Autoblog

Sibling site Engadget reports what may be a trend among GPS-using drivers at least in the U.K.

According to The Times, drivers going through the village of Luckington have driven right into the river by following their navigation systems. This is despite all the warning signs that the bridge has been closed. The village has had to tow two cars a day on average. And we at Autoblog reported on the village of Crackpot where following GPS has nearly lead several drivers over a cliff.

Maybe it's time to add 'Using navigation systems' to Driver's Ed?

[Source: The Times and BBC via Engadget]

TechnoRide recently navigated using OnStar's new "Turn-by-Turn" navigation system to see how it worked. Turn-by-Turn works by OnStar downloading a route's directions into the vehicle. Voice prompts are uttered where to go, turn, etc., like a standard navigation system. TechnoRide used a Cadillac STS as their test vehicle.

The driver found the system worked. Voice prompts would notify when approaching a turn and which direction to go. But lack of visual cues, either maps or text, could make things confusing. And if the driver misunderstood the directions and had to turn around, OnStar would notify them, for example, to turn 'south' and leave it to the driver to figure out where 'south' was.

General Motors, which owns OnStar, plans to roll out the Turn-by-Turn option for all its 2007 vehicles. Pricing has not been announced thought it's expected to match a similar feature available on cellphones.

[Source: TechnoRide]