Getting from A to B is easy as 1-2-3 with GPS technology

Whilst family holidays should be about enjoying quality time away with our nearest and dearest, often they can turn into prolonged periods of petty squabbles about trivial matters which occasionally boil over into fully-fledged arguments that ultimately spoil the vacation for everybody.

Research has shown that around two thirds of UK holidaymakers enter into heated arguments before they even leave home, citing reasons such as packing too much stuff, money/accommodation concerns and punctuality for airports as being among the key causes of quarrelling.

However, it’s not just international flights that can cause stress levels to rise. The traditional UK driving holiday involving 2.4 children and packing as much stuff into the back of the car as possible has seen many a family lose the plot with each other over the years.

From miserable weather and irritable children, to disagreements about whether to drive to the beach or pull into a caravan park for the weekend, bickering can certainly cause fall-outs with the most patient of families. Furthermore, there is perhaps one reason that stands out above all else as the root cause of countless automobile arguments through the years: navigation.

Almost by default, the person sitting in the passenger seat is handed direction duties, charged with getting the family from A to B. However, complex road atlases, badly signposted roads, diversions and downright bad navigation skills can often combine to turn a simple two hour drive into five hours of detours, delays and disputes.

As with anything in the 21st century digital age though, technology is now able to save squabbling families, tourists and even commuters from the depths of despair.

Portable satellite navigation (‘sat nav’) systems use the latest Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to determine the present location of the car and can establish an accurate and, ultimately, quicker route to get from A to B. Moreover, there’s no need to follow maps as many of the GPS-enabled contraptions also have computerised voices that read out simple directions throughout the journey.

Similar to other devices in the digital domain, discount sat nav systems are now widely available thanks to their increasing popularity, a trend which has also been seen with mp3 players, computers and many other electrical contraptions.

From a family harmony point of view there can be little doubt that sat nav systems have helped take a lot of the stress out of family vacations. Whilst there may always be squabbles about where to go, what to do and what to bring, GPS technology at least means that there is now one less thing to fall-out over.