The Garmin Got Me Lost

Much discussion on issues like this on this forum: See for example:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/10836

This can happen when the POI you select as your destination is a distance off the main road entrance to the site. Sometimes this puts the location nearer to a backroad that does not connect to the actual facility.

This happened to me once at Mt. Rushmore. I had selected my destination from a custom POI category that marked the location of the monument itself. My old Nuvi 755T directed me on a route that looked like a shortcut, but turned out to be a forest road that led up to a dead end behind the monument. This location was actually closer to the monument than the highway entrance, but of course had no access to the attraction. Once I realized the error, I turned on the "unpaved road" avoidance and the nuvi correctly rerouted me to the correct entrance of Mt. Rushmore.

I would be loat also if I knew what loat was.

They certainly aren't perfect.

Mine gets me to my destination about 90% of the time without problem.

well found garmin bout 70% accuate and google maps between 80-90%
i've been in your shoes (sucks)
a decade no way.. only took em 3 years to add a new street by me. (yes sent map update info....

GPS devices should be a supplement not the main source of directions. Plus you should have a general idea how to get from point a to point b before you rely on a GPS 100% of the time.

Safe travels!

Exactly. People have actually driven off roads because they followed their GPS rather than paying attention to the road and road signs.

When taking a trip to somewhere I'm unfamiliar with, I almost always put the route in Basecamp/MapSource on my PC to see how it routes prior to taking the trip. I also look at the sat maps on Google maps of the area as well to get a feel for what's in the area. More than once I've had my GPS route me in goofy ways including having something similar to what the OP experienced happen. Fun times. :-/

I think I remember some story about a guy who drove off a cliff, following his GPS and a dirt dead-end road.

Not sure I put that much stock in my various GPS's ... and try to get a feeling for where I'm going before I leave.

I have had a few "dirt road" experiences, but now just drive past the dirty turn and let the GPS recalculate to something that makes more sense.

I haven't carried a paper map in "I don't know how long."

Probably when I got my first Garmin auto GPS ... an I5.

I agree, but in this case it was the final quarter-mile. I might be complacent, but I don't think the GPS should try to take the stadium track to get somewhere.

On longer trips, I plan in Base Camp to be sure the route is working. Sometimes I set a route (like most normal people), and the GPS has a strong likelihood of actually charting an efficient course. It's always useful to review the route because I have been surprised more than once to be traveling a long way in the wrong direction.

I don't see any dirt roads around the stadium? Exactly what route did it take you? The stadium seems to be clearly off of Wayne Ave, a major road.

I always put the POI in BaseCamp and then make sure by way of Google Earth that it is taking me to where I want to go. I have avoided problems by doing this.

Sorry, but this just cracks me up! LOL

And more similar disastrous incidents:
http://theweek.com/article/index/243813/8-drivers-who-blindl...

"Take note: The machine does not always know where it's going."

Its the state you're in when you've lost your paddle.

Like he said, the state was Indiana!

I am surprised by the comments on the "Percentage of Accuracy" being as low as 70%.
I would anticipate some inaccuracies but not that amount.

Good discussion thread, it is telling me to be more vigilant when planning a trip, and to double check my destination.

DavidH

Cheyenne WY and the GPS took us on a broke up service road with no access into the back of the store...fortunately, the service road lead around to the "real" road about a half mile farther down so we weren't too lost...glad I had the pickup with a stiffer suspension than the car

The Garmins that I have owned have done some less-than-optimal from time to time. However, they have not yet failed to take me to my destinations, knock on wood.

The most memorable is that years back my old 260 insisted in guilding me from Jacob Lake to the Grand Canyon North Rim through circuitous maintenance roads instead of the straight-shot Rt 67. I thought Rt 67 was closed for some reason. Stopping at the Jacob Lake Park Ranger Station to inquire saved me hours of agonizing drive.

Last summer, we were out riding and looking for an adventure near Pine Mountain, GA. We decided to enable "Unpaved Roads". Just outside of Pine Mountain, GA on the way to Warm Springs, GA, the GPS directed us onto an unpaved road named Seven Branches Road (-84.758908,32.880429).

We discovered that the branches were not the kind connected to trees but were, in fact, creeks. And, perhaps more importantly, we soon found out that there are no bridges over any of the seven branches.

It was the adventure we were looking for and we made it across all seven branches; however, I would not try it again without a four-wheel-drive vehicle! I now keep "Unpaved Roads" disabled!

Rills become runs which become branches which flow into creeks and then rivers. At least that is how they were named in the colonies Took me a while to understand that myself.

A discussion of "accuracy" has many facets - and most people do not have any idea of what they should expect from their device. If the device did not take them to the exact place they "wanted" to go, they complain about "accuracy". If the device did not take them along the route they would have expected to take, they complain about "accuracy".

How much "accuracy" should one expect from a device that cost a couple of hundred bucks and is being operated by someone who has never read the owner's manual?

If one knew the exact coordinates of a destination - and programmed a route to those coordinates, then some would still complain because the device was 40 feet off. I say this because I recall people complaining that their device did not have the exact feet correct when giving instructions to make a turn in "x feet".

To see how this might be, turn on your device and then hold your finger on the "satellite bars" in the upper left corner until the device presents the satellite display. What is the accuracy of your device when it is sitting still?

If someone is taken to a destination by a route they did not like and/or would not have chosen, should they claim the device was not "accurate"?

If someone is using one of the newer devices that no longer gives a "recalculating" alert and makes a wrong turn such that the device recalculates and tries to get to the destination using a route different than it first chose, should the device be termed not "accurate".

What are the some of the things that might impact someone's perception of "accuracy"? Let's consider a few.

1. Map: Are you using the latest version of the maps?
2. Address: Are you certain that the address is correct?
3. Calculation mode? Is it set to
  a. Faster Time
  b. Shorter Distance
  c. Less Fuel
  d. Off Road
    (varies by device)
4.Avoidances? Which of the following are checked?
  a. U-Turns
  b. Highways
  c. Tolls and Fees
  d. Traffic
  e. Ferries
  f. Carpool Lanes
  g. Unpaved Roads
    (varies by device)

rely on digital maps/media 100% know where you are going and use common sense. All this media and maps etc. are only as good as the person that wrote/designed the programs.

For the price we pay for these devices they do an excellent job. I too at times have experienced the route I was sent on was not ideal, but it always got me to my destination. It sure beats asking strangers for directions or reading an outdated paper map.

With the voice turn by turn directions I find driving is far safer since I can concentrate my eyes on the road and not having distractions looking for signs.

First, let's deal with the "route". After your device calculates a route, best practices would be to touch the top bar and then look at the turn-by-turn instructions. Is the device doing what you expected? If not, why not?

If you expected to stay on an Interstate and you see that the route turns off to other roads and then later returns to the Interstate, it might be several things.

The first place to check would be the Calculation Mode. If you have asked for the "Shorter Distance", maybe that is what you are getting? Going straight through a city rather than looping around its perimeter would be shorter, but not what you wanted.

It might be that you are using an old map and the Interstate/freeway has undergone change or expansion. What you can see with your eyes may not be what your map version "sees".

Note that Garmin does not "own" the "map". It uses map data from other companies. Maps are only as accurate as the municipalities have chosen to make them. Street numbers are often interpolated without knowledge of the geography which makes some sites unusable. Given the address of a lot in a subdivision, what coordinates are being used. You may think it ought to be the mailbox or the front door or whatever but that is often not the case. If I look at my own address on my 2595 and then zoom in to the 50 feet level, the "flag" is in my back yard about 120 feet from my mailbox.

When you select a destination from the device, say an address for a Jo-Ann store, you have put yourself at the mercy of the Jo-Ann store location addresses. Having just done this POI file, I know for a fact that the addresses are quite a distance from the actual store and certainly not at the driveway at which you would want to enter the area/strip mall which contains the store. The Jo-Ann store in Grand Junction, CO is shown by Joann.com as about a mile and a half away from where it actually is. Is that "inaccuracy" the fault of the device?

Whenever I go someplace new, I ALWAYS use Google Earth to find and understand my destination. Then I use GE's directions function to lay out the route between where I am and my destination. Then I create a custom POI to the destination. That technique hasn't failed me yet.
I can't swear that I've always been given the most expeditious route, but I can swear that I've never driven off a cliff by following the route my Nuvi 1450 has calculated.

Phil

but I am making great time!

Sound advice; almost as good as checking a paper map before starting to fix the overall route in your mind as a sanity check.

Here is where there is a problem though. An exit to surface streets can also be generated using Fastest Time as well. It comes down to the calculation of speed/distance. A detour from the Interstate through city streets may calculate as faster because the unit disregards any traffic control devices such as stop signs or lights. A quarter mile at 35 MPH would be faster than a half mile at 65 but they (Garmin or Here maps) doesn't know there are 3 stop lights in that 1/4 mile so it assumes you would travel at the limit the entire distance.

A great many of the complaints about accuracy are correctly classified as complaints about routing. There are the instances where addresses are not actual locations but estimates because the actual addresses haven't been digitized into the map data. There are also instances where an aress may fall out of the norm and be on the "wrong" side of the street due to local changes. There are businesses in DC that are not located on the street where the address would indicate as it is possible to go to the zoning board and get a "prestige" address assigned to your business. E Street between 11th ave and 13th ave is an example. The street is renamed Pennsylvania Ave even though Pennsylvania Ave is actually a block south. The addresses along the renamed portion of E street are all odd numbers while the addresses along the true PA Ave are even with an open square between the two roads.

I will need to think this through. Assuming that there was a "straight shot" across town on surface roads (in the example at hand), this might be possible. From having done numerous simulations, I do know that every left or right turn onto another street causes the device to slow down to 0 MPH before making the turn, so speed/distance are not the only variables.

I don't think this is what's happening, because in Fastest mode, the unit will always favor higher rated roads over lower rated.

While using Delorme products, this very same behavior was caused by the actual line drawn for the road had a break in it. The software read it as the road ended and not connected to the other section. There is an intersection in my area where the actual line from the side road doesn't connect to the main road and the software won't route a turn there. This was on Garmin units.

I need to correct the "slow to speed" - at least on my 2595. I just did a simulation and it slows to 11 MPH at turns onto another road.

Try going from the Baseball Hall of Fame (25 Market St. Cooperstown, NY) to 25 Brindle Lane, Susquehanna Twp, PA (Cracker Barrel).

Using Basecamp, the route displays as following I-88 to I-81 near Port Dickinson, NY but the Nuvi will have you exit I-88 at State Route 7 (I-88W Exit 1) and go south to I-81 because the distance is shorter even though the speed limit is lower. Not to mention there are several traffic lights in that stretch.

Options set are to avoid dirt roads and seasonal closures.

But this is "shorter" route, is it not?

No. Fastest

Having trouble getting my 2595 to find the Cracker Barrel.

The first address should be 25 Main St.

Did you mean for the second address to be
The Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace, 2525 Brindle Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110

Be back later

for the destination. BaseCamp has the address wrong.

40.303003,-76.846566

I am still trying this out on my 2595.

I have set several saved places: The National Baseball Hall of Fame at 25 Main St, Cooperstown NY; and, Cracker Barrel in Harrisburg, PA at 40.302807, -76.845961 (which is the coordinates from the poi-factory file in my unit.

I do not get on State Road 7 in either Calculation Mode. Did you mean 217?

You should also check your settings under avoidances etc. That might be one possibility.

Both of you need to read the original post again. The avoidances are dirt roads and seasonal closures and the problem isn't in the displayed routing, but the followed routing at Port Dickinson where the unit routes you off the Interstate to NY 7 from I-88 to I-81 instead of going across the river on I-88 to I-81. The routes parallel each other at this point and even though Faster Time is selected, the UNIT routes you off the Interstate.

My 2595 does not get off the Interstate onto NY 7.

Are you simulating a route transferred from Basecamp or did you set your device at 25 Main St, Cooperstown NY and then do a "Where To?" to 2525 Brindle Drive, Harrisburg, PA?

Unit started at the HOF and stopped at the CB. No route transferred just set a destination when leaving the HOF. Even though the route shows taking I-88 to I-81, the 885T NUVI routes down SR7.

I'll get my 765 back and see what it does.

@Box Car,

My 765 travels from the HOF in Cooperstown to the CB in Harrisburg using I88 and I81 with no use of SR 7.

I wonder why your 885 routes differently? SR 7 looks like a major road on Google and the distance is clearly shorter by close to a mile but that does not necessarily tell me it is faster because I do not know the speed limits of each path.

Box Car and I have been discussing "accuracy" of GPS units in general and specifically how the unit might take you off an Interstate through a town when set to "fastest".

If you have not done "simulations" in a while and want to brush up on (or maybe learn for the first time) how it is done, I would like to know the results of your unit.

Here are instructions for my 2595 and 765, respectively.

For a 2595
Where to? > Searching Near > A Different City
Then enter "Cooperstown" (without the quotes) and press the "search" symbol
Select Cooperstown, NY from the list
Select "Categories"
Scroll down to "Attractions"
Then enter "National Baseball" (without the quotes) and select National Baseball Hall of fame and Museum.
There should only be one choice at 25 Main Street.
Select the "i" symbol
Press the Three Bars symbol
Select Save

Back to the Main Menu

Where To? > Searching Near > A Different City
Then enter "Harrrisburg" and when it appears under the entry, select Harrisburg
Select Harrisburg, PA from the list
Select "Restaurants"
Then enter "Cracker Barrel" (without the quotes) and select "Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Select the Cracker Barrel at 2525 Brindle Dr
Select the "i" symbol
Press the Three Bars symbol
Select Save

Back to the Main Menu

Settings > Navigation > Calculation Mode and make sure "Fastest Time" is selected

Back to Navigation and scroll down till you find "GPS Simulator"
Select it and "OK" the fact that the GPS simulator is turned on

Back to the Main Menu

Where to? > Recent > "National Baseball Hall of ..."
Select the "i" symbol
Scroll down and press "Set Location"

Back to Main Menu

Where to? > Recent > "Cracker Barrel old Coun ..."
Select the "i" symbol
Press Go
When you are asked if you want to simulate this route, press No
The Top Bar should now read "GPS is Off"
Press the Top Bar
Press the scroll up arrow and note the "Total" reads 258 mi 3 hr 54 min

For a 765
Where To? > Near > A different City > OK
Enter "Cooperstown" (without the quotes)
From the list, select "Cooperstown NY"
Points of Interest > scroll to Attractions > All Attractions
Down Arrow to find and select National Baseball Hall of Fame
On the next screen, press Save

Back to Main Menu

Where To? > Near > A different City > OK
Enter "Harrisburg" (without the quotes) and press Done
From the list, select "Harrisburg, PA"
Points of Interest > Spell Name
Enter "Cracker Barrel" (without the quotes) and press Done
Select the Cracker Barrel at 2525 Brindle Dr
Press Save

Back to Main Menu

Tools > Settings > Navigation > Route Preference > Faster Time > Ok
Back
System > GPS Simulator > On > OK

Back to Main Menu

Where To? > Recently Found > National Baseball Hall of Fame > Map
Set Loc. > Back to Main Menu
Where To? > Recently Found > Cracker Barrel Old Country Store > Go
"Do you want to simulate driving this route" > No

The Top Bar should now read "GPS is Off"
Press the Top Bar to get the turn-by-turn instructions

**************

Now - do any of your units go from I88 onto SR 7 and then onto I81 as opposed to using I88 and merging onto I81?

I would be interested in your unit and your results.

The GPS took us from eastbound Oakland Ave Hwy 286 to Right on Maple Street, then right into the parking lot and dirt road around the west and south side of the stadium field. Um, that's not a road.

The correct route would have continued to right on S 11th St then arrive at destination on left. Kovalchick Center actually has a Pratt Road address, and we used the address rather than a POI.

Does this forum support links of any kind? My map link in the first post is just text. Just seems it should be possible. Let's see:

Indiana University of PA

This link worked for me.

Looks like a dirt road on the West and South just behind the south stadium seating, then it goes into a parking lot that looks blocked off from the road