Gps Cell Phone Safety
The GPS navigation system offers a number of compelling safety features to drivers venturing into unfamiliar territory, including keeping us from getting lost, guiding us to the nearest service station, rest area or hospital, and enabling us to report our precise location to emergency responders. Though the presence of another electronic device in the automobile can be a distraction, those of us who recall wrestling with big, unwieldy paper roadmaps while attempting to hold our eyes on the street see the in-vehicle GPS Navigation revolution as a net benefit, particularly with the inclusion of voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions.Today there's a new revolution underway, namely the increasing availability and sophistication of GPS features on cell phones, including the iPhone, Android and Google Nexus One. However, from a safety standpoint, there are strong arguments as to why the GPS for your mobile phone is best utilized when you are stopped or seated in the passenger seat and a dedicated in-vehicle GPS device remains the best option:1. Eyes Ahead - Read With Your Ears: One of the main hazards of electronic products in the automobile is the fact that they pull your eyes away from the street ahead. Virtually all dedicated in-car GPS Navigation systems provide spoken turn-by-turn directions ("in one mile, turn left"). The best models also offer text-to-speech capacity, i.e., they read the street names aloud ("in one mile, turn left on Main Street"). Mobile phone apps do not consistently have these functions and the speaker volume and sound quality is usually significantly better on dedicated GPS models, which have more robust speakers.2. Screen Size: Even with spoken directions, there will be situations when the driver must refer to the GPS Navigation unit's visual map display. Despite the fact that the quality of mobile displays continue to advance, their size remains smaller, significantly smaller than that of a dedicated GPS device. This makes it more difficult to discern detail and has the potential to keep your eyes off the road for a longer time.3. Size of Controls: Touch screens are often tricky to operate even when you're not driving. Since cell phones are smaller than dedicated GPS units, the soft control keys we press to control the system are also smaller, necessitating more effort, finesse, and time to operate. Again, this has the potential of keeping your eyes off the street.4. Heads Up: Dedicated GPS systems are often mounted to the windshield or dashboard such that they don't require the driver to move his / her head to see the screen; simply shifting the eyes can offer a satisfactory view. Unless a mobile phone is secured in a similar fashion, instead of put on the passenger seat, in the cup holder or ash tray as is commonly true, the driver will need to not only avert eyes and head to look at the display, but also may need to remove a hand from the steering wheel in an effort to hold the phone so it may be more conveniently viewed, one more distraction.5. Power: While dedicated GPS Navigation units generally plug into the vehicle's power, we're accustomed to the convenience of utilizing our cell phones without plugging them in. When running on battery power, the cell phone's screen saver may switch on, requiring you to reactivate it (by touching the screen, for example), one more distraction and necessity to remove a hand from the steering wheel.6. It's For You: It's simple to forget that your mobile phone is, well, a telephone. An ill-timed telephone call could interfere with the capability to navigate.7. Precision: Receiving a GPS Navigation signal from space requires an antenna and sensitive GPS chip. A dedicated GPS Navigation system features a bigger antenna and normally an extremely sensitive GPS Navigation chipset which makes sure you can receive GPS signals even among tall buildings and below a forest canopy. Your cellular phone handset cannot offer a similar level of sensitivity and therefore will not be able to calculate your location as precisely. Why is this a safety problem? Without a good fix on your location, the GPS could route you incorrectly or offer directions too late for you to make a turn safely.There is no question that cell phone technology will continue to progress and tackle some of these safety issues, however in the meantime there continue to be solid safety advantages in utilizing a dedicated in-car GPS unit when using your mobile phone only as a backup or when riding shotgun. The latest dedicated GPS Navigation devices, such as Garmin's nuvi series, are portable and lightweight, simply carried inside your purse or briefcase. If you must use your mobile phone to navigate when driving, take the following measures to maximize safety:- Be sure that your phone is mounted to your windshield or dashboard in a "heads-up" position.- Plug your mobile phone into your car's power outlet.- Make sure that the speaker volume of your smartphone is satisfactory; use your auto's audio system by plugging your vehicle's speaker jack (if available) into your cellular phone; alternatively, use the phone's wired or wireless earpiece to ensure that you are able to hear spoken directions well.- Plan and review your route before you head out and while stopped.- Stay off the phone until you are stopped or traveling in a region where you don't need immediate GPS Navigation assistance
