Auto Navigational Systems

As you know from my "I hate cell phone" rants I do not easily embrace high technology. It often seems to be worse than existing practice. Take for example credit cards at grocery and other stores. Is it really faster and easier than paying with cash? I think not. And often credit cards have incorrect charges, can be stolen and used by others, etc. Money payments are direct and quick. That's why I rarely use a credit card for purchases. (My nightmare- buying a cell phone with a credit card).
Every time I buy groceries I must wait for the person in line ahead of me to swipe the card nd wait for approval, and sign the credit card receipt for the clerk. So it isn't faster than handing cash. Too, when the buyer receives his or her credit card bill there are interest charges and the problem of reconciling the charges, some of which may not be accurate.
Where am I going with this....Well, to another new technology that is the rage now- automobile navigation systems. You know them. All of the more expensive cars have them installed for the buyer and they can be purchased and installed later by drivers who feel they can't find their own way when driving. In theory such a directional system is good,. But in practice, the technology is too primitive now to be worthwhile.
The navigational systems sold now ( at between $1000 and $2000 after installation) pinpoint a car's location, courtesy of military-installed global positioning system satellites across the country, combining it with mapping software to supposedly tell the driver exactly where to turn and when in order to reach his or her pre determined destination. If you make a wrong turn the system guides you back on target.
But! Some of those systems are not working as prescribed, and I have a good example of one case in Germany that shows it. A 46-year-old German motorist driving along a busy road suddenly veered to the left and ended up stuck on a railway track -- because his satellite navigation system told him to.
Yep! The motorist was heading into the north German city of Bremen "when the friendly voice from his satnav told him to turn left," a police spokesman said. "He did what he was ordered to do and turned his Audi left up over the curb and onto the track of a local streetcar line. He tried to back up off the track but got completely stuck." The police spokesman said about a dozen trams were held up until a tow lorry arrived to clear the car off the track. Several German motorists have crashed their cars in recent months, later telling police they were only obeying orders from their satnavs.
Haha Maybe the driver was dumb and would have driven on the tracks without the direction of his navigational system. But this technology is presenting a safety hazard to both the driver operating it and other drivers. I can just see my nightmare scenario...a driver talking on a cell phone as his navigational system tells him to crash into me............