+farrtom Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Just read an interesting article about people following their GPS unit into danger and my first thougt (after reading that they were ok) was "I hope they weren't out caching!" Woman Follows GPS Onto Tracks As Train Approaches Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a GPS to follow. A bunch of image results for a google search. Some funny stuff here. Edited July 19, 2011 by GOF and Bacall Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. This one was funny. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. Wannabes. This one was funny. Can't watch youtube right now. I'll check it out tonight. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Now THIS one is special. Quote Link to comment
+dorqie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 *sigh* while not geocaching, I might as well have been... the other day I was doing the "smart phone shuffle" and smacked into a lamp post. Quote Link to comment
sabrefan7 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. This one was funny. "The 3 girls blamed a bad GPS" Not their inability to have a rational thought "keep going through the water were in a SUV" Quote Link to comment
+dorqie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. This one was funny. "The 3 girls blamed a bad GPS" Not their inability to have a rational thought "keep going through the water were in a SUV" go go gadget boat? Quote Link to comment
+E_ZIG_A Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I like this one: How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a pickup truck. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the Outback, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together. [From: The Sydney Morning Herald] Quote Link to comment
+Ambient_Skater Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Now THIS one is special. I wonder if he had to pay for the helicopter? go go gadget boat? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-511331/The-high-speed-sports-car-turns-boat-touch-button.html Quote Link to comment
+sword fern Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. This one was funny. "The 3 girls blamed a bad GPS" Not their inability to have a rational thought "keep going through the water were in a SUV" A perfectly good luxury car gone to waste... Coulda been one of these, for goodness sake. Quote Link to comment
+sword fern Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Just read an interesting article about people following their GPS unit into danger and my first thougt (after reading that they were ok) was "I hope they weren't out caching!" Woman Follows GPS Onto Tracks As Train Approaches Link isn't working for me. Quote Link to comment
+dorqie Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Just read an interesting article about people following their GPS unit into danger and my first thougt (after reading that they were ok) was "I hope they weren't out caching!" Woman Follows GPS Onto Tracks As Train Approaches Link isn't working for me. me either Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 *sigh* while not geocaching, I might as well have been... the other day I was doing the "smart phone shuffle" and smacked into a lamp post. New York recently passed a law making texting, operating a smart phone, and even operating a GPS (that is not dash mounted) while driving a primary offense, in an attempt to prevent accidents like yours. You're lucky it was only a lamp post (did you check under the skirt?) and not a kid on a bicycle. Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. This one was funny. When the water is coming over the windshield...IT'S TIME TO STOP! I guess they weren't in town for the MENSA conference. Quote Link to comment
+dorqie Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 *sigh* while not geocaching, I might as well have been... the other day I was doing the "smart phone shuffle" and smacked into a lamp post. New York recently passed a law making texting, operating a smart phone, and even operating a GPS (that is not dash mounted) while driving a primary offense, in an attempt to prevent accidents like yours. You're lucky it was only a lamp post (did you check under the skirt?) and not a kid on a bicycle. I was not driving. I was walking. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 *sigh* while not geocaching, I might as well have been... the other day I was doing the "smart phone shuffle" and smacked into a lamp post. New York recently passed a law making texting, operating a smart phone, and even operating a GPS (that is not dash mounted) while driving a primary offense, in an attempt to prevent accidents like yours. You're lucky it was only a lamp post (did you check under the skirt?) and not a kid on a bicycle. I was not driving. I was walking. Ah yes. Who can forget this poor woman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg11glsBW4Y Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Nothing new here. This stuff has been going on as long as people have had a map and compass to follow. Really? People have been following bad GPS directions as long as they have had maps and compasses? Go figure. Obviously, maps have been around a lot longer than GPS devices, however, the problem is similar. In the case of just a map and compass, someone might just look at the map, see s line which goes from point A and point B and blindly follow the road despite the "real world" conditions such as a deteriorating road or a missing bridge, or if the map is old, it may show a road that no longer goes from point A to point B. In the case of a GPS, the blame is often put on the GPS, but it boils down to the accuracy of the base map. It's compounded by the problem of it's user blindly trusting that the GPS will provide good navigation directions, and the GPS is only going to suggest a route based on the quality of the map data. If the map has a road on it which, which becomes impassable in winter, has a bridge out, or new construction blocks normal passage, the GPS isn't going to know that and may still recommend the route. In either case, if the end user ignores real world data, and drives into a gorge that used to have a bridge across you can't hardly blame the GPS. In the case of a paper map, or a digital version, both reflect the state of things at a point in time, and a lot of things can change from when that map data was created. Quote Link to comment
+Doctroid Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Obviously, maps have been around a lot longer than GPS devices, however, the problem is similar. In the case of just a map and compass, someone might just look at the map, see s line which goes from point A and point B and blindly follow the road despite the "real world" conditions such as a deteriorating road or a missing bridge, or if the map is old, it may show a road that no longer goes from point A to point B. Here's a map of Hogsback Road in South Onondaga, from openstreetmap.org: (link) And here's what one of the better parts of the middle section looks like: I would not regard the caches on this road as "park and grabs". Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I like this one: How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a pickup truck. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the Outback, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together. [From: The Sydney Morning Herald] This sort of thing has nothing to do with following a GPS. The Donner party made a similar mistake. Quote Link to comment
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