Before you go out and spend money on a GPS navigational "tool" that you probably could use for many other good reasons....like pay "outstanding bills"....you might want to educate yourself to some realities surrounding those nifty little talking GPS units.....read the following article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1205...googlenews_wsj


Oh, I'm sure there will be posts made here...by those who embrace GPS's as the "Holy Grail"....and to them I say: So be it. Its YOUR life, and lets hope that your "overconfidence" doesn't cost you your life or the lives of others....

Understand his.... I am not "anti-GPS".... I own 3 of them...they are all on my cruising trawler....not in my pickup or in my tractor. I use marine charts for the majority of my navigating when moving the boat....and the GPS is a tool that I use to aid in the navigation. Its useful, but not the final word in where my boat is located. I use "MAPS" when navigating my pickup or when in the semi. Its as simple as that.

My position on this issue is simple....drivers should be more than just proficient in the use of MAPS (Motor Carriers Atlas) before they add a GPS to their "tools".

But what the heck...its your life and your money... just don't expect any sympathy from me or anyone else after you jam a 13'6" trailer under a 12' bridge or drive off a cliff....because your GPS told you to go that way! :shock: :? :x :P

 

Great article!

I was following my GPS when all of a sudden I could see a dead end. I got out and found that the Road my GPS was following - picked up on the other side of the deep cavern! I guess in a way the GPS was correct - the road did continue but I didn't have wings to get over the obstacle!

=======| DEEP CAVERN |====Road continued...

 

Any driver who isn't paying attention to his surroundings and is solely relying on his GPS to guide him is a fool. That being said, the MCA is limited in the scope of information it provides, and anyone who relies solely on his MCA is also a fool.

 

"When people buy these things, they think they are all-knowing boxes."

I agree, READ a map and plan your trip BEFORE you rely on your little box to be 100% right.

 

I agree, some folks have died relying on gps exclusively (I did not read the article/link) gps should be used in addition to other methods, like CALLING THE CUSTOMER, my company q-com routed me over a river, the bridge was gone and it was now a boat launch :shock: , but the gps showed there was no longer a bridge, the customer told me an entirely different route, imagine if I took the company route (btw it was night time and raining, another great moment in trucking narrowly avoided)
My gps has saved me more times than it’s screwed me and the customer goes to their dock daily, if they say turn left and gps says turn right, well, I’m turning left.

 

That depends on WHO you talked to at the customer. If it was the girl behind the desk that answers phones all day, I would think twice. If it was the guy on the dock, then I would follow his directions. Had the girl behind the desk give me REALLY bad directions once, ONLY ONCE.

 

I always ask the shipping dept for directions and remind them I'm in a semi, I've seen the sidestreets/allys my wife drives her honda on to work, no way would I ask her for directions :lol:

 

i agree not to let the GPS be the final word..........but i came across this...

interesting......... http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

 

well i am a owner of a GPS. i use mine as my secondary backup. what i do is ALWAYS call the receiver first and get the directions and then compare them to the GPS. 9 times out of 10 the GPS will be wrong according to what the receiver has told me.

Everything i do is usually in the back woods of Pa in off the beaten path places. i deliver cord for Monsanto seed company and so being that most of the time here is ALWAYS load limits on the roads that i travel i will always use what the farmers says on how to get there. but this has also bit me in the butt before too. snow covered corner was hiding a really big rock and i got it taking out both outer wheels in 1 swift swoop.

so basically i have this unit that i use everyday but i only use to to help me see my upcoming roads.

i get to most of my delivery's late at night when it is dark out and i have found this device to be especially helpful in finding roads that are not marked until you actually get up on them and then its usually to late.

i do believe in the GPS but i don't believe in it enough to trust it to do all of my routing for me. i still pull out the ol Rand Mcnally every trip unless i have been there before.

but all in all what i have is a 300 dollar piece of electronic equipment that does nothing more than sits on my dash and is turned off 97% of the trip. i will usually turn it on about 10 miles before i am due to get off the interstate to go and play on the back roads.

to me it isn't worth it but also in the same it has definitely saved my butt before. this is because a farmers 5 miles and my 5 miles seems to always be about 2 miles off for some reason LOL. so it has definitely come in handy when looking for that hard to find road that you know is supposed to be intersecting with the road your on but just seems to be you cant find it and boom there it is before you know it.

 

I also have a gps I use truck Co Pilot 9 but I also call the shipper or receiver to double check my directions or they might know an easier way for me to get to the location i always ask about low bridges and weigh restricted roads