Just a couple of months ago I was walking in my neighborhood, and a car stopped and the driver asked me how to get back to the highway. Apparently neither he nor his passenger had access to a GPS device for some reason, and I was able to direct him to the highway (the entrance to which was about 2 blocks away). That was the first time in quite a few years that I’ve been asked for directions.
Someone asked me for directions a week ago in Italy. It was to a church i had just come from, so despite being a tourist, i was able to help him.
It seems that I get asked for directions more often when I travel. This happens even when I don’t know the language. Several years ago in Germany I had a gentleman ask me for directions in German. He was a native Italian speaker so I couldn’t even understand his German. But we were able to communicate via international sign language of some sort LOL!
Most recent directions were given yesterday to my cousin’s grandson who was on his way to help me with some house chores. He was walking! I provided the house number, color of porch and color of car parked out front.
Same, apparently I look helpful and like I know where I’m going. I got asked for directions in Spain, in Spanish, last time I was there. Luckily I was there with a Spanish speaking friend, because I could understand the question but that was as far as my language skills went… I also remember getting off the train in town I’d never visited before in Australia, walking two streets, and having someone come up to me and ask if I could direct him to the train station. It was literally the only thing I could direct him to.
Normally I just have to give directions at work, because they recently moved the reception building and main entrance and the signs aren’t very clear. Visitors, delivery drivers and workmen regularly seem to pick me to ask.
I was wrong. One place we order from updated their own map; Bing still has us on the wrong street.
Just last week someone asked directions to a supermarket and I was able
to help ! First time for ages (4/5 years iirc)
Also, inspired by this thread, I finally remembered to get onto google maps about
my house being shown on the wrong side of the road. I’m sure my neighbours
over the road get deliveries for me and have to bring them over.
Let’s see if they (google) ever get round to fixing it.
I had to give directions the other day to a delivery person who used GPS to find The Home, but it took him to the wrong building on the wrong street. (We have a rather large campus.)
GPS is most effective when used in conjunction with common sense, the ability to read building numbers and street signs, and the ability to recognize large objects such as buildings, bodies of water, and brick walls that you cannot drive through. GPS is a tool, not a substitute for awareness of the world that you are driving through.
There is a downtown venue near me with a parking deck about two blocks away. The parking deck is run by the city and is free after business hours, so it is a very popular place to park when attending evening events.
However, there is virtually no signage for how to get to the venue from the parking deck. It’s also very unclear which level of the deck exits to the appropriate sidewalk. Finally, there is a combination of one-way streets that creates a couple intersections which greatly favor crossing the streets in a certain sequence (i.e., you’ll wait twice as long if you cross THIS street first than if you cross THAT street first). I must give directions/suggestions four or five times to bewildered people every single time I park there. What’s worse is that I’m sometimes going to ANOTHER building for some other event and these poor people will follow me like ducklings thinking I must be going to the venue they want.
This has gone on for years and I can’t help thinking that some simple signage would be well worth the cost.
It would be very helpful for many of the cases mentioned here if there was wider awareness and use of What3Words, which locates you down to a few square metres. I believe our emergency services use it now for that very reason.
The problem with What3 Words is that it doesn’t help you get where you want to go, unless you have a device with additional information to find a route.
I mentioned the problem of getting from a parking deck to a city venue previously. People who park there can actually SEE the venue from the upper floors of the deck, but they would benefit from directions to get over to the venue from the lower levels.
Well yes, I was kinda assuming folks had access to Apple or Google maps!
How do you use a What3Words address in Google Maps? I just entered the words for my house into Google Maps, and it gave me a location which had one of those three words in its actual title.
Another TomTom GPS user here. Got behind a 17 mph ultra wide load giant truck being escorted with blinky-light pickups on a narrow road, no conceivable possibility of passing. Told the TomTom to find another route.
TomTom is telling us to go through yon intersection and continue straight ahead. Straight ahead would take us into yon property owner’s back yard, under the swing set, then through the creek running behind the property, and out into the woods.
In the W3W app I hit the button Navigate and it gives me the choice of Apple Maps, or if you have the Pro version other maps such as Google and Uber.
TomTom? Is this 1983? 
Seriously, that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time … a long time.
That’s what we still use in our vehicles. Neither of us is much for toting smartphones around.
I gave someone on the street directions to the train station just this morning.