When we were putting together the previous post about the couple that took the GPS “shortest” route and ended up snow-bound on a US Forest Service road for two and a half days, we kept finding conflicting information about the names of the people and how they were rescued. Finally we figured out there were two similar incidents, both in the state of Oregon and both occurred on US Forest Service roads.
This second incident began much like the other one. Jeramie Griffin and Megan Garrison had a new GPS receiver, and they selected the “shortest” route–40 miles shorter than the quickest route. They intended to drive on Christmas Eve from Lebanon, OR to The Dalles, OR. The GPS told them to turn off of Highway 22 onto Breitenbush Road near Detroit Lake, then onto a US Forest Service road.
Following those directions, they got stuck in snow and spent the night in their SUV with their 11-month old daughter, Lexi. They had no cell phone service, even after walking for miles along the road, searching for a signal.
Their family was expecting them in The Dalles on Christmas Eve, but when they had not arrived on Christmas day several agencies began searching for them.
Looking for them, Griffin’s uncle, Jim Wiens, used a similar GPS unit and followed its directions for the same route, including driving down the snow-covered USFS road on Christmas day. He was about to turn around thinking the couple could not possibly be that far down a back road when he saw the footprints they had left when they were searching for a cell phone signal. He continued down the road until he found them.
(VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
Maybe we should just avoid Oregon?
Seriously, there are way too many documented cases of people blindly following GPS directions and winding up in trouble. Perhaps the commenter above has a good idea — noting roads with little or no maintenance — but we should also emphasize common sense. Face it, the little magic box is NOT infallible, despite what the ads say. We need to go back to taking some responsibility for our own actions.
GPS – The wave of the future. Map reading is no longer a mandated part of Basic wildland fire training! When teaching “Basic”, I extoll the virtues and values of a GPS, then turn it over and remove the 2-AA batteries, displaying for the wanna-bee firefighters a $500 paperweight. Then I show them the 1964 Silva Ranger hand compass I got in Forestry school, and explain that it has never used a AA battery in 45+ years. Guess I’m a real Luddite?
We put far too much blind trust in our little electronic devices.
More common sense needs to be applied, of course, but how about adding a “No Winter Maintenance” attribute to the roads data?
This would likely apply automatically to most roads in certain classes. Then, it could be highlighted when a route is suggested or chosen, especially during the winter, and perhaps there could be a “Shortest Route (exclude No Winter Maintenance roads)” option. Just make applying common sense a little easier.
That’s a good idea.
I heard about a third group for which the same thing happened, and again in Oregon. They slid off an unmaintained road after being routed there by their GPS, then walked 17 miles with their dog before being rescued.
Bill