Riding on Instruments

With GPS navigation devices becoming so popular with motorcyclists, it perhaps ushers in the question of whether or not riders can navigate ...

With GPS navigation devices becoming so popular with motorcyclists, it perhaps ushers in the question of whether or not riders can navigate down the road looking ONLY at their GPS.

When you encounter very thick fog, or find that you're headlight isn't working at night, the GPS can tell you when a curve is approaching, or when your next turn is.

A rider going by the nickname of "Havana B" claimed to have done something similar to that, when he encountered thick fog on a mountain road...

As I entered the cloud cover, the visibility went down to a few hundred feet, then 50 feet, then virtually nothing. Stopping was not an option � rock wall on one side, precipitous fall on the other, unknown crazy traffic behind me and no visibility to find any turn-outs. All I could see was the double yellow and it appeared to vanish only a few feet ahead of me. Then I discovered a new use for my trusty SP III. By occasionally taking a quick glance down at the GPS, I could at least determine whether the next turn was to be to the left or the right and get an idea of how sharp a lean I would need to make. Finally, I saw a waypoint coming up on my screen that represented one of my favorite scenic outlooks. By watching the double yellow, glancing at the GPS and following my nose, I managed to make it onto the turnout and turn around.

You can read his full story here...

http://forums.delphiforums.com/....?msg=25854.1

While I wouldn't exactly trust a GPS enough to just watch it exclusively and turn the handlebars accordingly, I can definitely see how it'll prepare you for an upcoming turn.

Maybe someday the technology will improve enough to where vehicles will come equipped with "Auto Pilot".