A recent story that floated across my screen offering me four more days every year. Since I can always use a bit more time, I was intrigued. I never knew my GPS system was so useful. I know that I lose plenty of time sitting in traffic, but I never knew I could recoup it. Well, kinda.
Engadget reported on a study found in an auto blog. If all this is true, we can get back the week or so that we lose sitting in traffic jams.
You know what we hate? Sitting in gridlock when we could be, you know, out doin’ stuff. At the very least, it’s the antithesis of the “wind in your hair,” Dean Moriarty-esque image we’ve carefully cultivated over the years. “If only,” we say to ourselves, “there was a way to find routes that were free of congestion.” Sure, we’ve heard all about your fancy real-time traffic updates — but how well do they actually work? According to a study by the GIS data and services company NAVTEQ (so, you know, take it with a grain of salt), drivers that use GPS systems with real-time traffic info spend 18% less time behind the wheel than those who do not (that’s a whopping four days over the course of a single year, or enough time to watch 1 1/2 Peter Watkins films). In addition, the company says that smarter navigation has been shown to lower CO2 output by 21 percent — which is a good deal, no matter how you slice it.
Some have speculated that new traffic jams will form because so many people will be trying to get around normal traffic jams by taking secondary roads. Who knows?
But if this works, heck, we can save time, get back lost days and help with the fight against global warming all at the same time. What a deal I have for you!
After several decades working in a variety of jobs as a newspaper writer, event publicist, communications specialist, and marketing director, Karen Cummings is now “retired” and working on Travelers United’s social media and newsletters in addition to occasionally contributing a travel-related article to TU’s blog. She lives close to her family in Fryeburg, Maine, and travels as often as she can.
