Warning: Don't GPS and drive!

Looks like you might have to add using your GPS to the list of things that the experts tell you not to do while driving. According to a new study, using GPS while behind the wheel is actually more distracting and less safe than unfolding a paper map and using it to find your way. The survey found that in 10% of cases, drivers would wait until they were on the road to program their GPS, and about 13% would rely solely on their GPS to get them to their destination, rendering them completely oblivious to the world around them. So, how about it peeps? We can't imagine going back to paper maps, and have found that GPS has actually made us more aware, since our cheapo unit doesn't audibly announce street names, forcing us to actually read signs so we know where we need to "turn right in 100 feet." But what do you think? Has GPS made you feel safer or less safe behind the wheel?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 2:10AM]

I have been using my Dell Axim X51v GPS for awhile now and it is really cool and very useful. It is set up just to the right of the steering wheel so whenever I have to look at my PDA screen, my eyes are still oriented infront of me. Most of the time, I just rely on the audio. I don't find it distracting. I will use it more than looking at the road map.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 3:58AM]

Any system in a car is as safe as the user behind it.
The same survey was written about smoking in a car, eating, changing radio stations, not to mention some other activities involving other people sitting next to you...
Any GPS system is just for guidance. You SHOULD not rely completely on it. All other system I have used (TOMTOM, Route66, Navigon) warn you to obey the road signs and watch where you are going. It your task to drive, not the navigation system. Also if you know how to reach a destination, you don't really need to a GPS, do you? If you see the sign for your exit, next turn, etc. its alway better to take it. The navigation system will re-route automatically.
The better the combination GPS receiver, navigation unit, navigation software the better the accuracy. Its quite simple. Some of the system have much better map details (none like Google maps though), much faster screens refresh, much better route recalculation. You have to be careful to choose the better one for the moment of buying. At the moment, I am using a PDA based TomTom and as secondary N70 based TomTom both with Bluetooth GPS, as TomTom is for me faster and better system than anything else I have tried. I keep the PDA/phone right of the steering wheel, so its almost level with the line of the front hood, and as such it does not take my eyes off the road to look at it it does not provide any distraction. It is actually safer to drive with such system during the night or poor visibility conditions as can take a look in advace at the next couple of corners and prepare accordingly.
As summary, if you know how to drive, have some experience with gadgets (PDA, smart phone, etc) and just use your common sense, a GPS navigation is by far the most convenient and easy tool to reach from A to B in a strange place.
Hope this helps

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 4:20AM]

I agree 100% with Mike. Anyone stupid enough to get distracted by the voice of the navigator, or to key in addresses while driving instead of looking at the road, simply deserves crashing into the nearest tree for the sake of humankind.
It is the driver's task to keep aware of the surrounding world; blaming the GPS for distractions is a lame excuse.
I use a PocketPC PDA with Tomtom Navigator on a daily basis, and it beats paper maps a hundred times regarding ease of use and safety. From a romantic point of view I like paper maps a lot more, but in practicality terms there is no comparison.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 6:35AM]

I tink its redicilous
yes we do live in a new age
but what will happen when we are all relying on GPS, and all the sudden satelites go out?
have you thought about that?
what happened to the good old fasioned days when we learnt the roads and where they lead to, and knowing your ways around?

i'm not for or against GPS, just in neutral territory

regards
Mr. s

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 7:31AM]

I have been using the Garmin 2610 w/touch screen for the last 18 months. I do field service and use the thing every day. I usually enter my destination before i leave my driveway but have on occasion gotten a call on the cell and had to enter in a new address while driving. Id like to think im one of the more conscientious drivers out there and my driving record proves it. But i guess there's always that split second that the guy next to you spills his coffee and swerves in front of you or a box spring mattress flys of the roof of the car in front you (real experience in Boston traffic) and your looking at the GPS and don't have the time to react.
Funny the 2610 has the option to prevent use while moving but it can be disabled. With all that said i would hope that Garmin and others aren't pressured or required to permanently enable the safety feature.
I have to laugh i installed the 2610 on a rented motorcycle for a 1300 mile trek through the southwest right after i bought it, Couldn't resist playing with it while on those long straight desert roads. Mind you once in Vegas traffic i kept my eyes on the road ;).

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 11:21AM]

I use the Pioneer Avic N2 with voice guidance so I really don't have to look down at the screen to know when to turn. In addition I have the Voice Command Pack (Model: CDVC1) which allows me to control the navigation unit with MY voice so I don't need to look at the screen to input anything. Also by default the Avic will not allow inputting address information on the screen while the vehicle is in motion (you can bypass that with a hack but it's unnecessary). The only time it's annoying is when my wife is in the car with me and I know she can do a search for points of interest in case we want to stop off for a bite to eat. My eyes are almost always on the road but if I do need to glance down to see how far to the next turn or how much time to reach my destination the screen is 6.5 inches making it very readible to quickly glance at.

And way to think Steven! Didn't think about that. But then again those thieves don't have me outsmarted yet. First my Avic faceplate is detachable and therefore won't work without it and second I'd expect the thief to be less than up on working the Avic to find out the home address. Thirdly I've got a 2-way alarm (Camco Prostar Gold) which will notify me the second someone tries to break in the car (via my OLED remote) and where was broken into (trunk, hook, doors) and I can easily disable the starter from my remote (works up to half a mile away). But in the event all that fails I also have the Viper Satellite Tracking System ( http://www.drdetailshop.com/v200.htm ) so I can tell exactly where my car is at anytime. And if they do find my house (not from the GPS but from the insurance papers in the locked glove compartment), good luck getting in unnoticed with my home alarm system and I don't have a housekey on my car keychain because my front door is biometric. And yes I am serious about all the above.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 22nd 2006 4:25PM]

My experience with GPS was that I don't learn anything about an area while following the GPS. If I drive through a city once without GPS, I can pretty much navagate there years later. But with the GPS, I can drive and have no concept of where I've been. It's like having amnesia. I never felt like I was in more danger though, not like with pouring coffee out of a thermous, which has nearly killed me a few times.

The Prius makes you click through a Eula in order to use the gps. I've never read it all the way through, but it says something to the effect that it's dangerous to use the touch screen while driving. Which explains why I have to go through a batch of menus to defrost the windshield, because Toyota wants to kill me. You can't enter data into the system while driving without a cheat code or extra hardware.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 14th 2006 1:28PM]

I don't think that a GPS navigation system distracts from my driving. I actually think it gives me more time to concentrate on the road, the other cars, pedestrians etc etc. I use Mapopolis quite often. I only set the detination while stationary, before comencing my journey. I am not good at finding my own way and when I get lost I get annoyed and distracted. Looking at paper maps when you are lost in a city sucks. I have only really tried Mapopolis so can't comment on other systems, however, ths system reads out directions and uses text to speach for the road names. I really don't need to look at the unit much (just as well as it is tiny and hard to read on the go). I find this solution better than a person navigation - people make mistakes (not saying these systems are perfect either) and that causes rows, especially if it's your spouse. I would only use a voice based system and not enter destination on the move. Maybe the problem is not GPS navigation systems, rather the way we use them?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 17th 2006 2:55PM]

I am focusing on GPS navigation in my graduate studies at The Ohio State University and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in participating in an online focus group. Its a short survey that shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. If you'd be willing, please email me at [e-mail] or visit my website: www.DesignAndReason.com/survey.html

Thanks. Any useful input will be appreciated.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 17th 2006 2:55PM]

I am focusing on GPS navigation in my graduate studies at The Ohio State University and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in participating in an online focus group. Its a short survey that shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. If you'd be willing, please email me at [e-mail] or visit my website: http://www.DesignAndReason.com/survey.html

Thanks. Any useful input will be appreciated.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 20th 2007 2:39PM]

I'm using a Garmin Legend (vista? The blue one) which is admittedly more of an outdoorsy unit than for the car (no routing, small screen), but it wedges between the top of my instrument console and the windshield such that it's in a HUD position. Still have to refocus to see it, and adjusting zoom is a bit distracting. More than that would be pretty dangerous.
Paper map, sure, but gotta believe trying to find your location on a paper map _while driving_ would be worse than looking at a GPS (in most mounting spots).
I do like paper maps better when stopped, though, as the level of detail and area shown at once is so much greater - 600dpi over a large surface vs. a coarse LCD.
Scrolling around on a GPS (or google) map sucks.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 23rd 2007 5:47PM]

The GPS is just a tool to help you get to where you want to go, it's not meant replace common sense (as in paying attention to traffic, road signs etc.) It's no more distracting than when someone in the car with you is talking to you, unless of course you let it distract you. If you're taking your eyes off the road to read the map or rely solely on the voice prompts your missing the point of the device. If you need to study the map, do it when you're stopped at a set of lights or pull over. When I first got mine I used programmed locations in it that I go to frequently (grocery store, work, home, the mall). Listen to how it prompts you and when it prompts you to turn, deliberately ignore the recommendations and go another route to see how the GPS reacts and recalculates directions before you use it to guide you somewhere you've never been before.