[nikhilarni]

Interesting thread.

Back in India, I never had g-maps or a good enough network to use smart phone navigation. It was the good old ways of Rolling down the window and asking for directions.


Out here, in the US, my phone connects to the ICE ( Android Auto) and I have a HUD on the other.

I glance at the maps while approaching intersections or when I am nearing an exit / turn. Most of the other time, it's more audio instructions.

Just the way, we have a routine of looking at the rearview mirrors, while the GPS is on, just add another glance to that screen too.

I am not a fan of keeping the cell phone on a holder over the dashboard or in the cup holders and looking at it for directions. I find that too distracting and obstructing my view through the windscreen.

[IP_Man]

I have self driven car to almost half of the India from south to Himalaya using Google map and BSNL internet connection in the mobile.

But the real credit goes to my wife. She is expert navigator. She interpret Gmap on the mobile and give me verbal direction. This way I'm not distracted from driving. So voted the third option.

[TheVegabond]

Even before GPS navigation became the norm I had a habit of checking the route before I started driving to destinations not known to me.
Even today when GPS is mostly accurate, I follow the same practice. This helps me to know about the route in advance and plan my journey accordingly. While on the go if I need to check the way I keep the phone where I can see it easily and follow the voice instructions.
I have never followed the GPS blindly and in no way gone out of the highways during night drives even if GPS shows a shortcut which can save almost half an hour.

[fhdowntheline]

Over the years I have discovered that when we have time to actually glance at the HU map its mostly on highways, and 80% of the time we don’t need it much other than to see distances covered. And when we actually need it in crowded bylanes or off the beaten path, the system is unreliable or unsafe to use.
Anyone else agree?
PS: I must mention that in the new Creta, I have a turn-by-turn guide on the main console and that is quite useful on occasion to avoid driving complications.

[livetodrive]

Voted for mix everything on a need to need basis. But I do not essentially need someone to help me navigate. In a recent 2000 KM solo drive Gmaps tested my patience. I had to drive from Pune to Bangalore with a halt in Belgaum. Now the entry and exit routes to and from Belgaum shown by maps were different ( you can think of a Y ). So not only I had to listen and watch the screen, but with my judgement I had to override Gmaps suggestion multiple times forcing it to re route since it was taking me through a narrow lane to reach NH from Belgaum. So, what my point is we can't just listen and watch or tell someone to navigate. Based on the road suggestion we need to stop and think if this is the correct route or a shortcut suggested by maps which can put me in trouble rather than helping me. I seriously think there should be an option in Google maps with "non optimized route" which will make car drivers life easy.

[sunsivj]

My Father used to say, A good driver is one who while driving is not able to hear to conversations from his/her fellow passengers. It means the driver is concentrating/enjoying the driving. I look at the map after ensuring clearance around me and check the distance for the next turn. Calculate this momentarily and use the Trip option in Odometer and glance once in a while to check how much distance left. This makes to look at the Map less frequently.

[Zignor]

Unable to vote so posting it here.
Before I owned a car, I used to be the official navigator using Google Maps and guiding the person driving.
Now due to Apple CarPlay things are so easy, especially in the Nexon considering where the HUD is placed that all it takes is a glance to know which route you're on.
Keeping it mute helps because I find it really annoying in the city. Reminds me of that scene from Total Dhamal where Jackie Shroff is narrating the navigation.

[Old_Salt]

Being an old salt, initial driving days were not far from being at sea. A position once in a while. Most routes were from memory, remembering conspicuous landmarks.
Then it was paper maps and assistance from locals.
The joy of stopping at a paanwala/chaiwala, stretching your legs and getting into small talk is unparalleled.

And bang came GPS at sea, telling me my position in the vast ocean every second. It followed suit on land and Google took over almost everything.
My car now has android auto, I can't even think of leaving my home without checking the traffic and follow to the T. Have tried applying seaman's brain to contradict Google maps and failed miserably.
So the navigation is always on but mute.
Most drives are with my wife, so whenever there is any doubt, I become the Captain and she takes the role of the mate, quickly checking the route on her phone and I continue driving till the suggestion( or command ) is delivered.

On a side note, driving down from Jaipur last week and getting into a small village due to farmers blocking one section of the road , got a chance to interact with a local tea seller.
He was kind enough to tell the route but also mentioned that now days no one stops their car to ask for route.
Pehle log chai paani cigarette lelete the, ab koi nahin rukta.

[Kols]

One of the bugs I have experienced with Google maps (my go-to navigation tool) is that it sometime goes into the dreaded re-routing loop if you took a wrong turn. While it helps in a familiar environment, it's a mess if you are stuck in a place and want to get "out" towards your destination.

To resolve this problem, I generally exit the "navigation" mode, and go one step back to "directions" screen. It shows you the directions, and you can also get a bird's eye view of your location (blue dot) and see it in moving towards your destination.

Another option I use is get out and speak to a shopkeeper/ street vendor; you are guided suitably and get an opportunity to interact with locals.

[bark1234]

I have had this fear of losing road focus if I look too often/long on the screen ever since I started using google maps navigation 10 years ago. Due to this, I started placing the mobile as far as possible on the windshield(mount). The idea is that when I have to glance at the mobile screen, my focus doesn't change much plus I still have a major area of the road ahead visible when glancing at the mobile screen.

When you place mobile as far as possible, it doesn't block the view also since it starts blocking more of the bonnet, wiper, etc than your road view area. I have been using large screen sizes phones for a long time, 6.3 inches(galaxy mega) to 7 inch(unknown-mediapad-X2), and now it's 7.2 inch Mate 20X, so distance viewing is not a problem.

Now that my car has Android Auto and a large MMI display, still I prefer to use a magnetic mobile mount for the same reason, I don't want to move my head away from the road.

One problem with windshield mounting is that the phone heats up badly when driving in sun. Sometimes even shutting down due to heat. For that created a phone cover with silver foil and cardboard. This helps in keeping the phone temperature low while under the sun, I haven't faced heat problems since I started using this.

I do monitor battery temperature using tasker and it hasn't gone beyond 40-45 yet.

Another problem I used to face was the stability of mounts in heat, it used to come off under high temperature, but gel-based suction mounts perform pretty well. haven't come out in 5 years since I have started using it.

on a different note: I used to use google maps for direction even before google navigation was available and mobile data was available(not sure which came first ). Used to check the route on google maps on a laptop, make note of important turning points on paper like a turn at Philips showroom and then 10 km, etc. Was never a fan of asking on way.

I think I have never asked for directions on road since the 12-13 years that I started driving.

[binand]

Voted option 1 - "Refer to visual map often". But usually only a quick glance to check when the next proposed turn is. I keep the voice prompts off.

Both my current cars have Android Auto support, so the phone sits somewhere and the map is on permanent display. I have a good sense of direction and I am also not averse to stopping on the wayside and inspecting the immediate route (like say, for the next hour / till next town) on my second phone.

My previous cars didn't have Android Auto, so I had to rely on the voice prompts. It used to be very annoying. Also once an inadvertent screen touch resulted in an extra stop being added and Google Maps taking me on a fun drive through interior Goa roads for a 40+40 km detour.

[joelstephen]

Before I started driving cars regularly, I rode a bicycle and a motorcycle. So after Gmaps became popular I started using audio directions. So when I moved to a car, I didn't feel the need to constantly look at the map. But I still do have a look at the route before leaving.

[jithin23]

I have a habit of knowing the names of major towns on my route in case my map does not work, I'm am at least aware about where I am. This way, we can approach the locals too if we need help.

Most of the time I connect to Android auto and use Maps displayed onto the MID. That way the focus is in the road.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I don't like using audio prompts in navigation but if you miss a turn, google quitely reroutes and you don't even realize you are going the wrong way.

I've had this problem too! I'm extremely annoyed with the Google team that decides on how their software interfaces with humans. They've made arbitrary changes without giving the users any options. On top of that they bring in changes without warning.

These days governments around the world, and especially those in the developed world have simply abandoned any concern for the safety of their citizens it seems. I think that Google Maps inside a vehicle should be considered something to regulated by the motor vehicles department or some other such regulatory body as it affects safety of everyone on the road. Governments are far behind when it comes to being tech savvy.

There should be some standard method of communicating directions, changes should be reviewed and approved by experts. Updates to interfaces should be enforced after mandatory approvals have been obtained. In fact, all navigation brands should have a standard approved mode. It is like having the steering wheel and the ABC pedals in standard positions.

I have also noticed that Android apps have less uniformity than Windows. I wonder if the likes of Google even have any UI or ergonomics experts in their organizations. I remember the days before Microsoft standardized their user interfaces, seems like we have forgotten about user friendliness.

[vamsi.kona]

Whenever there is an audio prompt to take a turn, I just take a quick glance to see where I have to go. It's like how we check the OVRM's, just a fleeting glance to create a mental picture of the audio prompt. I somehow prefer not to depend on co-passenger, unless they know the route. And if I do feel I took a wrong turn, I try to check with the locals to confirm if I am going the correct way or not.