A couple weeks back I was goin' somewhere new in Denver, and it dawned on me how amazing it is, the CONFIDENCE we can now have while driving somewhere completely strange... thanks to Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, the navigation system built into your car, or your 2003 Garmin that really should be in a landfill right now.

It doesn't seem like long ago that we had a couple people visiting from out of state, & we decided on a place to meet and have lunch.  I knew where it was, they didn't, so naturally I told them they could follow me there.  And when he said, "That's okay, I'll put it in my GPS..." My temporary DISGUST of that smug, pompous guy when I was trying to be helpful was beyond words.

Now all in a sudden if you ask for directions, people look at you like you have five heads.  Ever have someone (usually older) INSIST on giving you very detailed directions?  It's probably best to just humor that person, right?

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But the fun continues:  We also have to be concerned about our GPS system (whatever one you use) giving us the wrong directions!

According to a new survey, the average person wastes 29 hours a year because of bad advice from their GPS.

The most common ways these gadgets screw up:

  • Giving us confusing directions so we have to backtrack
  • Picking dumb routes
  • Leading us into bad traffic
  • Or, if you happen to be driving in Fort Collins, taking us right into a construction zone, because even the Internet can't keep up with it all!

If you average it out, your GPS is costing you around a half hour a week.

The survey also found 47% of us have gotten into a shouting match with our GPS even though, you know, it's not a person and it can't hear you.

I, on the other hand, tend to talk trash, get dirty, and use lots of foul language with my GPS, just because I'm weird and it entertains me.

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