Thursday, October 15, 2020

GPS exasperation

A short while ago I posted our (mis)adventure with our GPS.  I called it a frolic but it was anything but.  Yesterday, we needed to post a card for a friend facing an operation. Having learned from our past experience I put the address in the GPS keeping the address details in the car.  It should have taken around 15 minutes though three way temporary traffic lights proved frustratingly erratic - only turning green for road repair vehicles to wander across blocking our way before turning red. (Aren't three/four way temporary lights the worst?)

As we neared the turning, the gentle GPS voice guided us to turn right down a road and then announced we had arrived.  However, we were on a completely different road.  As rain began to fall more heavily I drove on and on through the estate looking at every road sign.  Back on the main road we re-entered the process to begin again. Carol was sighing - not again! By now the rain was intense.  Still there was no sign of the missing road but a woman was running, without a coat, to get out of the rain.  Without sensitivity Carol shouted out where was this missing road. 'I'm getting wet' she said, pointing back where we had come.  By now the rain was monsoonal sweeping a small flash flood down the road!  As we turned round we saw a layby and a path that was almost obscured by parked cars.  And also obscured was the name of the road which turned out to be a path between houses.  Having checked the number Carol waited for the gusting rain to ease and when it didn't she set off only to find she couldn't find the house anywhere. Through the windscreen I saw this forlorn figure wandering about and eventuallycrossing a front lawn to a house tucked away on the side. 

So, relief the job was done but with guilt that a woman was soaking because she had given us directions and exasperation that a reputation is growing!

2 comments:

Don Babcock said...

Which GPS are you using? I have rarely had a problem with my Garmin GPS. But the GPS on my Samsung and June's Apple always have been a problem. It may be it is the GPS you are using not your fault.

MichaelQuicke said...

Thanks Don for your kind intervention. Actually, it is a Garmin but in both misadventures it was the awkward configuration of the roads plus our failure to have remembered the right house number. I have had some good Garmin experiences too but they don't make for fun posts!