View Full Version : couple stranded for 3 days after gps leads them astray
glad this one turned out better than the last Oregon GPS tragedy.
http://news.cnet.com/James-Kim-found-deceased/2100-1028_3-6141498.html
Oregon's climate is mild, it's true- but 2 weeks of snow on the ground in the hills will kill you, then melt away just like it never happened.
SWATcop556
12-29-09, 17:25
That's why I teach new officers how to read a damn map. Use your GPS when you can get me around the county with your brain and an accurate map.
hmm.. just re-read the article- this one fails to explain that their GPS "shortest route" option led them up the BLM road that was snowed out. same situation as our seniors from Nevada.
SeriousStudent
12-29-09, 17:54
That's why I teach new officers how to read a damn map. Use your GPS when you can get me around the county with your brain and an accurate map.
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/curses-foiled-again.html
Now that you have moved further north, perhaps you'll bump into the man. ;)
And I agree. As an old fossil, I don't own a GPS. I can get you through a jungle at night in a rainstorm with a map and compass, however.
And get my vehicle back home as well.
Alpha Sierra
12-29-09, 20:32
That's why I teach new officers how to read a damn map. Use your GPS when you can get me around the county with your brain and an accurate map.
+1
I am not an LEO, but I have been involved in navigation since my teens. Included in that are navigation duties on Navy ships and flying private aircraft.
Out away from the beaten path, I would use a GPS only to obtain latitude and longitude and plot that on a topo map.
I am still old school when it comes to navigation. I learned marine navigation when GPS did not exist, SATNAV sets cost $3000 to $6000, radars had CRTs for display, and Loran did not (and still does not) reach the waters I navigated. Dead reckoning, pilotage, visual bearing fixes, radar fixes, and the occasional ADF fix is how I navigated all over the waters off eastern PR and the US and British Virgin Islands.
And when I was an active private pilot I still had a flight log with waypoints, ETAs, wind correction angles, and the whole nine yards as a backup to VOR/DME and RNAV (if available).
My truck has never been without a Delorme since I found out about them back in the early 90s living in Washington.
Moral of the story, never rely too much on tech. Always be aware of your surroundings and have a backup plan.
That's why I teach new officers how to read a damn map. Use your GPS when you can get me around the county with your brain and an accurate map.
Thank you for stating the obvious. And there is no sarcasm intended in this statement at all!
I remember the other story that bkb posted too. Oregon's winters can be a killer, especially in that area, it can hit hard and fast. Good thing the couple in the OPs article were smart enough to be prepared.
I read one of these stories as well. Seems like a little common sense is in order as well. If my GPS told me to get off the numbered highway (when going on long distance trip) I would ask it to rethink (maybe no longer "shortest path" and another algorithm instead -- most GPS systems I have seen have a few options).
FromMyColdDeadHand
12-30-09, 00:08
I get the "NeverLost" when I rent Hertz, but I still get at least the paper map too. I have a wireless card for my lap top for back-up.
NeverLost is far from perfect. I was on an 8 lane freeway in LA coming up on a split and my NeverLost failed and rebooted. Luckily I had some idea where I was. I think that is the biggest issue with the NeverLost type systems, you can never tell really where you are or where it is going to take you. Works great if all goes well. When the database or address doesn't compute, you're in for some fun times.
Had an old boss that judged sales people by how much they used maps. If you were going to see your accounts regularly, you didn't need GPS or maps.
I had to pick a buddy up from La Guardia airport a few years back, and not being particularly familiar with NYC I was using the car's built in GPS. I get to my destination and there is very clearly not an airport anywhere nearby. I spent about 45 minutes re-entering the airport as a destination and otherwise trying to figure out WTF was happening.
It seems the GPS database in the car had a little transcription error, and when you selected "La Guardia Airport" it was actually giving directions to a La Guardia restaurant. I don't even think it was in the same borough.
Good times. Good times...
GPS is great but with a map and compass I can get around quite well and my map hasn't lead me astray yet......................
JBecker 72
12-30-09, 01:39
I still navigate the old school way, with a map.
All tho Ive been wanting a GPS for my truck.
landrvrnut22
12-30-09, 08:11
I can drive across the country, and not get lost, using a map and compass.
My wife can drive across town and get lost 4 times, and call me for directions. Usually a fight evolves. Now she can yell at TomTom all she wants, and I don't get 10 phone calls of which way to turn.
GPS have their place. I use one when I go backpacking and offroading, to find coordinates on the map and mark favorite places. The GPS is also helpful to tell you how far you have gone on a trail. However, I still carry a map and compass, and know how to use them.
tracker722
12-30-09, 09:26
******************
I can drive across the country, and not get lost, using a map and compass.
My wife can drive across town and get lost 4 times, and call me for directions. Usually a fight evolves. Now she can yell at TomTom all she wants, and I don't get 10 phone calls of which way to turn.
GPS have their place. I use one when I go backpacking and offroading, to find coordinates on the map and mark favorite places. The GPS is also helpful to tell you how far you have gone on a trail. However, I still carry a map and compass, and know how to use them.
My wife called to find out where they had moved Walmart, we still laugh (with her) about it. She just doesn't get out a lot. We have moved often and at the time she had been telecommuting since before we relocated.
She has no interest in learning to use a GPS but someday I am sure she will do so when she feels the need. For now she can call me and I try to be patient and avoid the arguments.
Every time she leaves for a trip to her sister's or some other relative I wait for the call. I guess it keeps me appreciated and I usually know where she is because of all this.
My mom is the same way, we could not let her go to the mall alone for fear she would not find her car. My grandfather always had a compass on the dash of his car and I thought it was because he was a capable navigator; not! he was a directionally challenged engineer and upper level manager for an international company.
Self awareness is good, bravado is bad, depending solely on an electronic device can be deadly.
Buckaroo
I'm a big fan of GPS either in car or on a cell phone. But yes, sometimes it will give you some screwy directions.
The other problem with car gps units is that sometimes the gsp antenna can become dislodged or otherwise screwed up and when it does, if you're not paying attention, it will start thinking you're on a different road than you really are. Example: I drove from DC to STL last year and switched from the map display back to my music display. The gps unit in my Audi continued to tell me when to turn and I was pretty surprised when it told me to prepare for a right turn in a couple hundred feet. Problem is I was on a major highway with no signs of an exit for the next several hundred feet. Switched back to the display and found the map indicating I was on a residential street several miles to the right of my actual location. Fortunately I always travel with a backup and immediately pulled out my printed directions and continued on course. Nav system went back to normal, but not until I was damn near in STL, some 11 hours later.
Air Force Space Command issued a statement saying that the satellites are fine, with 30 in orbit and 24 on at any given time, but the AF is not responsible for updating maps etc in the devices sold on the civilian market, so it is up to the manufacturers to make sure their stuff is good to go.
So the "official" word is GPS didn't let them down, their in vehicle box may have.
Being able to read a topo map, navigate with a compass, hell, or just use a map period are all becoming increasingly rare skills. Sad.
Swat- Glad to hear you work with your guys on nav skills. I willing to bet once in a while you have them navigate to the nearest store that sells your favorite Texas ale.:D
K.L. Davis
12-30-09, 14:36
The act of navigating, includes not only finding a route, but determining if it is the correct route -- this includes ensuring that you or your vehicle have the ability to traverse the terrain, or your vessel has the vertical clearance or depth under keel, or your aircraft has the range to make the route.
While some GPS units have the ability to take some of these things in to consideration... this is the exception, not the rule.
GPS is great for what it does... I have used them for many, many years; but have never relied upon them.
Seems like a little common sense is in order as well. If my GPS told me to get off the numbered highway (when going on long distance trip) I would ask it to rethink (maybe no longer "shortest path" and another algorithm instead -- most GPS systems I have seen have a few options).
MapQuest has given me wrong directions also. There is no substitue for common sense.
a few not make it out of the woods up here, just goes to show ya, dont trust somthing that tells you, trun here, in the middle of winter, stay on the main roads.
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