Another near death by GPS story
LA Times What the heck they thought they were doing out there is a mystery. 67 is that road into the park from Jacob Lake that is closed all winter. But they blindly followed the GPS down a dirt ro...
Forum Discussion
The story of this incident is like so many others we read of all too often - in that (I read about it elsewhere in the news) the way the article was written was that the reader was supposed to "hold in high admiration" what the woman did. It made her out as some kind of heroine - and only able to do what she did because she was a "tri-athlete".
I do not hold her (or her male companion) up as folks to be admired, i.e.:
1. What on earth were they doing out in winter snow and cold in only a family vehicle anywhere near the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon - poor judgement/knowledge/wisdom/savvy/common sense on someone's part.
2. You're not supposed to leave the vehicle in a situation like this - poor judgement/knowledge/wisdom/savvy/common sense on someone's part.
3. I believe that they were they using cell tower based mobile devices for navigation - poor knowledge of modern technology and it's limitations if they were. Out in the boonies it's best to use (along with exceptional maps ... like those from Benchmark) a satellite system based GPS device. Folks trust cell tower based navigation way too much, IMHO.
4. Even if their primary navigation device was satellite based - I wonder how they had it set: Avoid non-paved roads? Use fastest route? Use shortest route? Many users probably pay no attention to these settings on their devices.
I'm of course glad that they all made it out alive ... and I hope that thousands of readers of this incident put two and two together and learn from the ordeal so that they never have to go through it themselves!
I do not hold her (or her male companion) up as folks to be admired, i.e.:
1. What on earth were they doing out in winter snow and cold in only a family vehicle anywhere near the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon - poor judgement/knowledge/wisdom/savvy/common sense on someone's part.
2. You're not supposed to leave the vehicle in a situation like this - poor judgement/knowledge/wisdom/savvy/common sense on someone's part.
3. I believe that they were they using cell tower based mobile devices for navigation - poor knowledge of modern technology and it's limitations if they were. Out in the boonies it's best to use (along with exceptional maps ... like those from Benchmark) a satellite system based GPS device. Folks trust cell tower based navigation way too much, IMHO.
4. Even if their primary navigation device was satellite based - I wonder how they had it set: Avoid non-paved roads? Use fastest route? Use shortest route? Many users probably pay no attention to these settings on their devices.
I'm of course glad that they all made it out alive ... and I hope that thousands of readers of this incident put two and two together and learn from the ordeal so that they never have to go through it themselves!
