Death by GPS refers to the death of people attributable, in part, to following
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
directions or GPS maps.
Death by GPS has been noted in several deaths in
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...
, California,
a lost hiker at
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to t ...
in southeastern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and incidents in
Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Causes
There are multiple reasons why people following GPS directions have become lost, been injured, or died. The reasons listed below may also include the lack of a working communications systems to call for help. Thus, drivers or hikers have ventured off the road or into remote, impassable, or dangerous areas. They could also drive on GPS until their vehicles were out of fuel, mired, or disabled; succumbed to hazardous climate or weather conditions, or gotten lost.
*Uncritical acceptance of turn-by-turn commands, instead paying more attention to the navigation system than what was in front of them, such as road signs and signals, barriers, and terrain
*Unfamiliarity with or unawareness of hazardous conditions not noted by GPS (e.g., the local climate or weather conditions, construction, or closed, impassable, or dangerous roads)
*Lack of a current, accurate written map or written directions to use in concert with or in lieu of those provided by GPS
*Outdated or incorrect GPS maps
*The GPS directions may reflect the shortest distance between locations, regardless of whether or not the route is navigable
Allen Lin, in research published in 2017, provided a systematic analysis of the key themes in these incidents and the roles that navigation technologies played in them.
Proposed solutions
Matthew McKenzie offers some precautions against death by GPS: "Use GPS and other mobile devices the way they should be used: as simple conveniences. Carry a real map, understand the local climate, and don't hesitate to turn around and go back the way you came if your directions don't 'feel' right."
The
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
has posted the following message on the Directions & Transportation page of the official Death Valley Park website:
Incidents
* In March 2011, a couple from British Columbia died after being led off course by their GPS in northern Nevada.
* In September 2021, a North Carolina man died after a GPS led him to a defunct bridge that dropped off into a creek.
See also
*
Automation bias
Automation bias is the propensity for humans to favor suggestions from automated decision-making systems and to ignore contradictory information made without automation, even if it is correct. Automation bias stems from the social psychology lite ...
References
{{reflist
Causes of death
Global Positioning System