[TSKnight]

WebleyHunter's thread got me thinking, so decided to share Monday's experience.

Monday night I saw lights about half way up my driveway (over 1/4 mile long). After about 5 minutes watching them, I called my Brother across the yard and we decided to go check it out. Thankfully all was well.
Turned out it was a young woman on her way to a neighbor about 6 miles south of me. She had been to the neighbor's in the daylight before and realized she was in the wrong place, but her phone said she was at the correct address. She was on the phone with the neighbor when we got there.

A couple of observations.
I'm 10 miles from the nearest town and 1/4 mile off a main road.
Young woman alone, late evening, did not know where she was.
GPS is not always reliable.

Any thoughts, both from her perspective and mine?

 

[DJSCOOTER]

Sounds like you keep a good eye on your place, and helped out someone who was confused. Good on ya.
Hopefully she will learn to have a better idea where she is going alone in future excursions.

 

[ugh762x39]

It was nice of you to not suddenly appear in her headlight beam dressed in a bloody butcher’s apron, holding a meat cleaver and, wearing a hockey mask! Very considerate!😎

 

[Chaplain Scott]

Auto GPSs can be very inaccurate in rural places. Most young folks don't know how to read a map or even carry one in their vehicle.

 

[5lima30ret]

Auto GPSs can be very inaccurate in rural places. Most young folks don't know how to read a map or even carry one in their vehicle.

^^^I agree completely!^^^ I will go a step farther and say that auto GPS can be inaccurate in cities as well! There was (is) a section of interstate in Asheville NC where most GPS's are pretty much useless. There is an beach expressway near us that is not many GPS's even though it has been there over 6 years.

 

[Mike1956]

My iPhone has never let me down when it comes to my exact location. Of course, that does come with some potential downsides...

 

[TSKnight]

2008 the company I drove for got TomTom's for all the company vehicles.
My home did not exist in their map. In fact, there was a 2 mile wide section across the entire county that did not exist. Made for some interesting conversations the first few times other drivers tried to find my place.

 

[ShooterGranny]

My iPhone has never let me down when it comes to my exact location. Of course, that does come with some potential downsides...

Y'all come on down to rural TN and see how fast that phone can get you lost out in the boonies! I could site several personally known examples, but I don't use a smart phone in any case. I do send detailed directions to anyone who I know is coming to visit us and part of the instructions says "DO NOT FOLLOW WHAT YOUR PHONE TELLS YOU!" Those who do that once do not make the same mistake the next time.

 

[toxophilus84]

I've found myself in this situation before and always thought it would be great to have the entry to a person's rural home marked clearly; whether legible numbers on a mail box or a sign with the Family's name 😊

 

[WebleyHunter]

There are also the auto-route calculating GPS features that send people on desolate logging roads while they are defacto closing for the season during a blizzard.

 

[WebleyHunter]

In the boonies, I always back-up a friendly smile with an available frown.

 

[TSKnight]

Sounds like you keep a good eye on your place, and helped out someone who was confused. Good on ya.
Hopefully she will learn to have a better idea where she is going alone in future excursions.

We've had our share of thieves etc. over the last few years. Being rural actually draws certain types of criminal activity.

She got lucky. There are a couple building sites around that I wouldn't recommend showing up un-announced.

One older farm place that was for rent early this summer had squatters move in. I know the owner and she has been trying to evict them since June when she found out they were there. The neighbors thought she had rented it because the sign was gone and there were people moving in.
What tipped them off was that the owner usually introduces her renters to the neighbors and gives recommendations for snow removal etc. and she hadn't done that.

 

[StormRhydr]

Auto GPSs can be very inaccurate in rural places. Most young folks don't know how to read a map or even carry one in their vehicle.

A few months ago I was in FL. I went into a major gas station/store to get a map. The girl responded “”Don’t you have a cell phone?”. She wasn’t being rude, just her age.

6 months or so ago the Wife and I picked up a brand spanking new roadster. Thing is a work of art...and the idiots who designed it have no map pockets, glove box, etc. inside. It does have this weird LITTLE square box sitting shoulder level between the two people inside. That the driver cant open when in the seated position without turning around. And the passenger has to be contorted to get at too, lol.

 

[OldChap]

I've had people on this forum tell me my cell phone has GPS accuracy down to a couple of feet.

As I type this, my late model IPhone GPS shows me to be around 100 feet away from my actual location. Why? Vegetation (150 foot tall trees) and other material blocking the signal.

Inside a vehicle a cellphone is blocked by metal which does a fair job shielding the signal. Enough so that depending on it in the wilderness may be problematical.

@Chaplain Scott Speaking of the intelligence of the younger generation...we used to have vehicle manuals that told one how to adjust the valves. Nowadays the manual cautions the youngster not to drink the battery acid.

 

[nj709]

My cell phone routinely tells me I am a couple of miles away when I am at home. I even went and looked once to be sure I wasn't there.

 

[Fizban]

Thoughts?

You were very easily lured from your home over little of nothing. Did you leave your home unsecure and open to intrusion when you exited? Were there people inside that you left undefended? Did your Brother leave his home open to intrusion when he came to your aid? Sure, there can be numerous reasons to go investigate an odd happening on the property but a car sitting near the end of the driveway for 5 minutes, aint it. I am not suggesting your simply ignore the vehicle or fail to pay attention but going out after a few minutes is rather predictable and amateuristic. Home invaders use bait tactics all the time. They do it because it is very effective and people fall for it over and over and over.

I wont tell you that it was "wrong" to go out and investigate, I will say that it should require a little more prompting than what you describe in your narrative. I would have watched and perhaps advised my Brother over the phone if the lights on the vehicle went out and they appeared to be venturing away from the vehicle. I would have paid attention but I would not have gone out there without some compounding or significantly aggravating condition. If I did exit my home, it would have been by an unexpected exit, in the darkness and I would have watched them from a vantage point not easily detected. I would not have just walked up to the vehicle even with another person watching my back. If this has been a bad happening, darn near everything is in their favor if an ambush was their plan.

Perhaps this all sounds paranoid, maybe it is. I am not suggesting that you dress like a ninja and roll around in your front yard. I am simply suggesting that you not behave in such a predictable manner, that you are not so easily lured from your home and that you do not make these decisions or take these actions in haste. Dont be a coiled spring that launches at the slightest contact.

I applaud your alertness but I suspect that you allowed emotion to drive you rather than necessity.

 

[Wild Onion]

WebleyHunter's thread got me thinking, so decided to share Monday's experience.

Monday night I saw lights about half way up my driveway (over 1/4 mile long). After about 5 minutes watching them, I called my Brother across the yard and we decided to go check it out. Thankfully all was well.
Turned out it was a young woman on her way to a neighbor about 6 miles south of me. She had been to the neighbor's in the daylight before and realized she was in the wrong place, but her phone said she was at the correct address. She was on the phone with the neighbor when we got there.

A couple of observations.
I'm 10 miles from the nearest town and 1/4 mile off a main road.
Young woman alone, late evening, did not know where she was.
GPS is not always reliable.

Any thoughts, both from her perspective and mine?

Knowing what you know now, from her perspective, she should be on high alert because she expected your neighbor, not you and your brother. She should have doors locked, windows rolled up, and (if she had one) pistol low ready and out of sight. Best to avoid contact all together and go back down the driveway. You could be anyone on the spectrum between friendly neighbors to meth heads protecting their lab.
From your perspective, I would just keep an eye on them for a while. Most of the time it is a legitimate problem like someone getting lost, especially in rural areas without a lot of landmarks. If they haven't moved for over 15-20 minutes, then it is time to act. Only you can decide whether to call the cops or handle it yourself. If I decided it was best to investigate, I would make sure my wife was armed and with a cell phone. House locked, outside lights on, alarm on when leaving. I would be armed with a j frame in jacket pocket, EDC on hip, pepper spray, light and cellphone. Brother would be armed also. Walk a bit apart, approach in a friendly manner, but be prepared for the worst.

 

[GpTom]

Sounds like a non incident to me. I see where people are paranoid when they see somebody turn around in their driveway out in the country these days. One guy got on Facebook asking about seeing a suspicious car in front of his house and it turned out to be the mailman.

 

[Wild Onion]

Sounds like a non incident to me. I see where people are paranoid when they see somebody turn around in their driveway out in the country these days. One guy got on Facebook asking about seeing a suspicious car in front of his house and it turned out to be the mailman.

I think a little paranoia is a good thing. It depends on where you live and your experiences. There are some areas of the country where people leave their keys in the ignition and cars running. Around here, maybe not the first or second time, your car will be stolen. Armed robberies and murders happen more often here than in rural areas. I approach everything with my "city view" of things. I would give it a little time to work itself out. After that, time to act. Not going to go to sleep with an unknown car in my driveway.

 

[ugh762x39]

I got ya all beat!
Try guiding your father to a location he’s been to only once when a wreck is keeping him from driving the route his GPS wants him to drive. Oh, and the GPS is not giving an alternate route that he can easily access while he is driving. Did I mention that I was trying to give him general directions over the phone and that he wasn’t sure of where he was? Or that we were separated by 2 States? And, he is 92 Years Old?!???
It reminded me of the time my ex-wife called to say she was lost, didn’t know where she was and that, I needed to leave work and come get her!!!