How will people cope when or if GPS is switched off?

[MUDGUTZ]

…Just thinking this morning, after reading about drones used in the Ukraine/Russia conflict and also GPS jamming/spoofing in the Middle East.

Were the GPS signals to be switched off or downgraded in the UK for security purposes (Could that happen?) How would people cope?

[GAjon]

They’d be lost.

[jjones]

Back in the day for car navigation I would write a list of roads names and towns. You would invariably have no issue getting to a mile or two of the destination but it would always fall apart in the final couple of miles and could often take ages actually locating the target. Having to resort to asking pedestrians and a bit of luck. A delivery driver on a new route would be a bit of a nightmare I suspect.

[abzmike]

I’d go to the loft and retrieve my library of A2Z maps for most major towns in the country, from my days as a service engineer. The Google Maps of the day.

[Wacky Racer]

We managed fine in the 1960's, just used maps.

It would be a shock to today's generation, but they would cope......eventually.

Far better with it though obviously.

[ARHarh]

The boomers and Gen z would just put on some rose tinted glasses get out their old paper maps and carry on. The Millennials would probably find a way to cope, anyone younger will be at home waiting for the government to pay some form of compensation and send them a leaflet explaining how to access counselling.

[MadCaptainJack]

I suspect that if GPS were ever unavailable in the UK for any security-related reason, we'd have other things to worry about.

There are alternatives to GPS (the EU's Galileo and Russia's GLONASS system. I, for one, welcome our new European / Russian (delete as appropriate) overlords.

[essayer]

a particular website would be getting a lot more traffic

Edited by essayer on Sunday 27th October 08:56

[croyde]

I survived in the 80s as a dispatch rider and van courier with just a London AtoZ and maps of various major cities ie Manchester, Birmingham etc

Other places I'd stop off at any WH Smith and look at local maps and memorize my destination

Never had a problem in Europe or the US either.

Prior to driving myself it was my job to read the map whilst my mum/dad drove.

I was in Holland the other day, completely allowing the Sat Nav to tell me where to go and what lane to be in, and did wonder how on Earth I used to cope

[smokey mow]

essayer said:

a particular website would be getting a lot more traffic

Ooo I like that, which website/app is that from?

[croyde]

I dunno about the above but there's loads on line including the AA, RAC and Michelin.

There used to be a number you could ring too

[Colonel Cupcake]

smokey mow said:

Ooo I like that, which website/app is that from?

Looks like the AA or RAC route finder.

[kambites]

Lack of sat nav for driving would at least of offset by the fact that international shipping would grind to a halt so we'd have no petrol to drive with anyway.

[languagetimothy]

jjones said:

Back in the day for car navigation I would write a list of roads names and towns. You would invariably have no issue getting to a mile or two of the destination but it would always fall apart in the final couple of miles and could often take ages actually locating the target. Having to resort to asking pedestrians and a bit of luck. A delivery driver on a new route would be a bit of a nightmare I suspect.

yeah me too. id take a look at the map book, decide which route, often getting off the motorway and going cross country. long note stuck to dash board something like

M1
J8
B123 towards xxxx
B456 towards xxxx
etc etc., until
destination

sometimes calling (once you'd found a phone box) a friend as we had agreed that it was easier for me to find, say, the train station than their house and they would come and meet me there to follow them home.

[Aunty Pasty]

kambites said:

Lack of sat nav for driving would at least of offset by the fact that international shipping would grind to a halt so we'd have no petrol to drive with anyway.

I'm pretty sure international shipping did occur well before GPS was generally available. You just won't be able to track the ship in real-time.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Do they still sell a to z maps?
Not seen them in years. Had to keep about 10 of them in the van.

[kambites]

Aunty Pasty said:

kambites said:

Lack of sat nav for driving would at least of offset by the fact that international shipping would grind to a halt so we'd have no petrol to drive with anyway.

I'm pretty sure international shipping did occur well before GPS was generally available. You just won't be able to track the ship in real-time.

Yes it did, as did aviation, but both were using techniques which aren't widely used today and both had safety records which wouldn't be deemed acceptable today. It would obviously be possible, but it would require substantial retraining and changes to processes to adapt and that would take time.

[valiant]

Just get one of these bad boys out.




Used to travel a bit for work pre satnav days and one of these was indispensable. Sit down the night before to plan route. Had a load of AtoZs at home as well for various cities as well.

Never got lost

[ferret50]

When lorry driving in the days before Tomtom I used a road atlas marked with bridge hieghts. For unknown destinations I would stop at the nearest motorway services and brouse the A to Z local maps for the final route in.

This mostly worked fine, however I do remember having to find a place just off the South Circular one morning, the 'obvious' way in turned out to be a residential street lined on both sides with cars and my final right turn was blocked with bollards. I could see the bloody factory I wanted, but could not get to it!
I had to reverse a 44t lorry back to the South Circular to find the correct way in....I did get help from a brewers dray, the driver's mate knew exactly where I needed to be as he'd helped others out!

[Cold]

kambites said:

Aunty Pasty said:

kambites said:

Lack of sat nav for driving would at least of offset by the fact that international shipping would grind to a halt so we'd have no petrol to drive with anyway.

I'm pretty sure international shipping did occur well before GPS was generally available. You just won't be able to track the ship in real-time.

Yes it did, as did aviation, but both were using techniques which aren't widely used today and both had safety records which wouldn't be deemed acceptable today. It would obviously be possible, but it would require substantial retraining and changes to processes to adapt and that would take time.

Navigation without GPS is still a basic seafaring skill being taught today. It's hardly used due to the general reliability of GPS of course, but training covering the basics of paper maps along with sextant/protractor use etc still takes place by both armed forces and commercial shipping.
So hopefully any prospective switch back shouldn't be too painful. Hopefully.