued in time...
@earthpanther (148)
• United States
5 Jan 10
I love my GPS system. Paper maps wouldn't have been any better for those people than the GPS was. If you're dumb enough to try to drive through deep snow and get stuck it is really irrelevant where the directions came from.
@rsa101 (40976)
• Philippines
5 Jan 10
Never had tried using gps in my life. I only heard that it is a great way to navigate through is you know how to use and read maps. I now my brother in law in the US use it very often and they loved it very much especially when traveling to long distances. I say technology is of great help to many but I guess it is not perfect that every now and then there are those glitches that happen here and there that makes somebody an unfortunate victim of its imperfections.
@slaveofsensation (348)
• United States
5 Jan 10
They would have gotten just as stuck if they had followed the same shortcut on a paper map. I dont understand did the GPS cause them to forgrt that you dont drive down logging roads in the mountains in your Toyota Carolla
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
5 Jan 10
I think it depends really, you cannot blame GPS for snow since it's no in their capability to see if there's snow or some type of 'danger', they're there to show you the way that their program thinks is 'shortest'.
But still, I wouldn't go out to some strange place without asking around (on people who have gone there or are living in the area) for the best way to reach the destination.
I may have a GPS around, but I'll always be prepared of what's to come, most especially for a long journey.
It's sad though that those familiar have gone through such an ordeal, you can't blame them for trusting GPS neither could they blame GPS. I just hope that GPS has some way to call for help when stuck or in a no cell-site area.
@CRSunrise (2981)
• United States
4 Jan 10
A GPS can be a very useful tool in its own right, especially when you're on a long trip or in an area you're not familiar with. However, it's always best to alwasy be aware of your surrounding, and watch the roads. I have a GPS that occassionally wants to lead me down the wrong way of a one way road. It doesn't always happen, but it does happen occassionally.
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
4 Jan 10
If you are going to follow a GPS and not have an idea of how to get there you are asking for trouble. Like anything you need to be 110% smarter than the device or machine you are dealing with. This summer I was driving out west and followed the GPS and stayed on a highway and something did not feel right so I stopped and checked the map. The route I wanted headed northwest and the one I was on was heading northeast. Since those were my only two choices the GPS recalculated after I missed my turn and kept me going i the wrong direction. GPS are a guide not the end all and be all of directions. You have to use common sense too.
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
4 Jan 10
I can read a map . I love reading maps . I have always thought of these gadgets as cheating. I prefer using a map and after all these stories I will never, ever use GPs.
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
22 Jan 10
Hello my friend ronnyb Ji,
I am of the strong opinion thatbasic concept would always remain and must be adhered with, else this will happen. Basic concept ven while travelling must be followed by keeping route maps, which must have been voileted and landed in this trouble. Let's be reasonable to technology.
May God bless You and have a great time.
@kprofgames (3089)
• United States
4 Jan 10
Where I do think that GPS tracking is a nice feature, I think when it comes to extreme weather conditions people still need to use an element of common sense. Save minutes, even if an hour off travel time is great, but when the snow is flying I would feel more secure on a main road or highway then an off road. Even your smaller two lane highways can be less maintained then a 4 lane. That to me, is just common sense.
The thing about a snow storm is it might appear that it is coming out of one direction. Maybe they thought they would drive out of it - idk, but I know I'd feel more secure on a more populated road then trying to shave off a few minutes to get to where I was going.
