I had a very funny driving experience using my GPS this sunday.
I was on my way back from Atlantic City after a convention and was driving up the Garden State Parkway (a toll road in NJ). Around exit 70, I heard a notification on the FM radio that there was an accident around exit 90 and we should choose alternate routes to get to NYC/Newark area.
So I do the obvious thing any geek would do … pull over to a side road, take out the laptop and my trusty GPS and check for alternate routes. 30 seconds later, I am ready and get off the Parkway and take some local roads that will eventually get my onto the NJ Turnpike (the other major toll road in NJ).
I’m driving along these small village roads with very little street lighting and farms and rustic houses, and stuck in traffic still.
And then suddenly I got it … obviously GPS units are so commonplace, that in the case of an accident/traffic jam, everyone used their GPS units to get alternative routes … and ended up using the same local roads that I used.
I almost didn’t need to use my GPS because of this … just following the hundreds of other cars was enough to get back onto the major highways!
I wish the next generation of transportation devices come to market soon so I can get my geeky hands on it as an early-adopter and have a few more years of advantages over the masses.