5 Tips for GPS Safety
As more and more people are starting to use GPS appliances, we get asked sometimes about the effect GPS devices have on driving safety. The truth is, there are some things you can do while using GPS which will make your ride safer, and there are some things that may distract you.
On top of that, no matter how fancy your GPS system is, there are just some drivers that we can’t help you avoid (anyone from the Mario Andretti speedster type to the 16 year old across the street who has mastered the one hand text message).What we can do, however, is give you some tips we’ve learned in regard to safety, so without further ado, here are our “5 tips for GPS safety”
1. Keep your eyes on the road. This may sound like basic advice, but dealing with directions can be amazingly distracting, and potentially make you take your eyes off the road. With a voice guided turn-by-turn nav system, this should never be a problem. The days of trying to decipher illegible directions are over, and now you can have your directions spoken to you, while you concentrate on the road.
2. Find a good place to put your phone. While having navigation on your phone is easier to use (and safer) than using large folding maps, it can still be potentially dangerous to be fumbling around with a phone instead of driving. Whether you have a special car dock or simply an easy place to put it, it is always wise to have a designated area where your phone can live, so you won’t have to fiddle around with it while driving.
3. Don’t be afraid to call a cab. No matter how good the directions on your phone may be, if you’ve had a couple drinks, it is probably not a good idea to drive. One of the great things about having mobile GPS, is that you are in fact using a phone, so it is easy to search for a cab company and call it a night. Besides, you can always use your GPS the next morning to navigate back to where you left your car.
4. Know when the traffic is coming. A lot of accidents occur in stop and start traffic. Use the traffic function on your GPS system to anticipate this and prepare yourself. As soon as you hear there is traffic approaching, it’s a good idea to slow down, and keep an eye out for those break lights.
5. Don’t follow GPS blindly. If you use mobile navigation, you will have constantly updated maps, and this is not an issue, but if you have a standalone PND, you can potentially find out of date directions. We don’t actually think you are going to follow a device that tells you to drive off a cliff, but if you don’t have updated maps, be careful where you are going.
