I was watching an interview with the TomTom CEO on CNBC World the other night and heard an interesting fact about the safety of GPS navigation systems. Like cell phones, many people tend to get distracted and too dependent on their GPS navigation system while driving. Accident history is starting to show a high correlation with GPS navigation users and drivers who are making sudden driving decisions. I am not someone who blames the device manufacturer for these accidents but I do think the utility of GPS navigation devices will need to improve in order to save publicity nightmares. These devices may be teaching bad driving habits enabling users to get too dependent on the turn by turn directions which often leads to confusion when presented with an obstacle in the road that doesn't exist on the map. I think the market and utility of GPS navigation systems will evolve into "GPS warning systems" for traffic accidents ahead, red-light cameras, speed cameras, school crossings, and routes with lots of bicycle rides.
