Emergency Info Screen
14 years
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My car died this weekend when I came back to it in a grass parking lot. (still don't know what happened to it, it's only 8 months old and the dealer still can't figure out why it just went kaput). This grass lot is used one week out of the year for a large event. It doesn't have an address. Well, AAA works on addresses alone and doesn't do GPS coordinates.
I had remembered a time when I saw an emergency info screen (GPS coordinates, nearest intersection, and most importantly, nearest address) and it took me a few minutes to figure it out, but clicking in your vehicle icon on the main moving map screen is what brings it up. (I believe it also brings up nearest emergency room, nearest police station and nearest gas station). Obviously I had to tell them I wasn't at that address, but it at least got them close enough.
Thought I'd post in case this might be helpful to anyone else!
Years ago my car died in the
Years ago my car died in the express lanes on the interstate - actually it was a construction zone, but there were 2 local lanes and 1 "express lane". When I called AAA, i told 'em i was in town so and so... To my north was a car max. However I had no idea what the mile marker was. I did reiterate to them the interstate number and that fact I was in the express lane, not local lane. This was in the mid 2000's. The phone rep was able to figure out my location and dispatch accordingly.
Getting the car into a pull over area was interesting. I was doing ~80mph when it crapped. My instinct was to push in the clutch let coast to somewhere I could pull over to and apply brakes 2-3x before the booster went dry.
AAA
With AAA in a long spiral of decline, you would think they would be a little more accommodating to loyal customers. For crying out loud, how difficult can it be for them to accept GPS coordinates!
I am still a member of AAA after many, many years, but I am seriously considering dropping them when my current membership comes up for renewal. I can't even remember the last time I actually made use of their services.
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon
Location
I just started the Good Sam Roadside assistance for my cars, so no review yet. This one feature they offer is as follows. "Good Sam Roadside Assistance members can take the road less traveled with less worry. Caller Locator utilizes the latest in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to quickly and accurately pinpoint a Good Sam Roadside Assistance member’s disablement location in just a few seconds. Mark Kupper, VP/General Manager of Good Sam Roadside Assistance, adds, “With this technology, our dispatch center can easily identify a member’s location, whether they are calling from a traditional landline, standard cell phone or smart phone. This eliminates a lot of stress from the customer experience and helps us get them the help they need faster.”
Charlie. Nuvi 265 WT and Nuvi 2597 LMT. MapFactor Navigator - Offline Maps & GPS.
Lat-long will not be unambiguous (sorry for the double negative)
Lat-long will not be unambiguous. Some sources will be decimal degrees and some degrees, minutes, seconds. Maybe there is another.
That may sound easy to us, but some new hire dumped in a cubicle with a headphone and a sandwich might not get it.
True. I configure all my
True. I configure all my gps devices to show cords in decimal degrees convention. Degrees/min/sec is just a mess to enter into a computer (unless software explicitly accepts it that way).
Ask a millennial to express its location in any format, probably get a response such as half a block from mcdonalds or such.
AAA
With AAA in a long spiral of decline, you would think they would be a little more accommodating to loyal customers. For crying out loud, how difficult can it be for them to accept GPS coordinates!
I am still a member of AAA after many, many years, but I am seriously considering dropping them when my current membership comes up for renewal. I can't even remember the last time I actually made use of their services.
I'm a 30 year AAA member who is also considering a cancellation. Their reluctance to respond to out of the way locations is a concern since I often frequent these areas.
As a backup to AAA, I now carry my Garmin Montana 700i with their InReach service. I use it mostly when hiking or biking but I now keep it in my vehicle. It's satellite based and unlike cell phones, has near universal coverage.
The InReach subscription is cheaper than an AAA premium membership so it's a viable alternative.
There are some interesting systems being developed
Some interesting systems are being developed to clarify location information.
Let's take the restaurant Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse at 155 Main Street, King of Prussia as an example. We can of course define the location as 40.08350 N latitude x 75.40471 W longitude (or the deg/min/sec) equivalents.
You can also open Google Maps and using what is called a Google Plus code find the same location. If you want to try it open Google Maps and put "3HMW+94 King of Prussia" (without the quote marks) into the search bar, hit enter and you will get the restaurant. Google Plus codes were developed by the Google office in Zurich Switzerland so this tend to be used in Europe.
Another system gaining popularity, is the What3words mapping system. Go to https://what3words.com/clip.apples.leap and at the top left where it opens at clip.apples.leap put in "props.most.lamps" (again, without the quote marks) and hit the enter key. It will take you on a map to 155 Main Street; King of Prussia, PA. Surprisingly, every 3 meter x 3 meter square (about 9-1/2 feet x 9-1/2 feet) in the world can be described by three words! Emergency systems in Europe are using this system as an alternative to latitude and longitude since about 2014.
There is also the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) used by the military. Go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and at the top put in "18T VK 65496 37103" (without the quotes and watch spacing) and it will yield the coordinates of 155 Main Street in King of Prussia.
John from PA