Originally Posted by
DrJerry
I live on a dead end road comes from the E/W highway to the North. The same named street coming from the south dead ends just East of our house. (Confused yet?) Mapquest, et al show the streets as one with an offset. I can always tell when someone has been using Mapquest, GPS or similar. We see headlights in our front window, hear tires screech, and see a car sitting in front of our house before backing up. Comes from 2 adjacent farms being subdivided. Plat map is not what is really there. Durn Cherry growers anyway.
What is common and even more frustrating are streets that change their names mid-street. Enter the street from one end and it has one name. Enter from the other end and it has a different name. Sometimes, I presume it is because many people navigate by landmark rather than by street name, the residents on the street don't even know the difference exists.
That brings up a problem with all kinds of navigation: map accuracy. Many times the data upon which maps, whether paper or electronic are based is just not accurate. Sometimes that is because things have changed since the last time a survey was done. Sometimes it is deliberate because residents have put out misleading information.
All in all no matter what navigation aid there is no substitute for local knowledge and situational awareness. This is true whether driving a car, flying an airplane, conning a ship, or just doing back country work off the road system.