A current edition on a Motor Carriers Atlas is modern technology. GPS technology, really is all that cutting edge. I do agree, you need to be able to use your atlas. Then five minutes later, when you have it down, move on.

 

Terry, I think you are missing the point. While technological advances are good...there is more to doing this job than following a GPS route. There is far more to learn than how to operate that GPS. Some people have a much higher "uptake" ability than others....you may be one of those people. On the other hand.... I believe that in a face to face conversation I could suggest several points of origin with points of final delivery that your GPS would give you a fairly decent route.....yet I could show you where the route could and more than likely would turn out bad and possibly disastrous.

GPS is little more than an "adjunct tool", nothing more, nothing less. As a marine navigator... I was first trained in what is known as "dead reckoning" and the proper use of charts, and a compass. I have two GPS's with full navigational charts built in....yet I still have my charts readily at hand and constantly keep track of my position with the charts.

Too many people, even boaters place far too much emphasis on the charts in GPS's....then wonder why they run aground or damage their boats on underwater obstructions. The same is true when it comes to trucks. There are obstructions, and there are impediments to travel via truck.....and unless you have a GPS with a full blown program built specifically for trucks..... the user will find themself in trouble.

Frankly.... I would give you odds, that were you and I to leave point a going to point b.... I would probably arrive ahead of you. Why? Because I have taken the time to learn the routes, the geography, along with the terrain involved....and know not only which is the fastest but also the shortest and quickest route from point a to b.

To place too much reliance on "artificial intelligence" is way to chancy. Plus, to date many of the computerized databases are incomplete and even misleading....

A GPS will not make you more efficient or profitable..... Unless you have the knowledge base to second guess and over-rule it and take the better route despite what it says.

You have to learn to walk before you run....why not learn to do it manually before trusting a computerized device that can lead you to your death or serious injury.....and an accident that can end a career?

 

Once again those that condemn GPS fail to understand that I understand it is a tool and no better than the person that uses it. I assure you I do not rely soley on GPS. I use my Atlas. I still maintain GPS with Atlas is far superior than just Atlas or just GPS. Too many people think it is an either/or propistion. It is not. New drivers should use GPS along with their Atlas and qualcomm and CB and telephone.........

 

No Terry.... I get your point, but the problem remains that many who enter this industry.....may not see the points either of us are trying to make.

The only thing a GPS can do is suggest a route....just like my laptop. Beyond that the only other thing it can do is tell you where it thinks you are. But my laptop can do that as well...if I buy and plug in the GPS antenna.

I am not "condemning" GPS.... I am merely pointing out that it is a tool, and it is not foolproof.....and that being the case, it has to be used cautiously, which many have failed to do...based on news reports and pictures.

New drivers...really should be prepared to use an atlas and figure their own routes...before relying on a GPS....

Ask yourself this question: What will people who rely too heavily on a GPS do if it fails....or the DOD decides to go back to invoking SA?

 

And when the nukes fall we won't be able to use our trucks, something I'll worry about when it happens. In the meantime, I'll be trucking along with my GPS mounted prominetly on my dash.

 

Nope. A map is ancient technology. The earliest known maps date back to approximately 2300 BC. This would mean maps have been around for at least 4300 years or so. Possibly longer since the Babylonian maps are simply the oldest known maps.

A MCA is simply a more advanced version of this ancient art form.

No one has or is saying that using GPS is wrong. The only thing we are saying is that one should be able to navigate without it.

If a newbie jumps in a truck and from day 1 uses GPS and/or computerized routing software they have placed themselves at a distinct advantage. They need to learn how to make use of more "traditional" ways of doing it first and become proficient at it before moving on to the more modern options available.

This is analogous to children who are learning math. If they are given calculators from the first class they will only know how to punch in numbers and receive the results. They will never learn the relationships between those numbers and how to compute totals without a mechanical aid. Have you ever paid for a purchase. The total comes to lets say $12.52 and you hand the clerk a $20 bill and after she punches $20 into the register you give her 2 cents and she is clueless on how much change you have coming. This is do to becoming totally reliant on current technology.

 

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: KEWL!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: When the nukes fall, and your GPS dies for lack of signal....I'll still be able to navigate with my Atlas and Niatpac Lavrem secret decoder ring... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

Well heck - if you wanna look at things as far as technology goes:

My company started in 1903. How good were maps for driving then? Sure, there were maps, but just how accurate could they be? Myself, I picture something like an old farmer would draw, with "points" being something like "Where Farmer Ted's barn used to be". Should we go back to that?

What about the trucks themselves? My company started with a 4-horse team and a wagon. The first truck was about 15hp, open cab, wooden wheels. Should we go back to that?

There was no DOT to worry about then. If you had a load, you got it there no matter what. Who cares if you had to drive for 4 days straight with no sleep. Should we go back to that?

I believe in technology. I have a laptop running in my truck that does my banking (Quicken), entertainment (games and movies), logs (Drivers Daily Log), routing (Streets & Trips and CoPilot). Should I go back to using a handwritten bank register? Nothing but books? Manually doing my logs?

I'm not saying you should rely 100% on it though. Yes, you DO need to know how to do things manually, if for nothing else but having a true understanding of how it works in case something goes wrong.

Just like my stand on auto-shift trucks - you NEED to know how to do things manually first. You never know when you'll need it.

Yes - I can do everything manually. I can route a trip anywhere in the country with the MCRA. I can fill out a log book. Etc Etc Etc.

Just stop being afraid of technology.

 

Malakai.... Thank You!! for reinforcing my points.

I'm not the least afraid of technology....I use it everyday, and I do look forward to further advances that will make life better.

I do use GPS...just not as a driver. I said earlier that I have toyed with the idea of adding the GPS sensor to my laptop.... But frankly... I just haven't been able to justify the expenditure. I guess I have a pretty good feel for where I am all the time.

Here's an example of what I can justify: A forward looking sonar that has a 12 degree cone doing a 90 degree horizontal sweep in front of a boat as well as doing a vertical sweep... I can justify this because its a sonar with a phased array that will show me where the channel actually is and where the shoaling is in that channel, and any other dangerous obstructions. It can prevent some serious damage to underwater running gear. Not to mention prevent a hard grounding in a marked channel that is not as deep as the charts say it is. I also own full blown "electronic charts" for the US coastline from Maine to Brownsville, TX and south to the Bay of Campeche. They are GPS capable, and can also drive my autopilot. So, as you can see... I am not "afraid of technology".

I have absolutely zero problems with technology....as long as its use is justifiable and only used as a "tool". The problem comes in when people "literally subordinate their brains to the whim of a device".

Now when it comes to the MCA....you still have to be careful. And thats because it is a man-made item....and its not perfect either.

Experience is the greatest teacher, always has been, and always will be.

 

One really big advantage I see with the GPS routing vs using the MCRA alone is this: map detail.

I run into and out of WV on a daily basis. On the MCRA some of the highways look a little curvey, so you'd think they're not too bad. However, when seeing the true detail on the GPS, you see what it actually looks like. A perfect example of this would be US33 between Elkins, WV and Harrisonburg, VA. The MCRA shows that there are turns in the road, but it doesn't look too bad. It's completely different on the GPS. At the WV-VA border the road literally looks like a heart-monitor hooked to an overweight, over-exerted person trying to carry a piano up 4 flights of stairs. There are probably 20 hairpin turns within a 5 mile stretch.

Even if you don't use it as a GPS, using a program like Streets & Trips just for the mapping/routing is a great tool and can save you a number of headaches.

Like I stated - I use CoPilot. This program is written for trucks and uses the exact same maps as ALK's PCMiler. You still can't trust it. I've had it try to send me on the parkways on Long Island, under 9' bridges, across bridges with a 5 ton limit, etc.

Use it as a tool - not as "gospel".