In response to Sebastian Romero’s GPS – Why Bother?, Gnomie Ben Oddo writes:
My question exactly.
Yes, GPS has its usefulness. But how many of us will ever sail a boat out of sight of land? Or how many of us will ever hike in the wilderness? But how many of us will get behind the wheel and not have a clue as to where they are going? Unfortunately now with in dash navigation systems far too many. One of the prerequisites, I feel, necessary for safe driving is knowing where you’re going. This “toy” now found in more expensive cars merely fosters unpreparedness in drivers who rely on technology to substitute knowledge rather than augment it. Too often have I seen, on the highways, cars backing up on the shoulder after a driver has missed an exit. Now a GPS navigation system would be useful in this case when it could speak to the driver and say:
Hey stupid, you missed the exit. Now take highway down to the next exit and take a U-turn back to this exit. If I detect you backing this car up to get off at the exit you missed, Ill call the local police and have them write you ticket.
Now that’s a navigation system worth having in a car.
[tags]gps,navigation,ben oddo,sebastian romero,unpreparedness,driver incompetence[/tags]