Driver Overexpectation of GPS Portable Navigation
photo credit: digitpedia
GPS for the consumer is a fairly recent product, getting its start in the mid 1990s and while it maybe hasn’t achieved the absolutely everywhere status, it’s becoming more or more widespread everyday for sure. And it’s not just cars that are equipped with GPS portable navigation; even cell phones these days have their own global positioning system. One would think it’ll be impossible to get lost ever again as long as you have a charged phone or car battery.
But things haven’t always gone well with the adoption of GPS portable navigation. Historically, people also never have been completely satisfied, and GPS systems have given drivers a lot to complain about. You can still lose your way while following the electronic map screen and its synthesis speech because the GPS can’t tell you what the road looks like yet or whether the upcoming street is the one to turn at for sure. It still is a very good guide. Even in this day and age, driving requires practice and vigilance. You won’t get lost if you’re familiar with the route or if you can read the street signs that pop up ahead. Some drivers seem to be forgetting that the GPS is simply a guide, and they’re still the drivers. GPS portable navigation isn’t going to take the wheel, at least not yet, because that’s our job.
Do these disgruntled drivers even use old fashioned paper maps anymore? These days they’d be collecting huge layers of dust if they weren’t stored away safely in the glove compartment. But the price of their protection is to be obsolete. Instead of folding out maps and squinting with frustration at the dots and lines, we’re yelling at the GPS that told us to make that exit too late. There are some inaccurate distance measurements we have to put up with.
People should be more appreciative of how easy we have it. GPS is a huge convenience; it makes traveling so much easier than it gets credit for. And some of them can speak with a British accent. Home James. What more do you want? Consider what things would be like if GPS portable navigation wasn’t just a guide. We wouldn’t need to plan, and we wouldn’t need to think, or operate. Technology would already do all of that for us, and our cars would run all by themselves without anyone having to control them. Hey, with autos like these, who needs GPS … and who needs people? This is something worth thinking about. Modern technology greatly enhances our lives and once we’ve progressed and dependent on it, it’s hard to go back, but we shouldn’t lose ourselves in the process.