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I use a Rand laminated map. I don't listen to an electronic device to tell me where to drive. I plan MY OWN route. I love maps.
Does your map tell you where the nearest ATM is in case you need cash? How about where the nearest gas station is when you're running low? How about where the nearest Italian restaurant is if you have a hankering along the way? Does it find hotels for you if it's getting late or you're getting tired? Does it tell you what traffic conditions are like? Will it direct you straight to the nearest hospital in an emergency? Does it calculate your estimated fuel cost for you? Does it tell you how long before you reach your destination based on your recent average speed? Does it instantly recalculate your route for you on the move if there's a detour? Does it tell you what the speed limit is in case you haven't seen a speed limit sign in a while? Does it have a compass? Does it give you trip information such as average moving speed, average total speed, top speed, etc.?
I wish map snobs would get it through their skulls that there's way more to GPS than just mapping out your route for you.
Does your map tell you where the nearest ATM is in case you need cash? How about where the nearest gas station is when you're running low? How about where the nearest Italian restaurant is if you have a hankering along the way? Does it find hotels for you if it's getting late or you're getting tired? Does it tell you what traffic conditions are like? Will it direct you straight to the nearest hospital in an emergency? Does it calculate your estimated fuel cost for you? Does it tell you how long before you reach your destination based on your recent average speed? Does it instantly recalculate your route for you on the move if there's a detour? Does it tell you what the speed limit is in case you haven't seen a speed limit sign in a while? Does it have a compass? Does it give you trip information such as average moving speed, average total speed, top speed, etc.?
I wish map snobs would get it through their skulls that there's way more to GPS than just mapping out your route for you.
For most of what you said, I use my own brain to figure those things out rather than drive with my brain off. I fill my gas tank at 1/4 tank left. When I approach 1/4 tank I start looking for a gas station. ATM? Just about every convinence store, Walmart, Walgreens, etc now come with an ATM. If I'm staying in a city I've traveled to and want Italian, I'll check the phone book or ask the hotel staff. Nearest gas station? If I'm traveling on the interstate then the nearest gas station is almost always at the next exit. Hotels if tired? I can see on the map which cities along the way are larger than others and plot out potential stops for hotels which are usually along the interstate and labeled on road signs. Traffic conditions can change at a moment's notice. I go with the flow.How log before I reach my destination based on my recent speed? That's useless cause it assumes I'm going to drive that average speed at all times regardless of traffic conditions or bladder stops. Recalculate my route if there's a detour? I'll follow the detour ahead. No big deal. Compass? Either I'll use the sun or I'll get a cheap compass from the store. Average moving speed, average total speed, top speed? WHO THE HELL CARES!
I thinks it's a good Idea to have a paper map as a back up an know how to read it also it is a skill worht having IMO
Yea I know, I was just being a smartass . I might be traveling to California for vacation this summer and I'm pretty sure I'll be using a paper map even though it's basically a straight shot from where I'm at. But I might add a few stops on my trip.
For most of what you said, I use my own brain to figure those things out rather than drive with my brain off. I fill my gas tank at 1/4 tank left. When I approach 1/4 tank I start looking for a gas station. ATM? Just about every convinence store, Walmart, Walgreens, etc now come with an ATM. If I'm staying in a city I've traveled to and want Italian, I'll check the phone book or ask the hotel staff. Nearest gas station? If I'm traveling on the interstate then the nearest gas station is almost always at the next exit. Hotels if tired? I can see on the map which cities along the way are larger than others and plot out potential stops for hotels which are usually along the interstate and labeled on road signs. Traffic conditions can change at a moment's notice. I go with the flow.How log before I reach my destination based on my recent speed? That's useless cause it assumes I'm going to drive that average speed at all times regardless of traffic conditions or bladder stops. Recalculate my route if there's a detour? I'll follow the detour ahead. No big deal. Compass? Either I'll use the sun or I'll get a cheap compass from the store. Average moving speed, average total speed, top speed? WHO THE HELL CARES!
Ever travel in a city you're not familiar with and want Italian (or Mexican or a bar & grill or whatever), or want to eat something specific along the way in an area you're not familiar with?
Ever travel out west where there isn't a gas station every 10 miles?
Are you ever concerned about the quality of hotels and looking for a reputable name, or are you content to gamble with whatever fleabag place the next town along the way might have?
Ever driven in a city like Pittsburgh whose layout is so incohesive that even a map is almost useless?
Are you the only person in the world so lucky as to have a detour clearly marked out for you every time you encounter a street or road closure?
Who cares about those things? I DO.
You never answered the question anyway: what do you think is the best GPS brand?
When on the road to a destination I don't want to stop at a traditional restaurant. The furthest west I traveled was San Antonio, TX. Don't want to go west. I don't want to go to large metropolitian cities. I hate large cities. Interstate signs showing food and lodging usually show the name of the hotel/motel available. I generally look for certain chain hotel/motel. When stopping for the night, I don't want or need a 4 or 5 star place. I'll save that luxuary for my final destination where I'll be staying for more than 8 to 10 hours. When we went to San Antonio and wanted traditional mexican food, we asked the staff at the hotel and they directed us to a fantastic place and even gave us driving directions and recommendations on things to try at the restaurant. If I lived on the road traveling for work I would get a GPS. But if planning a vacation trip, I don't need one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover
Ever travel in a city you're not familiar with and want Italian (or Mexican or a bar & grill or whatever), or want to eat something specific along the way in an area you're not familiar with?
Ever travel out west where there isn't a gas station every 10 miles?
Are you ever concerned about the quality of hotels and looking for a reputable name, or are you content to gamble with whatever fleabag place the next town along the way might have?
Ever driven in a city like Pittsburgh whose layout is so incohesive that even a map is almost useless?
Are you the only person in the world so lucky as to have a detour clearly marked out for you every time you encounter a street or road closure?
Who cares about those things? I DO.
You never answered the question anyway: what do you think is the best GPS brand?
When on the road to a destination I don't want to stop at a traditional restaurant. The furthest west I traveled was San Antonio, TX. Don't want to go west. I don't want to go to large metropolitian cities. I hate large cities. Interstate signs showing food and lodging usually show the name of the hotel/motel available. I generally look for certain chain hotel/motel. When stopping for the night, I don't want or need a 4 or 5 star place. I'll save that luxuary for my final destination where I'll be staying for more than 8 to 10 hours. When we went to San Antonio and wanted traditional mexican food, we asked the staff at the hotel and they directed us to a fantastic place and even gave us driving directions and recommendations on things to try at the restaurant. If I lived on the road traveling for work I would get a GPS. But if planning a vacation trip, I don't need one.
That's great, sailordave. But 1) for those of us who have a different travel style than you do, GPS can come in very handy, and 2) NOBODY CARES. This isn't a thread about how you travel and why you don't need a GPS, it's a thread asking what is the best GPS brand. If you didn't have an answer, why'd you bother responding to the thread?
Just once I wish we could talk about GPS on this forum without some Luddite telling us how he don't need no steenkin' GPS. Well, that's fantastic, you're just so much more awesome than us. So go start your own "what map brand is the best?" thread so that those of us who are interested in talking about GPS can talk about it without some "too smart for you and your silly modern gadgets" map snobs hijacking the thread.
For most of what you said, I use my own brain to figure those things out rather than drive with my brain off.
Pretty much all your comments have been irrelevant to this thread. But this really takes the cake. I seldom use my GPS, which is why I didn't realize the maps (or any map for that matter) slowly get outdated. But when it is needed, it allows me to focus on what I'm actually supposed to be doing: DRIVING.
There are already way too many distracted 'drivers' out there - the last thing we need is more people looking at street signs or paper maps, confused about exits and on ramps, looking for ATMs, gas stations or motels or anything else that distracts them from the business of driving.
Pretty much all your comments have been irrelevant to this thread. But this really takes the cake. I seldom use my GPS, which is why I didn't realize the maps (or any map for that matter) slowly get outdated. But when it is needed, it allows me to focus on what I'm actually supposed to be doing: DRIVING.
There are already way too many distracted 'drivers' out there - the last thing we need is more people looking at street signs or paper maps, confused about exits and on ramps, looking for ATMs, gas stations or motels or anything else that distracts them from the business of driving.
Oh, you mean like the people who drive off cliffs or off into a desert to get killed from blindly obeying the gps unit's directions? People who pay attention to the road ahead are not distracted drivers.
New York car accidents caused by GPS devices
Since 2005, according to Dan Brucker of Metro-North railroad, a growing number of out of state drivers have informed police that they were following GPS devices instead of paying attention to signs at parkway entrances. A spokeman for Garmin, the largest GPS seller in North America, indicated that 15% of cars are now equipped with the GPS devices.
Investigators caution that following the rules of the road, and obeying rodway signs, always takes precedence over GPS devices, which can be quiet distracting with their illuminated maps and authoritative voice commands. HowStuffWorks "Do car GPS devices cause accidents?"GPS devices have caused an estimated 300,000 car accidents in the United Kingdom [source: Carey].
It's no doubt that in most cases GPS navigation systems can get you to your destination unharmed, especially if you do a little groundwork before hitting the road. Prep the device before taking off to avoid the distraction of adjusting it while driving -- that includes not only setting your start and end destinations but also adjusting settings. And minimize distraction by pulling over or relying on a passenger to make changes during the trip.
Consult a map and pay attention to the surroundings and road signs -- GPS may be convenient but it can't replace common sense. If things don't look right, they probably aren't.
I have a Garmin. Works great. A couple of dislikes:
1) the word "north" should be part of the standard speech pattern -- the thing shouldn't have to try to mechanically spell out the word "north";
2) often it confuses dual open-road/cash-booth toll plazas for a split in the highway and tells you to "keep left on highway XYZ" when you don't have any other options. That also messes up its calculation for how long you have before your actual exit.
3) It simply cannot conceive that you might be driving, biking or walking somewhere besides a marked road, and as long as you're kind of near one, it tracks you as if you were on that road instead of 40 feet off of it. I took it on a train a couple of times, and boy that thing went apoplectic trying to figure out where it was.
Never had any other GPS except the one I have now so I have no basis of comparison.
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. I might be traveling to California for vacation this summer and I'm pretty sure I'll be using a paper map even though it's basically a straight shot from where I'm at. But I might add a few stops on my trip.
