Too Much Technology Run Amok

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I bought a new car a few months ago. Traded my SLK230 for an SLK250. Higher number. Smaller engine. Well played Mercedes.

It’s been 15 years since my last new car. Lots has changed.

I like having Bluetooth. I like satellite radio. This car feels more substantial… and it’s a lot less noisy.

And then there’s the GPS. It uses traffic reports from the satellite radio for route planning. It even checks for faster routes while in motion.

I got the car and gave it free reign, clicking the button that made the GPS boss. All of a sudden my routes looked like I was trying to avoid being tailed! Exits. Side streets. Crazy detours. I’m learning the area. Sometimes there’s no choice but to follow.

Reconfiguration time.

This time I clicked the ‘ask me first’ button. Now the weirdness made sense. The GPS has a hair trigger. If it could shave seconds, it would try.

Problem is the information it receives is full of little errors that momentarily make slow roads look fast. So, I get messages like this:

Traffic Jam On Your Route
Recommended Detour:
approx. 1 min Faster
Approx. 200 ft Longer

I’m sure this feature is great, but someone’s got to turn the sensitivity down. Right now it’s too much technology run amok!

14 thoughts on “Too Much Technology Run Amok”

  1. Do you have the manual for the GPS? It’s very possible that it is programmed to gradually learn your personal preferences, based on your selections. If not, that might be a feature that can be turned on.

  2. Google Mas, mPpquest, and the rest of them do the same thing. They send you off the main roads for no reason. Have tried tweaking preferences to no avail to far.

  3. You have another toy. Something we did not have in the sixties.technology.I just wish with all the technology they would find a cure for cancer.

  4. Geoff, think back to CT– coming over I-95 bridge in new London? Needed an address in Groton…GPS sent me to the Bowels of new London… haven’t trusted it since!!! :0

  5. Without the REALLY expensive upgrade to our GPS our SUV now travels thru space where a new Crosstown Parkway was recently completed….doesn’t even “recalculate”…lol …ood Luck with the new ride…

  6. It’s amazing what new cars can do these days. I’ve driven a few premium cars that have GPS and full navigation systems. Kind of neat really but I prefer to plan my own routes, especially in familiar territory.
    But SATELITE RADIO is the BEST! I love it. Some of our cars at work have it. Funny we can always tell who’s been driving because of what stations are on the presets. WE have a devoutly religious kid who’s always preset to ‘The Message’. I’m always on E Street Radio, one of our managers likes CNN en espaniol (he’s learning conversational spanish and it helps him develop his skills) and the boss is on ESPN. People are like that.

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