Sandy Supposes....

GPS, The Driver's Scapegoat

PROMPT: Creation Saturday! I've taken one line from each of your blogs on 2/24. Your task is to write a poem or a story with the lines, but also to discover who owns what lines...

          THE LINES: "everyone loves"--Poisoned Purple Pen, "television station"--Chris Breva,..."hair salon"---Jade Amber, "spiritual soul"--Prosperous Snow (Neva), "too many interests"--S.B. Musing, "obstacles head on"--TaH2O, "direction we're heading"--Kittiara...

          Everyone loves to hear of human bloopers, the quirky, amusing little things that people do not get right. We've all fallen victim to mistakes that make us roll our eyes, shake our heads, and wonder what were we thinking? Those momentary lapses of judgement occur too frequently. Sadly, too many of these faux pas are now referred to as distractions, and we permit them free reign when we are driving motor vehicles.

         Drivers have too many interests that tempt them, too many gadgets. They no longer keep their eyes trained on the road. They choose to fiddle with their cell phones, or their tablets, or their I-Pods; they text, they carry on conversations with people not in the car, they snap photos of passing scenery, they listen to music, and search for other tunes. Perhaps they are booking appointments to places such as the hair salon, the medical clinic, or planning their appearances on the latest breaking news at the television station.

         One of the most distracting, frustrating, and yet most blindly trusted automobile gadgets is the GPS. Who needs to map out their route before hopping in the car? Who needs to have a real live navigator? Who needs to stop and seek directions? The almighty , all-knowing GPS will guide everyone step-by-step. street-by-street. No need to stare out the windshield, or read road signs. A voice will direct you: turn right in twenty metres, follow this road for five kilometres, you should reach your destination in twenty minutes. Heaven help you if you ignore the voice, or miss a cue. Then you hear, "recalculating, recalculating." There often isn't any life, any inflection to that robotic voice. It is well-modulated, so very patient. It has no spiritual soul.

          Many drivers have forgotten to trust their own eyes, or to look for signs/markers themselves. They seem totally reliant upon the GPS. If they are instructed/urged/coerced to turn here, they turn here. It matters not if they strike obstacles head on . They do not defy, or question the GPS with. "Explain the direction we're heading."

         Lately, here in Ontario Canada, drivers have found themselves in ridiculous predicaments all because they put their faith in a GPS. One woman drove her car into the water of a harbour claiming that her GPS commanded her to do so. Uh, did she not notice the moored boats, the dock, the water, or the ramp she trespassed on? Now ,a man has ignored many posted warning signs to drive his car up an incline and enter an enclosed subway tunnel. Apparently, he proceeded for some distance and only stopped his vehicle when he reached a subway station. Luckily the trains were not operational at the time since it was in the early morning. Um, did he not see, and or feel the metal tracks? Did he not notice "the road" was narrow, and free of other traffic? News reports claim he temporarily abandoned his car, and returned to it to find the police in attendance. Most drivers who become stuck somewhere attempt to drive their cars. A ditch, or mud. or snow... most people extricate themselves , or seek assistance. Could this driver not reverse out of the tunnel? Yes, he blamed his GPS... Hmmm, there was probably some kind of abuse at work here.... substance abuse...

         So, there is a new culprit, a new scapegoat for bad drivers. The defence seems to be my GPS made me do it...