4 ms·

You're certainly right about the maps. And even with printed "turn-by-turn" directions, people got lost constantly. But, I will say that the younger "GPS-only"

You're certainly right about the maps. And even with printed "turn-by-turn" directions, people got lost constantly. But, I will say that the younger "GPS-only" generation seems to be significantly worse at Land Navigation. Reading maps to navigate meant you had to be good-enough with cardinal directions, etc. Those who have always followed the voice guide on their phone seem to struggle even pointing north, let alone determining which way to go.

ToucanLoucan 3y ago
It's very strange to me how averse people are to missing their exits now, too. I don't know if this is just because of the proliferation of dash cams, but it seems you see a lot more people now who slam on the brakes and turn around or reverse on motorways to recover their route, when the GPS they are almost certainly using will re-route them to an alternate way to get wherever they're going with literally no effort on their part.
- doublerabbit 3y ago
  No one likes the "re-routing" as there's no notification if it's going to route them a longer destination. Which is potentially yes. But who hasn't gone "shit!" when they've missed their turn off? So rather than, back-up take chance in avoiding a pile-up and take the original exit.
  - ToucanLoucan 3y ago
    The risk/reward of that to me is just ludicrous though. I consider myself pretty damn open minded but I cannot imagine taking that kind of risk to avoid something so utterly benign as being late.
    - doublerabbit 3y ago
      For the record, I'm not saying I do either; hell no. In case anyone thinks I do. My reply was how I would imangine of how those who do such dangerouse manoeuvers. Then again, people don't think and that includes using signal indicators.
  - galdosdi 3y ago
    I think it also is a skill issue. People who are used to driving and navigating have more of a mental model of how the roads connect up, and can often correct an error without needing a GPS to explain how to reroute. For example, in much of the country (less so in dense old urban areas) a lot of highway exits are "diamond interchanges" so it is trivial to, at any exit, get back on at the same exit going in either direction. In general a good driver is pretty aware of stuff like this, especially in their home areas, so already has a pretty good idea of what to do if they miss an exit. I think starting out GPS-based rather than starting without it and graduating to it eventually, is a big mistake, as it encourages this kind of stressful thinking because navigation is totally outsourced. I speak from experience -- I'm an older millenial but nevertheless started driving with GPS because I never started driving till my mid 20s. My first couple drives, in NYC, were in retrospect very dangerous to myself and to others, as my attention was divided between the GPS and basic skills like lane maintenance. To this day I'm always so much more comfortable partly memorizing or really just reviewing the rough outline of the route on the GPS while parked before starting the trip. It just feels good for the GPS to truly remain what it should be -- an assistant, not a master.
- galdosdi 3y ago
  Is this something you've seen IRL or just in sensational online footage? I have not notice this IRL in the USA, although I've noticed overall driving get slightly more aggressive and ignorant since the pandemic
barrysteve 3y ago
Reading maps gave you a view of the surrounding area and the bird's eye view of optional roads nearby. You can load up on the gaps in your knowledge and skip the rest of navigating. GPS interuptions puts me on edge while I'm talking to passengers and changing lanes by muscle memory. I can empathize with the younger generation struggling to point north, the UIs for GPS maps are surprisingly myopic.
- ToucanLoucan 3y ago
  I mean, "north" in the context of software that's taking you places is rather redundant. Does it really matter if your next left is taking you north, south, east or west? That being said, at least in Apple Maps, when you stop using the turn-by-turn and the map zooms out, it does auto-orient to North being "up." I'm not sure if Google Maps does the same but I see no reason it wouldn't.

ToucanLoucan 3y ago

It's very strange to me how averse people are to missing their exits now, too. I don't know if this is just because of the proliferation of dash cams, but it seems you see a lot more people now who slam on the brakes and turn around or reverse on motorways to recover their route, when the GPS they are almost certainly using will re-route them to an alternate way to get wherever they're going with literally no effort on their part.

doublerabbit 3y ago
No one likes the "re-routing" as there's no notification if it's going to route them a longer destination. Which is potentially yes. But who hasn't gone "shit!" when they've missed their turn off? So rather than, back-up take chance in avoiding a pile-up and take the original exit.
- ToucanLoucan 3y ago
  The risk/reward of that to me is just ludicrous though. I consider myself pretty damn open minded but I cannot imagine taking that kind of risk to avoid something so utterly benign as being late.
  - doublerabbit 3y ago
    For the record, I'm not saying I do either; hell no. In case anyone thinks I do. My reply was how I would imangine of how those who do such dangerouse manoeuvers. Then again, people don't think and that includes using signal indicators.
- galdosdi 3y ago
  I think it also is a skill issue. People who are used to driving and navigating have more of a mental model of how the roads connect up, and can often correct an error without needing a GPS to explain how to reroute. For example, in much of the country (less so in dense old urban areas) a lot of highway exits are "diamond interchanges" so it is trivial to, at any exit, get back on at the same exit going in either direction. In general a good driver is pretty aware of stuff like this, especially in their home areas, so already has a pretty good idea of what to do if they miss an exit. I think starting out GPS-based rather than starting without it and graduating to it eventually, is a big mistake, as it encourages this kind of stressful thinking because navigation is totally outsourced. I speak from experience -- I'm an older millenial but nevertheless started driving with GPS because I never started driving till my mid 20s. My first couple drives, in NYC, were in retrospect very dangerous to myself and to others, as my attention was divided between the GPS and basic skills like lane maintenance. To this day I'm always so much more comfortable partly memorizing or really just reviewing the rough outline of the route on the GPS while parked before starting the trip. It just feels good for the GPS to truly remain what it should be -- an assistant, not a master.
galdosdi 3y ago
Is this something you've seen IRL or just in sensational online footage? I have not notice this IRL in the USA, although I've noticed overall driving get slightly more aggressive and ignorant since the pandemic

barrysteve 3y ago

Reading maps gave you a view of the surrounding area and the bird's eye view of optional roads nearby. You can load up on the gaps in your knowledge and skip the rest of navigating. GPS interuptions puts me on edge while I'm talking to passengers and changing lanes by muscle memory. I can empathize with the younger generation struggling to point north, the UIs for GPS maps are surprisingly myopic.

ToucanLoucan 3y ago
I mean, "north" in the context of software that's taking you places is rather redundant. Does it really matter if your next left is taking you north, south, east or west? That being said, at least in Apple Maps, when you stop using the turn-by-turn and the map zooms out, it does auto-orient to North being "up." I'm not sure if Google Maps does the same but I see no reason it wouldn't.