Be careful how you use GPS
GPS can be a wonderful tool. But, recently we had some instances where people were not using there head with it. We had a big blizzard. It got bad enough that the state of MN closed down the inter...
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My driveway is what most would call 'substantial' in width and length, it goes down past the house to my shop and hangar and then beyond that to my grass airstrip which runs the length of my fields and then there's a clearway that (save for the fence line) runs clear through to the next side-road.
Because of a river just south of me it's a long way back to the next cross-road to the north. A few years back the county rebuilt the bridge which effectively put me on a year long dead end. We giggled at all the folks who would drive past, and AROUND "road closed" signs just to have to turn around and drive miles back to go around.
Giggled that is until one Saturday morning when an SUV came down the road, slowed to about 35 or 40 mph and turned into my driveway like it was an off-ramp!! I just happened to be in the driveway talking to a friend when this happened and the guy in the SUV puled right up behind him and then started to pull around him onto my lawn.
When I asked what the heck they thought they were doing the female passenger replied in a snotty tone that "they were taking the by-pass, get the @#$% out of the way!".
Upon questioning they pointed to their GPS and sure enough, the map database (presumably based on an air photo) showed my driveway and airstrip as if it was a road!! At one point they threatened to call the police if I didn't stop 'illegally blocking them' because it was a road, the GPS "proved it".
It took more than a little 'convincing' to get them to turn around and bugger off.
I have since gotten the offending map software changed, but they still show the driveway as far as the house as if it was a roadway.
Google does too.
Because of a river just south of me it's a long way back to the next cross-road to the north. A few years back the county rebuilt the bridge which effectively put me on a year long dead end. We giggled at all the folks who would drive past, and AROUND "road closed" signs just to have to turn around and drive miles back to go around.
Giggled that is until one Saturday morning when an SUV came down the road, slowed to about 35 or 40 mph and turned into my driveway like it was an off-ramp!! I just happened to be in the driveway talking to a friend when this happened and the guy in the SUV puled right up behind him and then started to pull around him onto my lawn.
When I asked what the heck they thought they were doing the female passenger replied in a snotty tone that "they were taking the by-pass, get the @#$% out of the way!".
Upon questioning they pointed to their GPS and sure enough, the map database (presumably based on an air photo) showed my driveway and airstrip as if it was a road!! At one point they threatened to call the police if I didn't stop 'illegally blocking them' because it was a road, the GPS "proved it".
It took more than a little 'convincing' to get them to turn around and bugger off.
I have since gotten the offending map software changed, but they still show the driveway as far as the house as if it was a roadway.
Google does too.
