Who here uses a GPS?

[ET21]

I'll use it if I don't know the area, but I usually just look at the map beforehand and memorize my route

[Brandon]

I think I've mentioned this before,  but I got one as a gift years ago, and I really don't use it. I think I tried to set it up and it turned out like crap. Not that I haven't been tempted to find other uses for it, but I'm better off without it.

Paperweight. 

I'll use it if I don't know the area, but I usually just look at the map beforehand and memorize my route

That's what I usually do.  At worst, I'll make a schematic map on paper of my turns and streets to follow.

[kphoger]

People don't know how to memorize anymore.

[ET21]

People don't know how to memorize anymore.

I'm an exception 

[Dr Frankenstein]

I guess that sums it up, really: people have questions, but when given the answer they aren't receptive to it, assuming they've even articulated the question in the first place!

...except when it comes from their GPS!

I visited NYC last week and did take note of the service change for the night when I went to Brooklyn to see a concert. I'm not sure how many people didn't.

I got a Magellan GPS as a gift a while ago. Haven't used it yet. The latest update is at least six months late on the progress of A-30. (from that update's release date, that is)

[jwolfer]

Just curious how many of us here use a GPS even though we know a lot of the roads we travel.  I like to use one in cities and also because I like how mine will give you the exact mileage and ETA to your destination.  How about you guys?  Do you ever use them or do you consider them "cheating"?

I like the traffic feature in Google maps... gives me an idea of what route to take... I also like the ETA given.  I put it on satellite view so you can see the land around roads.  And of course where there should be new roads built or realigned

[D-Dey65]

Paperweight. 

More like de-facto radar detector.

[US71]

I use mine mainly to verify my speedometer is working correctly. Occasionally, I'll use it to find find a gas station while I'm on the road.

[ChoralScholar]

I use Google Maps like I used to use paper maps.  I read them and basically commit the basic highway scheme to memory, and then go from that.

I have been known to use it when looking for an obscure address in a residential area, but you all know how useless Google maps can be in that situation.

[mjb2002]

I do NOT use GPS-es. Two words as to one reason why I don't: solar storm.

[DSS5]

I use the Waze app.

[cpzilliacus]

Generally, I have the Inrix app running.  Have used the VZNavigator software in my phone to locate specific addresses that I have never been to before. 

[realjd]

I do NOT use GPS-es. Two words as to one reason why I don't: solar storm.

You'd better get off of the Internet immediately. That's not going to work either if a solar storm comes!

[formulanone]

I do NOT use GPS-es. Two words as to one reason why I don't: solar storm.

You'd better get off of the Internet immediately. That's not going to work either if a solar storm comes!

It's okay, the tac-mars are still visible. Unless the black helicopters are obscuring the view.

[PHLBOS]

Thread Bump:

Only because the attached short article is an update regarding the bus crash on Soldiers Field Road nearly 2 years ago that was discussed in this particular thread.

Bus Wreck Passengers Sue GPS Device Makers

The suit, filed Friday in Boston, claims the Tomtom and Garmin GPS devices put the bus driver on an inappropriate route "in disregard of a foreseeable and foreseen risk."

The suit also named as defendants the Bucks County bus driver and owner, the bus manufacturers, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which maintained the road and its signs.

While I am a critic of GPS' (moreso how they're overused/over-relied upon rather than the devices themselves) and was blaming the bus driver when this crash took place; I think suing the GPS makers for such is way over the top.  After reading this, I'm surprised that Harvard University wasn't named as a defendant because they should've told the bus driver which roads to avoid due to clearance issues.

As far as blaming the DCR for its signs is concerned; even if the chain-suspended CARS ONLY banner was missing at the time (GSV shows it present) of the crash, there still was an overhead sign reading DANGER LOW CLEARANCE with a supplemental Truck-Banging warning sign (surprisingly, neither the 2003 nor 2009 MUTCD doesn't have a listing for such, despite it being used at various locations nationwide) and a NO TRUCKS OR BUSSES sign posted. 

Yes, some can argue that the structure clearance height should've been listed (or at least the lowest clearance if the various overpass heights vary); but a bus driver who's not familiar with the area should not have chanced it (IMHO); especially when carrying passengers.

IMHO, the only major signage issue I see is that there's no signs (from what I can see) telling trucks/busses/overheight vehicles where to go.  Such signs don't have to be freeway-sized BGS' erected all over the place, but they sould be large enough to see and placed at key areas & intersections.  That particular aspect might get some legal traction in an accident case like this.

Assuming that this bus was trying to get to the Mass Pike (I-90) at the time of the crash (the Allston-Brighton interchange wasn't too far away); trailblazer signage such as:

TRUCK
ROUTE
TO
90 (I-shield)
with appropriate arrow should be sufficient.

[oscar]

Assuming that this bus was trying to get to the Mass Pike (I-90) at the time of the crash (the Allston-Brighton interchange wasn't too far away); trailblazer signage such as:

TRUCK
ROUTE
TO
90 (I-shield)
with appropriate arrow should be sufficient.

Shouldn't it be "overheight vehicle" or "tall vehicle" route, to apply to buses and other vehicles?  It was, after all, a bus that got snagged in this instance, and sometimes trucks are banned from a road for weight or other non-height reasons.  Or "OVERHEIGHT (height limit) ROUTE"?

[PHLBOS]

Assuming that this bus was trying to get to the Mass Pike (I-90) at the time of the crash (the Allston-Brighton interchange wasn't too far away); trailblazer signage such as:

TRUCK
ROUTE
TO
90 (I-shield)
with appropriate arrow should be sufficient.

Shouldn't it be "overheight vehicle" or "tall vehicle" route, to apply to buses and other vehicles?  It was, after all, a bus that got snagged in this instance, and sometimes trucks are banned from a road for weight or other non-height reasons.  Or "OVERHEIGHT (height limit) ROUTE"?

An OVERHEIGHT VEHICLE trailblazer panel can indeed be used en lieu of the fore-metioned TRUCK ROUTE panel or a TRUCK/BUS ROUTE panel could be used as well.

The sample trailblazer sign arrangement I posted earlier consisted of off-the-shelf MUTCD panels.

To my knowledge, neither the suggested OVERHEIGHT VEHICLE nor TRUCK/BUS ROUTE panels are official MUTCD signs per say.  Maybe it's time for those to be incorporated into MUTCD because Soldiers Field Road isn't the only road that has clearance issues for overheight vehicles.

[vdeane]

The thing is, someone might see "overheight" and assume that since they didn't need an overheight permit to drive on the road that they can ignore the sign.  Since only cars area allowed on Soldiers Field Rd, a truck route for alternate traffic should suffice.  Remember, we're talking about the same people who would buy a passenger car GPS for a bus and then wonder why they crashed into an overpass.

The lawsuit will probably get thrown out almost immediately.  Garmin and TomTom aren't responsible for the driver being too cheap to buy the correct type of GPS for his vehicle, or the fact that he's incapable of reading road signs.

[PHLBOS]

The lawsuit will probably get thrown out almost immediately.  Garmin and TomTom aren't responsible for the driver being too cheap to buy the correct type of GPS for his vehicle, or the fact that he's incapable of reading road signs.

I agree 100%.

The only lawsuit I'd see sticking would be one made against the bus company (IIRC has since gone out of business) and/or the driver himself.

[ZLoth]

Looking at the details of the accident, I cannot help but be reminded of the site 11 foot 8 and the footage of all the trucks and RVs that have been opened. This is 1 foot 8 inches shorter.

I also checked the price for "Trucker" GPS systems, and they run around $300-$400 for a good unit. I can imagine some cheapass bus operator stating something like why pay $300 for a GPS when he can pick one up from woot! for less than $100, not knowing or caring about the difference.

[PHLBOS]

Another Thread Bump on the lighter side:

I saw this comic strip regarding GPS' (mainly cheap ones) and voice-commands a couple of weeks ago.   

If anything, the strip slams voice-operated commands more than GPS usage.