Teaching The Use Of Satellite Navigation Systems

Satellite Navigation systems are now a common part of our driving culture

. Use of them is widespread and a reliance on them is becoming a concern among some sections of the driver training community. Here we look at the issues surrounding the teaching of their use.

Parents of a 21-year-old woman who was killed after following Satellite Navigation directions the wrong way down a dual-carriageway have told an inquest that use of the GPS devices should be included in driving lessons. The woman was involved in a head on collision after following explicit directions given by the device and failing to look at street signs.

The devices are notorious for sending people through No Entry signs and the wrong direction down one way streets. Having used the devices myself I can see how easily this would occur. Within an hour of using the device I became aware of how a driver defers responsibility to the GPS and ceases to plan according to what is occurring in the real world. It is easy to stop looking fore speed limit signs as the audible warning prompts the driver to look at the small screen to see what the limit is. The video display showing which lane to be in at a motorway junction is particularly distracting. The directions given by the device are explicit and don't take into account real world factors such as roads being closed and roadworks. A younger driver would find it hard to override the instructions in light of their own judgement and would readily accept what the device told them.

The call for the use of the devices to be taught on lessons is a reasonable one. Having said this there are issues to consider. As there are many makes of device all with their own interface the teaching would be specific to that model, possibly not the model that the driver would use after their test. Many instructors do not use the devices on a regular basis. We know our own areas and would refer to a map to locate a new address rather than follow directions all the way. Some instructors do not actually like the devices at all and see them as a new danger.

If the use of GPS was top be taught it would have to be integrated as part of the learner syllabus. There would need to be a guideline for best practise so we are all teaching the same thing. It couldn't be a case of just driving around following the directions given by the device and seeing if anything goes wrong, we would need to know what we are teaching and the content standardised for all instructors.

Use of satellite navigation systems could, at the moment, be something taught by friends and family and would be a good opportunity for all concerned to become more aware of the pitfalls of using the devices.

by: Russ Chaplin

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