I have a student that can not plan without GPS

When I ran team cross country NC to California I passed it twice a week. So wanted to stop there. I think they even have a shuttle to pick you up from the TA.

Maybe just tell him to not depend so much on the gps. Let him know the gps can get him in trouble. Show him some pictures of trucks stuck under low bridges with the trailer top shaved off.

 

Well, I can tell you, Garmins today will get a new driver all screwed if they pay explicit attention to it, in MANY places. They get one batch of problems fixed (years later), and then there's a whole new set of issues that are then introduced.

I've been doing this so long, most travel and process is done by basic recall. A new driver in an unfamiliar area MUST have a cheat sheet that indicates route to route to route legible text in lines (that also indicates city where that change occurs). GPS's will lock up, and often do so at the worst possible time. Then they must learn to READ signage and pay attention. Detours also get many guys in trouble. This is where a GPS can either be a blessing or a curse.

 

That loss in spatial (Spelling? Correct Term perhaps? Yes or no?) critical thinking is going to hurt him in trucking. Im sorry that public education is inadequate but he absolutely needs a inner minds eye and ability to rotate or consider a tactical problem from two dimensional paper to actual reality facing him down the road when it's time to get onto another route.

 

All valid points. Your last comment however, is way off base.

Tech is absolutely wonderful, to a point. Do you read much? That’s something you shouldn’t be afraid of either.

Especially since our current GPS satellite array, is WAY past it’s prime. This was announce years ago...in print of course. So techies May have missed it.

Just this week, there were GPS failures made public by our own military.

BTW, I’m Gen2 tech. My father built them, I build and code. My son codes for major player.

And I’ll get home if it fails. I carry multiple sources. Compass, map, and a bicycle.

 

You have to double check GPS. I had a load at a meat plant that was kind of off the beaten path and I didn't trust the GPS route so I looked the google map on the phone, but I didn't make it really plan a route I was just using it as a map the same way you would use a road atlas book and found the state route and intersection that got me to the Ohio Turnpike from where I was.

I know people have become and if were all honest we've probably all got a touch of this, technology has like made people in a way mentally lazy, when I was a kid wasn't that long ago 1990s we had phone numbers memorized. Now you just hit someones name in the phone and that's all good and well as long as the phone works, but if it doesn't or is dead who knows who's actual phone number by heart. You know what I'm saying.

 

I've got to disagree.

A trainer's job is to ensure the new hire meets company standards. If the trainer thinks those standards are too lack, then he should not be a trainer for that company.

As much as I think the atlas is a necessary skill, it is not a deal breaker anymore for many companies - especially those who provide company directions and or gps. I also think a driver should be able to manually adjust their brakes, be able to splice an airline or electrical wire, back into a 122 inch wide spot, put on tire chains, and a half dozen other things before they even get a cdl. But that is not my call. Does the driver meet the established criteria? If so, don't screw with their livelihood .

 

Start small. Have him find the route from two places in the same state.

Then have him find someplace in a neighboring state. Do this a couole of times so he gets used to flipping between states - chosing reference points to identify the transition, etc. Then add a third state. Then choose a route that has multiple options, but all in the same state; then two states , then three, etc.

One of the big problems guys have using the atlas is they have little concept of how the states fit together and how to understand scaler differences between the maps. Doing several small exercises will help overcome that.

 

I understand you frustrated and I had a similar experience with a guy I was training. I bought him an atless and told him to,plan the next trip. I then allowed him to drive to the location useing copilot. I knew that copilot gave bad route to the destination as I had been there many times and knew area very well. He used gps and had never looked at atlas and ended up in the middle of nowhere. I let him drive 20 minutes out of his way. Then had him stop and figure out where he was useing the atlas. Had him turn around in a log yard and back to route. He always used the atlas after that. GPS don’t like state roads.

 

Are you referring to me? Or who else in particular?

I carried a rand GPS from 1998 with the street maps/atlas program on a laptop in real time in the later years of trucking. Since Clinton opened it up to Civilians with a accuracy of 15 to 50 feet anywhere in the USA it was very useful to us. I still have that old Rand GPS antenna and CD roms that they came in on. Although the Antenna requires a computer serial port which itself is obsolete. I can probably still use it today.

I am getting to where I understand Lat and Long on the planet. I am working slowly through a spherical Trig required for the 1800's Sextant and Lunar technology needed to determine your position at sea on the planet. I know where the north star is and some of the cardinal constellations by season. I can also tell time by star position of big dipper starting at 10 PM each night. It takes 15 minutes to change position enough around the North star to make a rough guess as to hour of night.

There are so many things the mind can absorb given enough time.

I have made a GPS stupid me mistake once. Delaware chopped out a two lane road where it met with US 1 under a major bridge. Relocated that road 1/2 mile east to a new intersection. The old road itself was built into a roughly 10 acre major cell phone tower complex.

Guess what, in deep fog I accidently pulled into that place on grass with guide wires everywhere around me and my big truck. Getting out of there was a REAL big jenga problem or tetris if you please. Fortunately no one else was around at 3 am to witness or get into the way of my stupidity. The SHipper of plants (Nursery) for stores was a block away.

I consider myself been there done that in trucking. I always fall back to the books of low bridges in the current year. Atlas for the Nation and the 5 sets of books detailing the entire NYC and all 5 boroughs DOWN TO THE ALLEYWAY LEVEL. Combined with a second book on bridge clearances THERE. ALL on paper pre-computer pre-cell anything.

Now my smart phone keeps a living map it places a dot in the exact room of my hospital in that level of detail when combined with google earth. It's enough of a lat long gps number decimal point plus 5 digits for each. IF converted to Artillery Setting for a shot, they can put a round into my room window and not hurt anyone else.

Its amazing.

5G is already here, little boxes going up on telephone poles. Combined with real time cameras on every street light. Gathering faces of everyone in public. You might in a few years google your spouse and find her walking down such a street in real time. Ah there she is.

I should be dead before technology becomes a percieved important part of humanity. I myself cherish the old 1700's era Colonial technology and the mid western pioneer technology which is morsecode and still valid today. If I can get to wood, or trees I can build a small cabin and make it through the winter. I wont be doing very well and would be bored without something to read and type into. But I might get through it.

Most of humanity will find themselves unable to function without technology and I think that will be a shame.

Trucking has to be most basic with a map, pencil and paper. To get to and from anywhere in the USA. All this fancy stuff is doing rotting our minds in this industry.