Navigational Systems – The New Way to Get Directions as You Drive
Provided By: CarInsurance.com
Last Updated: Monday, October 27, 2008
It can be not only hard but downright impossible to read a map, look for an address and steer your vehicle properly.If you have passengers in the car they can help by trying to read the map but even that can get you lost. The new GPS navigational systems make plotting a route and finding a certain place easy as pie.
It is often seen in movies that families on car trips get lost. It never fails in the show that the man driving the car will not stop to ask for directions. The family continues to get further and further from their destination as they get impossibly lost. This may be a cliché in movies but it does happen in real life as well.
Sometimes one gets lost because they read a map improperly or even worse they do not have a map at all to read. The worst case scenario is when there is only one person in the vehicle. This person has to try to read a map or look for a specific address while driving the vehicle. The driver could always pull over and ask directions or take time to look at the map on the side of the road but no one wants to take time out to do that. So the driver continues to drive around until they happen upon the place they were looking for or get lost completely.
Never fear technology has advanced to help us with our sense of direction. The piece of technology that could help us get to our destination via the best route and in the best time is a portable GPS navigational system. This system is to be placed in your car and once you plug in your destination’s address it is ready to go.
Portable car navigational systems are small units that are able to plot courses using global positioning satellites, the GPS referred to previously. The unit is small and can be handheld but for use in a car you should use the device that attaches it to the windshield so that you can use both hands to drive. Once affixed to the windshield attachment the navigational unit can be pivoted so that either the driver or passenger can see it.
Once the navigational unit is in place the driver can put in the address of where they want to travel to. Most devices have touch screens for the driver to input the necessary address information. The unit will calculate the route in which to take to get to the destination the quickest. Most available navigational units have settings in which you can pick all freeways, no freeways, no toll roads, etc. Set the system to the choices that best suit your driving style.
The navigational unit not only plots out the best route to your destination but the newest portable car systems give voice instructions of the directions. You choose the voice you enjoy listening to from the control setup area and soon you will hear a voice telling you when to turn left, right or go straight. The navigational system vocal instructions give you enough warning of any upcoming turns so that you can get in the correct lane in time.
If you want to look at the full route you can do that as well. The navigational system lists how long it has calculated it should take you to get to your final destination and updates that depending on the speed at which you are traveling. If you are curious to what street you are on or are passing on the way to your address you can glance up at the screen and see. The screen continually shows where you are currently located with an arrow or color marking showing the way in which you are traveling.
The handheld portable GPS system is perfect for business travelers. It can easily be packed in the suitcase and taken to wherever the business person is traveling to. Once they arrive in a new town they can plug in a specific address or choose from sites that the GPS already has addresses for. These sites include hotels, shopping malls, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores and much more.
It the family is traveling on vacation the saved sites on the navigational unit can help them find out of the way places to visit. The unit has pre-programmed points of interest such as state parks, national parks, recreational areas and so on. A family trip without the parents arguing over how to read the map could turn a cramped, unhappy trip into a fun family adventure. Even better yet when the kids ask how much longer the parents can glance at the navigational unit and tell the estimated time it has to their destination.
Portable GPS navigational systems are produced by a variety of manufacturers. Each manufacturer also produces a few different models so that they hopefully have something for everyone. The most popular makers of these units are Magellan, Garmin and Tom-Tom.
If you are interested in purchasing a navigational unit check out the specifications of each model sold by the various makers to find the one that you would like best. Each unit is a little different. Figure out what size screen you would like, one might be too big or too small for your likening. Decide on what particular options you want the most. Each model might have a different way of inserting the address or give you different points of interest.
Different navigational system makers have different map packages to purchase. If the unit you are interested in comes only with European maps you will need to find a different unit to purchase or find out of you can buy the maps of the United States. Also find out if you will be able to download updated maps as they become available. Hopefully you will have the unit for a long time and as new roads are built you will want to have them in your navigational system’s memory.
Newer systems are including even more options that help the driver be less distracted while at the wheel. Navigational systems that include Bluetooth technology allows the driver that owns a phone that is Bluetooth enabled to use the unit as a hands-free device. This permits the driver to accept calls through the navigational unit thus keeping their hands on wheel and being more focused on the road.
There are many distractions on the road when you are driving. There are other motorists driving erratically or talking on their phone and not paying attention to the roadway. If you are going to a new destination it is difficult, if not impossible, to drive and read a map at the same time. A portable GPS navigational system can solve a driver’s problems. The navigational unit’s map not only gets the driver to their destination quickly but if enabled with Bluetooth technology it can offer the fewest distractions.
You were fantastic!
Elizabeth W.
Ft. Pierce, FL
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