agesilaus
North Florida
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Two women get lost in Death Valley:
Daily Mail
There was another lost woman, and her kid, in the same area a year or so ago. You cannot trust a GPS once you are off a main road. They don't know the difference between a desert two track and a highway. And what were they thinking taking a Hyundai out on dirt roads in DV without a full tank of gas at the minimum?
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NanciL
Bakersville, NC, USA
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Depends on the GPS.
We are paddlers and use marine Garmin GPS's to do long off shore trips in the Florida Keys where some of the Keys are not even in sight of the main Keys
Our GPs's tell the accuracy, and are usually withinn 20 0r 30 feet.
I can take mine into the wilderness, (Ocean, mountains or desert) and go as far as I want, and then just follow the tracks back.
I just have to make sure I have a stash of batteries. The lithium are good for about five days.
There are always two of us, and we each have a GPS, so if one fails we have the other.
We also keep a compass with us, and would never go off into the wilderness without it as a back-up
Jack L
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downtheroad
Pacific Northwest
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A tool (GPS is just a tool) is only as good as the person using it.
Common sense is also a tool. All to often it's left unused in the bottom of the tool box.
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agesilaus
North Florida
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NanciL wrote:Depends on the GPS.
We are paddlers and use marine Garmin GPS's to do long off shore trips in the Florida Keys where some of the Keys are not even in sight of the main Keys
Our GPs's tell the accuracy, and are usually withinn 20 0r 30 feet.
I can take mine into the wilderness, (Ocean, mountains or desert) and go as far as I want, and then just follow the tracks back.
I just have to make sure I have a stash of batteries. The lithium are good for about five days.
There are always two of us, and we each have a GPS, so if one fails we have the other.
We also keep a compass with us, and would never go off into the wilderness without it as a back-up
Jack L
Sure GPS does a great job of locating your position, it's the route finding software that causes these problems. Or actually it's the gullibility of some people who blindly believe what the GPS tells them, that's the real problem. Lots a people today have no understanding of the dangers of being off the main road net. Especially in areas in the desert southwest. Tho there was that couple who got snowed in up in Washington on a FS road last year. That wasn't a gps problem it was a bad decision making problem.
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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downtheroad wrote:A tool (GPS is just a tool) is only as good as the person using it.
Common sense is also a tool. All to often it's left unused in the bottom of the tool box.
X2, and those of you who have been to Death Valley know it can be a dangerous place if you venture very far off the highway. Lots of sharp rocks and lots of cut/punctured tires.
The women in the article posted made a huge mistake. The only thing that works in DV is a map. There are excellent ones available.
Some areas or canyons are one way in and one way out. If you break down 10, 15, 20 miles in one of these canyons, you've got a serious problem. Did I mention cell phones don't work in the remote areas?
We got back from a week's stay in DV in January and while we found it to be a beautiful place to visit ONCE, it's not our cup of tea.
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~DJ~
Boise, Idaho
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I have had my GPS try to take me down roads I KNEW were the wrong way. I also had a glitch once in the Northern Nevada desert. I saved a spot I wanted to return to the next year. Somehow during that year it moved 60 some miles away!!!!
Most of the time it does a pretty good job. But blindly following one could be a fatal mistake!!!!
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rockhillmanor
On the Road
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I think the poor ole GPS gets bad rapped every time someone gets lost and in trouble. 
It's NOT the GPS. How anyone with a brain can 'continue' down a road that is obviously the wrong way is beyond me. 
If they were that clueless they would have done it with or without a GPS in their vehicle.
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WoodGlue
Los Angeles / Montana
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Yep, reminds me of that Washington State couple who went down that logging road when they got off the main highway - It was the GPS's fault they claimed!
Anyone who's ever seen, been on or can imagine what a logging road looks like can tell you that a GPS would never direct you to go down one!
Human error and lack of common sense are by far the worst culprits when it comes to these "GPS Stories"
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btd35
Spokane, WA
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As a service tech I use a GPS everyday. Moved Here from Seattle 6 years ago, and know my way around town, but not a lot of the outlying roads, so I use it everyday. Yes it can have those moments where you wonder who programmed this thing, but then I've worked for other dispatched service companies that don't have a clue, sending drivers all over the place very inefficiently. My point is, every city or place is different, and unless you live there and know it well, you cannot design software that will work efficiently for that local. As long as it knows where the address IS, it helps me find that place, but we have had a couple adventures together. 
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btd35
Spokane, WA
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WoodGlue wrote:Yep, reminds me of that Washington State couple who went down that logging road when they got off the main highway - It was the GPS's fault they claimed!
Anyone who's ever seen, been on or can imagine what a logging road looks like can tell you that a GPS would never direct you to go down one!
Human error and lack of common sense are by far the worst culprits when it comes to these "GPS Stories"
WoodGlue
A GPS does, and has directed me down a logging road. My Garmin Nuvi has done it several times, and my Nuvi is set to stay on highways. However it did show me a great short cut between north Spokane to Hayden Idaho through the hills, which cut off a half hour on time, and as a service tech, time is money. I use that route from time to time now, but never in the winter, and I would never take an RV. It's all dirt, but my Garmin says it's a main road. 
But you DO have to have common sense when using one.
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