I use it to avoid traffic
this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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Ditto.
Traffic can be very heavy and very random in my city. You never know when a road is blocked.
Every time I don't use GPS I regret it.
I found a ridiculous road closure last week, and GPS routed me through a ton of backroads I had never taken before. It was only marginally faster, but I'm glad I was constantly moving, and not on a highway-turned-parking-lot for those 2 hours. Also, we got to experience some new scenery that we may never have seen otherwise, which is at least interesting.
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Honestly they should just be pleased we don't have to spend as much effort and brain space as they did just for transit.
"Wish I'd had that!"
Sadly it's almost never the case where people say "oh, life is better for you! Cool!"
Let's change that!
Life is better for you! Cool!
Studies have shown that using your brain to navigate once you get used to a route is beneficial.
More time to doomscroll
Exactly they did not have internet porn back then.
For some reason, I like to know when I will arrive.
Yeah GPS is equally about traffic now and not just navigating
I too like to have a countdown until anxiety sets in.
I'm almost 50 and I never remembered my way anyplace pre map apps. I'd far rather be navigated for.
I drove for a little while before gps was a thing, and I'm so glad to have it.
I used to print out mapquest directions if I was going across town.
God forbid we miss a turn.
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And then google tries sending me through backcountry roads because iT sAvEs EiGhT mInUtEs in a 5 1/2 hour drive, not realizing its hard to travel 80kph on dirt roads cutting through hilly residential areas.
Oh my god when we moved from Oklahoma to a town in the mountains of Vermont this issue made the last day of driving hell! It's my fault for not checking the route on such a big trip though.
We had visited this town several times and always drove in on a major interstate with no issues. Well when we were finally loaded up with the 26' U-haul and towing a car behind, I just selected the default route to our new address in VT.
It was fine up until the last day when we started to get to the mountains and to my horror it was taking us on these tiny one lane roads up extremely steep mountains and super narrow roads.
When going downhill I was braking as hard as I could and the U-Haul was barely even slowing down and the brakes would be smoking at the bottom. And on the way up I was flooring it and barely getting up to 20 mph sometimes.
It's a miracle the truck made it through the dirt roads at the end. We finally rolled into town on what I now know is a historic, scenic route that the leaf peepers like to take.
Note for future - even with an automatic transmission, you can shift into a lower gear (2 or even L) on a downhill to have the engine slow you down and save your brakes.
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I'll use Google maps to check for traffic on my route before leaving, but that's all.
If I'm going somewhere I've been more than two or three times, I don't use GPS.
I just like to have a little minimap following me like in a video game.
I use Waze whenever I drive, it also keeps me informed about accidents, cops, and other hazards.
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In my defense, I use it not because I don't know how to get where I need to go, but because it shows real time traffic info that could help me find another route to avoid said traffic rather than being stuck in that traffic. Driving through local roads to get to work sucks because sometimes it's fine but other times there are accidents or roadwork that causes backups.
Yeah, I once was driving to a routine place where there ended up being major roadwork that closed off a key stretch of road and the side streets ended up being a confusing maze. I eventually just ended up having to pull over and get the GPS out.
Guy at work always wonders how I get to the jobsites before him and he’s stuck for 15 minutes sometimes… I look up the traffic using maps first.
I used to be really proud of being able to get anywhere without a GPS until I moved to the city. You could've been somewhere a million times but when they close streets seemingly at random a GPS becomes nearly impossible to drive without if you care about your time. Fast forward five years and now I use the GPS even to go to work every morning.
s/ancestors/wife
Seeing these little IT gems all over Lemmy always makes me smirk :)
Sometimes theres traffic and the gps lets you know to avoid it!
Yeah, I always use navigation even on very familiar routes. Saves me time when there's an accident or unexpected event ahead of my route.
We were delayed for an hour on an already painfully long road trip once because my dad "Couldn't imagine why the GPS would recommend that" right before steering us into a traffic jam.
Right, and road closures. Even if I know the route like the back of my hand, I turn on navigation for the real-time information.
I've been saved many hours of sitting in traffic thanks to notices of road closures, car crashes etc
A trick to "learn" routes.. put the GPS in your pocket, and only listen to it... this way you start to spot the landmarks we used to use to navigate by.
But I like watching the little arrow
Watch the road 
Fun fact: If you use Google Maps, and press on the arrow (while the navigation is started), you can change the arrow to 3 different cars.
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I use Waze any time my wheels roll. In the Boston area there is a huge input of data for the quickest route from A to B.
Are we getting native advertisements on Lemmy now too?
Or do you just genuinely like it that much?
I'm not a bot, nor a paid promoter.
Using Waze has allowed me to dodge items on the road such as:
Mattress, wheelbarrow, couple of paint cans, large pieces of shredded truck tires... lots of other stuff.
I also like the road kill warnings. No one wants to drive over a skunk. That shit stinks!
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Ultimately nobody survives anyhow, enjoy the time you have while you can.
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you need GPS to go to the place youv'e been multiple times, because you have GPS. Your brain does a funny thing where it doesnt feel like it has to remember shit when you have the answer infront of you on a computer/phone/device cause it is basically using that device as its short term memory.
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when my ancestors can find their way around a foreign country just as well as their home town, then I will accept criticism.
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