Tag: DIRECTIONS

An elderly British couple recently got lost while driving around Germany, so they decided to consult their vehicle's GPS navigation system. As it turns out, the device was totally faulty, but the couple didn't realize it until they had already crashed into a 19th century German church -- because, apparently, the GPS system told them to. The church suffered about $37,000 in damage, but the ...

Share How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a pickup truck. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling ...

Being able to read a map is a skill that is quickly atrophying for us as a culture. Step by step directions are always just a mouse click, or a finger's touch away. Google Maps, MapQuest, GPS devices, and even mapping services for cell phones have made memorizing how to get places an optional part of the traveling experience. For those of us without fancy GPS devices in our cars, however, cell ...