Do you feel lost without a GPS?

A couple of people have commented on using the ETA function which I use often. This is very handy when someone asks "when will you be here?". Also, I can easily calculate if I have time to make it to a local store before it closes.

I'm always lost. I've never had any sense of direction. I LOVE my GPS.

I do feel lost, even more so I feel too lazy to figure out when I'll get there.

If I drive around our small town I leave it at home. On a long trip absolutely.

I always had to add 15 minutes to 1 hour on to appointment trips prior to GPSr because it always seemed that when I got close to my destination I would make 1 or 2 wrong turns.

Now I don't have to. Jill and friends get me their right on time.

I had to turn mine off today for giving me very strange directions. I am not sure if it is a glitch with the universe but it was giving me pretty much BAD directions for the various spots I needed to be at and I ended up doing it by myself.

I had to turn mine off today for giving me very strange directions. I am not sure if it is a glitch with the universe but it was giving me pretty much BAD directions for the various spots I needed to be at and I ended up doing it by myself.

I typically only use mine when travelling out a couple hours from home.

I have a 16 year old, and have found that doesnt know where anything is, I have to tell her by landmarks or give her the exact address so she can gps it. She has learned to rely on it so much, that she is not understanding any of the local roads or patterns.

I have my GPS on most of the time for the RLC and Speed camera file

no

Nope because as a male I always feel safe knowing I can stop and ask for directions!

Steve

P.S. I've never actually stopped and asked for directions.

I cannot believe I went all over when I was younger, without one. Will not travel without it.

I have owned my GPS for over 6 months - At first I used it every time I got into the car but now I do not use the GPS for trips to places that I know the directions to.

I left my GPS in a rental car in Las Vegas...duh..I was lost for a month until I got a new one.

We went to 4 yard sales yesterday and Garmin got us to each one with no problem. It's a great way to go from sale to sale and not have to worry about getting directions, etc.

I have navi unit in one of my cars so now need to get a gps for the other vehicle so my other half does not get jealous.

I wonder if this dependence on technology is causing a change in the way we process the world. For instance, are we less likely to rely on intuitive thinking so that we are in effect limiting the full range of our human capabilities?

Based on the responses it seems that the adoption of technology is to some extent causing a shift away from active thinking rather than acting solely as an aid to enhance our thinking. In other words, as humans addicted to technology we more closely resemble automatons. Wasn’t that the crux of the Star Wars saga?

Granted, many folks don’t put much stock into gut feelings. You know, it’s all too touchy-feely for technologists who rely on a logical approach to visible evidence. But, I still like to apply my abilities in estimating time of arrival and other situational awareness versus the act of relinquishing judgment or other input into the process of traveling and living in general.

The social situation described in H.G. Well’s The Time Machine or even Huxley’s Brave New World might not seem so far fetched. Are we inadvertently selecting for this limitation so that the population will eventually fall into two broad categories of abilities? Or, is the gene pool too broad to allow this to happen unless some event causes the isolation of populations?

Me and my family just moved to Miami a few months ago and every blue moon I will leave out the condo and leave it hooked to the computer and I say to myself I'm not going all the way back up to get it! And sure enough it's usually when I have to go to the other side like Miami Lakes or Opa Locka and I end up wishing I'd have taken the few extra minutes to get it instead of an extra 20 to find my way back to a main intersection so I can get home safely!

Won't leave home without it!

I almost came home one day because I forgot my GPS and I was about 25 miles away.

Its nice to have the GPS. Comforting to know that you will be rerouted if you take a wrong turn.

Just the other day... driving from one familiar place to another familiar place, but through an unfamiliar territory... in a rush hour... traffic was tough... Garmin was handy... followed the green lines.. explored new streets... viewed new areas... got to the destination some 20 mins late... but had fun and never felt lost.... love it!

I got mine last year at the age of 60 and I feel I deserve it in a way. Stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, the ETA became the greatest feature on these Garmins. It took the worry knowing I will get there 45 minuts before the flight departed. I had only been to the Tampa airport a couple times and being over 2 hours away and not knowing the traffic in that area it really put me at ease. I always did well with guessing ETA's but not within the range of the GPS. I could also check the flight status, I have the Garmin 1690.

Another thing I like that adds an intresting touch to a trip I've not done before is knowing my elevation. It's quite an interesting thing to watch as you approach the ocean from 80 miles away. at one point a few miles away from the beach, the road elevation increases from about 30' to about 70' as though we are driving on an old sandbar then down to almost sea level when we arrive.

Haven't been to the mountains yet but looking foward to it. Also waiting for my next flight to get that max speed up.

Anyway, I only take it on long trips or to places I've not been to before. I can see some have become kind of addicted.

It would be good for young drivers to travel without one before becoming addicted and learn to live without. These things are not always right. And what if the satelites go out, then what?

There may be a need some day for a GPSA.....You know......AA like thing.

This addiction thing with GPS though is better than an addiction to video games, wouldn't you think?

Either way, it makes us humans less self reliant, but does it make us more effecient? Or in my case, more at ease?

All I know is, I love my garmin....most of the time.

A GPS is like breathing can't live with out it

I agree with your sentiments but I’m just leery of assisting in the creation of a world where the slave becomes the master.

I’m reminded of examples where the traveler did not maintain situational awareness because he was so focused on his goal. This blind reliance on technology led to several people being stranded on snowy roads or into similar situations when their capabilities of feedback and judgment were curtailed due to critical dependence on what could be called those “electronic idiot savants”.

Personally, I believe that in certain situations having some built-in redundancy such as a map backup and it definitely helps to maintain an inner sense of a cartographic grid or coordinate system (N-S, E-W) while traveling. Just the simple act of looking at a map could help one remember the main arterials or the general layout so that if the electronic systems break down then you can still reasonably orient yourself.

I’ve used portable GPS in the wilderness but it should only be viewed as a supplement to your repertoire of tools to find your way. I normally use an altimeter that functions independently of a satellite connection. As you indicated, that’s the weak link. Well that, and the draining of the power source.

In the wilderness case, it seems that the use of technology typically leads to situations where one takes a higher level of risk but the assumption of which is manageable if other considerations are observed. However, in the absence of information such as a whiteout, those gadgets certainly help.

In general I agree. How you spend your time and quality of life are important. In the sense that tech improves those things then it's good.

I know even if we go to the grocery store mine is on. Just a neat tool to have.

My nuvi is one with my car.

even when traveling a known route because sometimes an accident or heavy traffic will necessitate a detour. That will be easily accomplished with the GPS turned on.

I somewhat surprised to learn that many people don't keep their GPS unit in their cars, even though the owner could hide it somewhere in the car out-of-sight when it's not needed. Even keeping the GPS in the car's trunk is better than leaving it at home...

Anytime I go more than 5 miles from home! Seems as if I have more "senior moments" these days and end up wondering "ok u big dummy.... where are we now?" Jill usually gets me back on track.

Yes definitely feel like there is something missing on every trip especially not knowing where these stupid enforcement cameras are here in the city. Just more excuses for higher taxes and raising city revenue.

I have only one Nuvi myself and I've done the same thing as you, leave home without it.

More than I would like to admit.

Before GPS I used the trip tiks from AAA. Those were really handy.

But yes, on a long trip it would be hard to get around without a GPS.

In a recent travel to Europe, where I had been living for 30 years, I was kind of lost, mixing my routes even in previously familiar locations. My GPS was a great help and always got me where I wanted to go!

I've always said there's nothing better than being lost while driving a rental car on the wrong side of the road in a foreign country!

To a certain extent yes. I can navigate myself back onto major roads and highways. But I can't find the tiny targets or homes. I can get a general idea of what direction I'm headed in too.

That's why there's old fashioned paper maps in the glovebox.

How recent are they?

Furthermore, where do they get their maps from? Just a thought. Paper maps may not be better.

I use my gps everywhere I go even when I know where I am going. It's one of these things where you become dependent on it, just like cell phones and microwave ovens. I like to know the estimated time to go somewhere and whether or not I have time to route to another place in between. Plus it is so nice to have a "phone book" at your fingertips when I'm in an unfamiliar city. It helps route me back to the hotel after dinner when on vacation in the darkness of a different city.

I'm addicted to it.

The more and more I use my GPS, the more I feel like it is needed.

However, I've been driving for years without a GPS, so when I drive without it, I eventually get used to it.

When traveling out of town...I always bring it. Even though I may know the roads, the ability to bring up stores, motels etc is priceless.

lost.

I'll go back home to get it for up to a half mile. I'll leave the cell phone once I'm out of the driveway.

if I am going long distances I use the GPS, but I also plot the trip out in Microsoft Streets and Trips/Delorme Tropo, then I still try and plot out on paper maps, or google/mapquest maps.

Always love to use the GPS to find new and interesting places!

Lost without it.......Maybe

After owning ours for a year now, we are fairly dependent on it for daily wanderings and ALL trips outside our regular commutes.

Here's a good example....

I grab it from the charger in my den and mount it in the car.
Upon leaving, the gpsr calculates the fastest route to our mountain camping getaway with an ETA and detours around any current traffic snarls or toll roads.

It then plays our mp3's through the stereo and warns us about any Red light / Speed camera's as we pass through the city and small towns.

Dr. Nightmare entertains with sudden voice prompts as the kids tell Dad to choose the walking zombie Icon/Vehicle!

Sometime during the trip, my younger daughter enjoys a gpsr slideshow of 200 family photos from the backseat.

Halfway through the trip, kids are hungry and Mom needs a Timmy's coffee. 2,000,000 POI's to the rescue and we have that covered.

Dad checks the ECOroute challenge and finds a green leaf. Well done!

An audiobook keeps all entertained while my son points out a cool 3D building coming into view ahead.

Wife (doing crossword) asks what the Italian word is for "romance"....and finds it in the Oxford Bilingual Dictionary on the gpsr.

Then a Tourguide autoplays an historically significant location while I POI find the nearest gas station.

We arrive in the mountains on time (how does it know )

My son and I head out trekking with a Topo map and regularly check our elevation and position. (Time for a new walking Icon/vehicle).

After using the unit converter to compare meters to feet, we save our position for later (Google) and see our ETA to the trailhead.

We converse with fellow travellers up the trail who mostly speak dutch. We use the Oxford phrases to wish them well in their language and share trail mix/Jerky and M&M's.

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Hopefully this inspires some of you to look beyond using a gpsr as just a map.

Cheers!

I can't say I feel lost but I do like having it to help with ETA to destinations. I'm fairly optimistic and the GPS brings me back to reality. I also like the traffic function although I usually divide the projected delay times by 2.