GPS recommendations

[deserteagle71]

Garmin issues updates to their automotive GPS units generally about 2x a year. If you do not update your GPS with the latest Garmin update then of course your information may be wrong. Also - it depends on how good and how timely the information is that is provided to Garmin for their updates.

Any GPS information needs to be taken with a grain of salt - use your head! There is a reservoir in our area that was built about 1972 that flooded a road that used to be there. So, nearly 50 years later there are GPS maps that still show that road...running through the reservoir. Good luck with that! I read occasional news reports of people driving into lakes while following their GPS and that's why. If I plug my address into Google Maps it centers on a location a good mile from where I actually live. Garbage in - garbage out applies.

In spite of all its faults, now that I've used GPS I'll never be without it. The good of the technology outweighs the bad.

 

[Oaktree]

The truck GPS wants to take roads way out of the way, on routes I know that there is a better way. I watch the speed limit signs and laugh at the GPS because it is almost always wrong when on anything less than an Interstate, and even then it is suspect!

Any GPS information needs to be taken with a grain of salt - use your head! There is a reservoir in our area that was built about 1972 that flooded a road that used to be there. So, nearly 50 years later there are GPS maps that still show that road...running through the reservoir. Good luck with that! I read occasional news reports of people driving into lakes while following their GPS and that's why. If I plug my address into Google Maps it centers on a location a good mile from where I actually live. Garbage in - garbage out applies.

Ain't that the truth!! I bet I live a lot closer to "civilization" than you do, and Google maps is about a mile off on my house too (and not always in the same direction!). Likewise, I always give people directions to my house if they're not from the area...a GPS will take you a very long way around. I've had the same experience when I had one for work. Still, better than nothing if you're in an unfamiliar area.
I suppose the speed limit warnings are good too, though I don't tend to have a heavy foot.

 

[Grumpycat]

I watch the speed limit signs and laugh at the GPS because it is almost always wrong when on anything less than an Interstate, and even then it is suspect! The phone is wrong alot also, but not as much. Getting the speed limits to match roads accurately requires a lot to get it right and apparently whoever is writing the software or doing the work to put Garmin technology together isn't doing the work or doing it correctly.

Mediocrity is pervasive in Garmin products. The sad thing is there isn稚 anything better.

My feature rich 61 DriveSmart crashes at about mile 280 going north on I-65 in Alabama. Later firmware and map updates fixed, but how did that bug get there in the first place. Not south. Only northbound.

Am guessing Garmin uses cheap engineering labor in India to develop firmware. My observation is that 田heap is the motivation of those using India engineering. Define specifications then the instant the product appears to meet spec then work ends. Nobody 登wns the design, no champions for making it as good as it could be.

 

[RickB]

Garmin speed limit info is miles ahead of Google Maps. Miles.

 

[Grumpycat]

Any GPS information needs to be taken with a grain of salt - use your head! There is a reservoir in our area that was built about 1972 that flooded a road that used to be there. So, nearly 50 years later there are GPS maps that still show that road...running through the reservoir. Good luck with that! I read occasional news reports of people driving into lakes while following their GPS and that's why. If I plug my address into Google Maps it centers on a location a good mile from where I actually live. Garbage in - garbage out applies.

Google and GPS still shows the formerly-public road running through my property.

Yesterday a group on motorcycles reached a restaurant out in the sticks. Line was over 2 hours long. Cellphones didn't work. Garmin seemed to know where other restaurants were to be found. A BBQ 12 miles away sounded good. Got there and it was a Piggly Wiggly. We got on 4-lane road pointed home and stopped at the first Subway.

 

[Grumpycat]

Garmin speed limit info is miles ahead of Google Maps. Miles.

Tesla had in 2014, then dropped, and has added back a feature using the vehicle cameras to read speed limit signs noting the current speed limits for inattentive drivers.

This seems like a huge opportunity to mine this data for sale to Garmin, Google, and others.

 

[Oaktree]

Google and GPS still shows the formerly-public road running through my property.

All maps have errors in them. I wonder how many are "Easter eggs" to catch plagiarism.
Curiously, is the "road" on your property still legally a public road? Dunno about your part of the world but there are lots of old, no longer used roads/rights of way here in New England that have never been officially abandoned.

Tesla had in 2014, then dropped, and has added back a feature using the vehicle cameras to read speed limit signs noting the current speed limits for inattentive drivers.

This seems like a huge opportunity to mine this data for sale to Garmin, Google, and others.

I'm sure the .01% of vehicles on the road that are Teslas will make a huge contribution.
Not sure I'd want a car that reported all that information on where I am to the mothership, even though it "anonymous" (yeah, right!). Does the vehicle owner get a cut of the sale price (or even get the option to opt in/out)? I think we all know the answer to that.

 

[Grumpycat]

All maps have errors in them. I wonder how many are "Easter eggs" to catch plagiarism.
Curiously, is the "road" on your property still legally a public road? Dunno about your part of the world but there are lots of old, no longer used roads/rights of way here in New England that have never been officially abandoned.

Survey filed with the deed says it is mine.

I'm sure the .01% of vehicles on the road that are Teslas will make a huge contribution.
Not sure I'd want a car that reported all that information on where I am to the mothership, even though it "anonymous" (yeah, right!). Does the vehicle owner get a cut of the sale price (or even get the option to opt in/out)? I think we all know the answer to that.

If you have an Android then Google knows everywhere you go. You can't turn off the tracking without turning the phone off.

Apple probably has the same data but unlike Google does not resell your metadata. Not even anonymized metadata. But if you install Waze or Google Maps then its just the same with Google as Android.

 

[Oaktree]

Any GPS information needs to be taken with a grain of salt - use your head! There is a reservoir in our area that was built about 1972 that flooded a road that used to be there. So, nearly 50 years later there are GPS maps that still show that road...running through the reservoir. Good luck with that! I read occasional news reports of people driving into lakes while following their GPS and that's why. If I plug my address into Google Maps it centers on a location a good mile from where I actually live. Garbage in - garbage out applies.

In spite of all its faults, now that I've used GPS I'll never be without it. The good of the technology outweighs the bad.

My GPS came yesterday, and I took a drive with it just to get familiar with it. Even though I updated the maps first thing, they still are somewhat out of date...they indicated a couple of landmarks (a school and a mobile home park) that haven't been there for over 10 years. I also had it direct me home, and it still showed home to be a half mile away (and on the opposite side of the road) when I was at my driveway. Good thing I knew where I lived.

All in all though it seems a useful gadget, and is to be a lot more intuitive to use than the early 00s vintage Garmin I had at my last job. Locks on to the satellites a lot quicker too (and much faster than the hiking GPS I have).

If you have an Android then Google knows everywhere you go. You can't turn off the tracking without turning the phone off.

Apple probably has the same data but unlike Google does not resell your metadata. Not even anonymized metadata. But if you install Waze or Google Maps then its just the same with Google as Android.

I don't have a smartphone at all, only an $15 burner flip-phone that sits on a desk at home 99% of the time. I have no idea what OS or carrier it uses. My name and address are not associated with it (not that I plan to do anything nefarious, but I like to protect the illusion of privacy, even if it's just an illusion )
Not sure I trust Apple any more than Google though.

 

[sandman2234]

Tesla had in 2014, then dropped, and has added back a feature using the vehicle cameras to read speed limit signs noting the current speed limits for inattentive drivers.

This seems like a huge opportunity to mine this data for sale to Garmin, Google, and others.

The tractor trailer I drive reads signs, and tells me when I am over (however not often enough to keep me employed) The part that bugs me about it, is when I pass a minimum speed limit sign 40 mph on the interstate, it flashes a big warning on my dash saying I am running 65 in a 40! Technology is evolving!!
David from jax

 

[houser52]

I'm probably the only one that prefers a Tom Tom GPS. I had an older Tom Tom and bought a Garmin to replace it but I didn't like the way it operated or the screen layout compared to the Tom Tom. I sold the Garmin and bought another newer and updated Tom Tom.

With all that being said I now use my phone for directions whenever I travel. Several years ago I was in uptown Atlanta and the buildings blocked the GPS signal making it pretty much useless. I still have the Tom Tom behind the seat though.

 

[Ford850]

Garmin speed limit info is miles ahead of Google Maps. Miles.

I took a 1 hour trip over the weekend, and decided to use my phone with Google Maps instead of my Garmin. First I noticed Google Maps has drastically improved from when I used it heavily in the past, as far as instructions and timing, etc. But then I realized how bad the speed limit info was and how much I missed the constant and nearly perfect speed limit posted on Garmin. On Google, zones were off quite a bit, showing me inaccurate speed limit info compared to what was posted. But the bigger issue was that over half of my trip, both ways ( I took different routes each way), there was no speed limit posted on Google Maps. Garmin wins that easily.

 

[newbury]

We still keep a atlas in our vehicles. The gps is good but itç—´ not perfect.

And the atlas is far from perfect.
But at least with a paper map you have fuel for a fire or can wipe your butt with it. Just try that with your digital device!

<snip>
As far as using a GPS to take me places, as others have mentioned, make sure you check it with a map before you start out!!
David from jax

You need to check critical places with the most recent imagery possible, preferably a drone flight the same day

Garmin issues updates to their automotive GPS units generally about 2x a year. If you do not update your GPS with the latest Garmin update then of course your information may be wrong. Also - it depends on how good and how timely the information is that is provided to Garmin for their updates.

Any GPS information needs to be taken with a grain of salt - use your head! There is a reservoir in our area that was built about 1972 that flooded a road that used to be there. So, nearly 50 years later there are GPS maps that still show that road...running through the reservoir. Good luck with that! I read occasional news reports of people driving into lakes while following their GPS and that's why. If I plug my address into Google Maps it centers on a location a good mile from where I actually live. Garbage in - garbage out applies.

In spite of all its faults, now that I've used GPS I'll never be without it. The good of the technology outweighs the bad.

Exactly.

I worked for the US Army mapping agency for 37 years as a scientist. Don't rely solely on maps. When the Corps of Engineers built the last great project, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in 1984, they sliced through this area and cut a lot of roads. Up to a few years ago many maps and GPS programs would route people down our road to drive to where they thought they were going to cross the river but it ends in Beaver Lake.
But thanks to the satellite program and Google Earth you can see most places, often only a few years old.

 

[Oaktree]

But then I realized how bad the speed limit info was and how much I missed the constant and nearly perfect speed limit posted on Garmin. On Google, zones were off quite a bit, showing me inaccurate speed limit info compared to what was posted.

I was surprised at how accurate speed limit notifications were when I got my Garmin...usually within 10-15'. There are the occasional speed limit signs it doesn't know about, but they're few and far between.

 

[grsthegreat]

Ya, it is weird. Mine changes almost right after sign

 

[Grumpycat]

I know a road where Garmin speed limits are way off. To Garmin's credit the signs are not consistent north/south. I've been too lazy to take geotagged photos to send in.