GPS or good old maps?

atlas costs 35 bucks, GPS 400+. Just saying.

 

And both are tax write offs.. If you can afford the GPS, it's well worth the write off, it gives you choices, it gives you information and (trucker only GPS) peace of mind..

 

As long as the satellites don't fall out of the sky I guess I'll finally break down and get a GPS for my next b day if I can find the store on my map

 

You can get the basic Garmin Nuvi truckers GPS for less than $200 now.

The key to a using a GPS is knowing that is just a map and use it just like a map ... it'll show you everything that google maps will show you.

 

They had a show on TV about a week or so ago about GPS. This lady, her daughter and her daughters friend were in Death Valley, using their GPS. They wanted to get out of the park. The GPS told them to turn here.. Down a dirt road.. Turn here down another dirt road.. Because of the instructions from this GPS they almost died. They got lost.. They didnt have any cellphone signal, except for about 30 seconds, where they tried to call somebody and that person notified the authorities. They came very close to dying, and the authorities had a plane search the park looking for them.. And they were found. The TV people from this story interviewed a park ranger. He took them to an intersection in the park. The GPS that was in the car said turn right, and when you did , you immediately drove into a big dirt wall. The ranger said that road washed out 6 years before.. But the GPS wanted you to drive into it.
a GPS is a tool and should be a help as a tool, and not the decision maker. At least a map, you can read. It's nice to be able to go some place and know that you need to be in the left lane, because you will be turning in two blocks or what ever. That is a tool in my decision making..

 

I always use GPS for my routing but only once I confirm with my Atlas the route is in fact correct. There have been more than a few times I would have gotten screwed if I solely relied on GPS. Geeze, I remember the days my pops would actually have to call shippers and receivers to get directions over the phone. I bet half the guys today wouldn't be able to arrive in time without newer technology.

 

An atlas works best. You can get them at a truck stop. they show low bridges, scale locations, and show you routes that you can't go on. Like in California, some routes you can only be 65 ft overall and 8 ft wide. GPS or computer maps won't show this. As they are made for automobiles.. Not trucks.. They should be used as a tool to make decisions not be the decision maker.

 

Gee it's odd that we were able be on time for decades with any electronic device.

 

Let's face it, y'all were drivers of a different era. A different breed and it can be argued possibly a better breed. There are plenty of great drivers still out there, but after reading these forums for a little while it seems like a lot of the newer generation need their hands held or they'll go off the rails.