Quote:
Originally Posted by disneysteve
I've yet to see any point in having a GPS in our cars.
|
There are several pros of having a GPS:
1) If you get sidetracked from a turn-by-turn map, the GPS will recalculate your route. With a traditional map, you have to retrace your step and find your way back to a familiar road.
2) If you are in an unfamiliar area, a map can tell you how far you need to go on a road, but if you've lost track of distance, it's difficult to know if you've passed the turn or not. The GPS will tell you how far ahead or behind your turn is.
For example, I had to take a rural freeway 20 miles and turn onto a small driveway. I was driving myself nuts starting at mile 15 because I wasn't sure if my odometer and the map was accurate. I had to slow at every turn to look at the street sign, and some of the signs were really hard to read. Plus on a 65mph road this isn't exactly the safest way to drive.
3) When driving in the city, map = useless. As a fellow DC dwelller, anyone who drives through DC will tell you that your map is useless. The streets were designed so poorly with 1-ways and detours that there is no hope.
4) GPS can help find points of interest (gas, food, shopping) along the way. A map can do that, but it's harder to use. A nice feature I enjoy is the ability to find restaurants. It's fun to explore.
I was a recent GPS convert. I don't own one but I borrow one for long trips. I'm a recent convert because technology has progressed so much within the past 5 years that GPS are very accurate nowadays.
I used to be a hardcore map person like you, Steve, but after 15+ years of struggling with maps, it's really really nice to have a GPS
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneysteve
For planned trips where I need more detail, I use Mapquest.
|
Mapquest is notoriously inaccurate around here. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten lost using Mapquest. I use Google Maps exclusively now.