Greg Jordan: Technology is no replacement for good common sense
Aug. 11—I keep telling myself that technology is a wonderful thing when it works.
Recently, I did a story about GPS systems sending tractor-trailer drivers and out-of-state ATV tourists over the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge. It was only the latest GPS horror story I had either heard or experienced firsthand. It's a piece of technology that's wonderful when it works and a nightmare when it doesn't.
Probably the biggest GPS mess I've ever seen happened in late July 2014 when a fire broke out in the East River Mountain Tunnel. A blazing tractor-trailer made traveling through either the northbound or southbound tunnel impossible. Traffic as far away as North Carolina started backing up.
Well, motorists stuck on neither side of the state line consulted their GPS and saw that the road over East River Mountain offered an alternative, so cars and huge trucks started up the mountain. and they all learned a fact: GPS doesn't tell you if your vehicle will fit the road.
That two-lane road is just fine if you're driving a regular car or truck, and you'll be OK if you're on a motorcycle. If you're driving a tractor-trailer, don't even think about it. Big rigs can't navigate East River Mountain's narrow lanes and sharp curves.
When I took that road to reach the fire scene, I saw several tractor-trailers stuck in ditches.
They didn't crash. It was more like they derailed. GPS had led them into a trap. Years ago Stella Parton, sister of Dolly Parton, came to Bluefield for a concert and her tour bus got stuck on East River Mountain thanks to GPS.
I've seen the same situation on Clover Dew Dairy Road in Green Valley. GPS tells tractor-trailer drivers that Clover Dew is a shortcut back to Interstate 77. Well, it's a shortcut if you're in a car or on a motorcycle, but it's too narrow and curvy for big rigs. First responders have a time getting those trucks backed up and back on a highway that can handle them.
GPS on my cellphone has led me into dead ends or miles away from my destination. I understand that there's something about mountain ranges that confuses the GPS systems. Once again, technology can't seem to tell the difference between an interstate highway and a one-lane goat path. Then you have to remember that cellphone services aren't always reliable. You can lose your signal and your GPS service easily.
That's when tested technologies such as paper roadmaps and stopping to ask for directions help. Keeping a big road atlas in my trunk has helped me more than once. You get a pretty good idea about which direction you should take.
I work not to fall into the old stereotype of being a guy who's afraid to ask for directions.
There are plenty of times when I've stopped at a gas station or convenience store and asked about finding my destination.
The clerks are usually from the local neighborhood and know their way around, so they tend to be more reliable and more informative than a GPS. They tend to know about routes you should avoid and whether any roadwork is underway.
Now, I'll still use a GPS whenever necessary, but I'm not ready to trust one completely. I still get sent into dead ends and taken miles from my destination, so I'll rely more an asking for directions. Instincts help, too. There have been times when I ignored a GPS when I realized that the route it was advocating made no sense.
Global positioning systems are great technology, but they don't replace instinct and common sense. If your GPS wants to take you down a road that doesn't look right, it's probably wrong. If it wants you to drive your RV through a neighborhood with streets scarcely wide enough for regular cars, it's probably wrong.
That's the time to find a store or some other place with local people who know their way around the local roads.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
