Get lost...

I was reading an article on the BBC website this week about our over reliance on Global Positioning System (GPS) in the UK. It states that 6-7% of Europe's GDP is reliant on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) that is approximately 800,000,000,000€. That is quite a large amount of money. This got me thinking, can people still navigate without their sat-nav systems?

I will admit that I do own a sat-nav system, I have used it on a few longer journeys and even one or two short ones. I do think it is a great tool to have, it makes it easy to find an address for the first time and navigate in unfamiliar towns and countries but should we rely on them?

My first drive across Europe was done without any kind of sat-nav or GPS, I found my way by looking at a map and knowing which towns, roads and countries I was heading for on my travels. I didn't get lost at any point during the journey, I always knew where I was and where I was heading. I miss judged the distance a couple of times, like when I said it'll take us about three more hours to get to Germany only to drive into Germany 20 minutes later but most of the time I knew within a few kilometre where we were. 

Driving in Sweden with my sat-nav in view.

On my second Euro-drive I used my sat-nav system to show me the way, I still knew approximately where I needed to be but followed where the annoying woman on my dashboard told me to go. Everything was planned out by her, she told me how long each stage would take, where the speed cameras were along the way and where I could get a coffee. Very nice. But there was no nice little surprises, like the mystery of what we'll find at the next rest stop, I liked that on the first drive and missed it on the second.


Using the sat-nav wasn't at all bad, I don't want to give the wrong impression, it was super useful. In Copenhagen my sat-nav found me some great free parking near the harbour, there is a travel guide which had some amazing things to see which was useful. Without it I think finding where we needed to be to meet my friend at the airport in Copenhagen would have been much, much harder.

I haven't had cause to use my sat-nav for quite some time but if I have to go to an unfamiliar town I might use it, although according to an article on geekswithlaptops.com one in fifty of sat-nav users in 2000 admitted that their device had either caused or nearly caused an accident. So maybe I'll leave it at home and look at a map before I set off.

Quote of the week:
"You chuckling moron! Is this person really sitting at home laughing out loud at the fact that it is sunny and but cold?" - anonymous upon reading yet another facebook update which needlessly ended with the author including "lol".