Why Should I Buy a GPS?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s the little box that so many people around you now have plastered to their windshield with a suction cup that leaves odd little circles. They’re the best thing since sliced bread for driving. I’ve had one for a year and I don’t quite remember what life was like before.

There are several reasons to buy a GPS, the best of them is that you will save time and money. I’ve always been pretty good at finding my way to where I want to go, but I love having a GPS, particularly when I’m travelling to a city I don’t know. I couldn’t even guess how many times my GPS has saved me 5-10 minutes on a trip, by showing me a better route. In addition, it saved me time and paper. I used to spend 2-3 minutes before every trip to a place I was unsure of looking up my route on an online map, printing it out and then following it. Having a GPS in my car is good for my schedule, good for my wallet, and good for the environment because I use less gas.

Finding Your Way

See an accident up ahead just as you’re passing the last exit which could allow you to avoid it? Being able to make a snap decision that the road you’re on is going to be a problem and spontaneously choosing another route is a wonderful benefit of having a GPS. Make a wrong turn or choose a different way and the GPS automatically recognizes you’re not following the plan and plots a new course based on your choice or error.

You may know your own city pretty well and you probably know the fastest route to the places you go to often. A GPS is great even when you’re running between places you know well, because while you may know the fastest route from your house to Point A and the fastest route to Point B, you may not know the fastest route from A to B. When you first get a GPS, use it everywhere you go for the first few weeks and it will open up routes and shortcuts you never knew about in your own city. After several months, I started to leave mine in the glove compartment except when I was unsure of where I was going. But at first, my GPS helped me learn my own environs better.

Am I Late?

Another benefit of having a GPS is that it continuously estimates your arrival time. No worrying about whether you’ll get to the meeting on time. While my GPS isn’t all that great at factoring in traffic lights, it does provide me with a surprisingly accurate estimate of how long it’s going to take me to arrive somewhere.

Of course, someone who has never used a GPS would assume that this will be a great temptation to speed. When you can see that you’re running late, of course you’re going to put the hammer down. For me, it’s actually had the opposite effect. I spent years assuming that I was saving massive amounts of time by speeding. Realizing exactly how little time I was saving by speeding has actually caused me to slow down. I now know that I have to really move to save more than 5 minutes on a one hour trip, and if I’m driving that fast, I’m a target for the local constabulary. It just isn’t worth it, and has encouraged me to get myself more organized and leave the house ten minutes earlier.

One of the great ironies of my life is that shortly after I came to the realization that I was speeding way too much and made a conscious effort to slow down… I got the only speeding ticket I’ve ever received in my life. Ah well… I was overdue.

Unsure of Your Destination?

Having a GPS means having an electronic Yellow Pages directory in your car at all times. Any store you might need is easily searchable. Need a suggestion for a restaurant? You can not only search for the names of restaurants, but search by category if you’re in the mood for Mexican or Chinese and want to try a new spot.

The best part about GPS systems is how far down they’ve come in price. If you’ve a saavy shopper and you’re willing to consider a refurbished unit, there are decent units that sometimes dip below the 3 digit barrier. At that price, purchasing a GPS becomes a no-brainer because of its convenience and the time and money it will save you.