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Following yonder star
If there is a shortcoming of satellite navigation it is that it cannot predict the behavior of other drivers. Had it been able to do that then we would have been better prepared for our narrow escape from becoming road kill on a remote Croatian highway. Here’s the scenario: we were the second of two cars taking the exit from the highway out of Pula onto the on-ramp of the motorway to Rijeka. The car in front slows and pulls over to the right hand shoulder (remembering we are driving on the right hand side of the road), then as we are about to pass it, it suddenly lurches into a u-turn as if to go back up the on-ramp the wrong way. The problem is that we were the impediment to his planned route and, at speed, a coupling of cars was inevitable but for Marty’s lightening reflexes and until now unrealized ability to wildly swerve without rolling. This was whites of our eyes stuff, unbelievable close, a whisker away from certain death, and a realization of our vulnerability as we pondered the consequences of smashing a car in a foreign country with no common language, and hundreds of miles from the reassuring smile of the woman at the Hertz counter in Budapest.
Last seen, the other car was stopped sideways in the middle of the on-ramp, and after a few universal gesticulations we continued, carefully.
We are converts to the marvel of satellite navigation and little wonder given the biblical analogy; wise people (that’s us) being guided by a shining star to an unknown place. For those unfamiliar with this technology, what happens is that the SatNav systems are loaded with digital maps; they then pick up signals from satellites, plot routes, and guide drivers to pre-determined destinations. These can be city centres, specific addresses loaded in by the user, places of interest along the way (including such things as ATMs and petrol stations as well as tourist attractions), post codes and even latitudes and longitude points. Driving instructions are shown on an on-screen map, reinforced by voice, and that’s where our friend Ken comes in. His is the only Australian voice (there are no Kiwis) on Anousheh’s SatNav which we have commandeered for our visit.
As we have previously explained, Ken is very patient. When a mistake is made, he simply recalculates the route and makes corrections, although he has been known to go quiet when completely ignored. For example, in preparing a route from Budapest to Turin(not that we did this), the SatNav analyses over 500,000 roads to determine the best routes and then gives options such as avoiding toll roads, limiting motorway use, taking scenic roads and, in the modern units, avoiding traffic congestion. Such technology, Kaelene remarked, is more liberating than a nudist beach, allowing us to drive with relative confidence through major cities and foreign countryside, and to places where we would never find using public transport or even maps.
We credit our friend Nanette Cormack with our conversation to the religion of SatNav; previously we had scoffed at the need for such gadgets; most of us have good local knowledge of New Zealand roads and traffic systems, and we can read the road signs. But if Nanette is to be credited with SatNav, she must also take the blame for Kaelene’s new habit (she says hobby) of number plate spotting. Having been shown how to establish from number plates the geographic origin and registration details of the vehicle, Kaelene now spends entire journeys working out the travelling and driving habits of different European ethnicities, and having Marty chase cars at high speed when she misses any necessary detail. Such behaviour is close to becoming certifiable.