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| Yes | 51% | 348 votes | Total: 677 votes | |
| No | 49% | 329 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesFor many years, male drivers like me have been ridiculed for getting lost on family road trips and never stopping to ask for directions. Some TV commercials and magazine ads frequently show a frustrated looking father pouring frantically over a map, whilst his partner rolls her eyes and the kids scream in the back seat. The picture is true to life, but it may be one that is soon destined to become outdated by the introduction of GPS.
Imagine this scene in the future: Dad is patiently driving and Mom is carefully reading a magazine. The two kids in the back seat shout out, "Are we there yet?" Instead of angrily reacting to the question, Mom quietly leans forward and pushes a few buttons on the dashboard. On their video screen, the two kids can instantly see where they are, how far they have traveled, and how many miles to go before they reach their intended destination. Everyone is at ease and the previous stress of long, tedious road journeys is no longer experienced.
Will GPS ever replace conventional maps? You bet your bottom dollar. Living in America is all about road travel and if installing a GPS in the standard family car can reduce domestic pressure by enhancing the journey, then a lot more people are going to want to use this technology to better their lives and extend their vacations. Maps are fun things to look at before the journey begins and a great way for families to get round the dinner table to plan their route, but once the road trip commences, it will be time to fold up the map and let the GPS take over.
One of the best uses of the GPS will occur when traffic delays are encountered on the interstate. There will be no more frantically searching for the map in the glove compartment, furtively trying to pinpoint the present location, whilst keeping an eye on the rear bumper of the car in front. The GPS itself will offer an alternative route, enabling the car travelers to get to their desired destination a lot sooner. Instead of taking a side road that leads way up into the boonies, drivers with GPS in their cars will quickly find safe and reasonable re-directions for their journey. A conventional map may show different colored lines, but the GPS formulates an alternative route far more quickly than the human brain can decipher.
Families, salespeople, and even local drivers will eventually use the GPS as the most natural way of getting from point A to point B. Those old State maps will become collectibles from a bygone age. Perhaps, in years to come, an old geezer like me will be sitting in the back seat of my grandchild's car fondly reminiscing and saying, "I remember the good old days when we had to use paper maps and never stopped for directions." At which point, the old lady sitting with me will roll her eyes and say, "Thank God for GPS."
Learn more about this author, Stushie.
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No
A Global Positioning System, or GPS, is currently offered as an option in an increasing number of new vehicles. In theory, it is possible that this technology could one day replace the conventional paper map, but let's hope not. It will be a sad day for all of us when people become incapable of reading a simple road map or determining which direction they are heading without the aid of such a device.
Pocket calculators were developed to solve math problems quickly and accurately. However, if a person lacks the inclination or knowledge required to obtain a correct solution the old-fashioned way, what will result is a nation of unskilled figurative zombies totally dependent on having machines do the work for them. How many times have you pulled into a fast-food drive-up lane and been charged an amount such as $8.76 for your meal? You give the cashier $9.01 or $10.01, and he or she will ask why you gave them the extra penny! Without access to a calculator, the person at the register is clueless that you are looking to get a quarter back. This is scary when you take into consideration that a 12-year-old sixth-grader should be able to figure this out.
Global Positioning Systems take this basic concept further. There are so many other simpler and far less expensive tools out there that are readily available to motorists. Printed maps have been around for centuries, long before automobiles were a thought. Currently, highway maps cost about $5.00 at any gas station or convenient store. For about $12.00, one can splurge and get a Road Atlas that will include maps of every highway in the 50 states of the U.S. as well as the provinces of Canada and the states of Mexico. A GPS is useful once you reach a city and wish to pinpoint a specific location or address, but there are websites such as Map Quest that will do the same for the cost of one sheet of paper. If you wish to know what direction you are going, read highway signs. They will indicate whether you are going west, east, north, or south! If you're still not sure, do what our ancestors did: look at the position of the sun. It rises in the east and sets in the west. If it's too cloudy to determine this, buy a compass at Wal-Mart. It will set you back about $6.00.
A GPS/Navigation System adds thousands of dollars to the price of a vehicle. Your location can easily be pinpointed via satellite in the event of a breakdown or accident, but any driver with a cellular phone should be able to inform others of his or her location within a couple of miles, so unless you're stranded in the middle of the Sahara Desert or on an ice shelf in Siberia, such technology is unnecessary and in my opinion; a waste of money.
Trust me: Just stay on the road, use your map, and you'll be found.
Learn more about this author, Patrick Sills.
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