Dah! People need to use good sense when using technology. There are many models that have different features. If I subscribe to a road condition feature for my unit I must pay a monthly fee. I have chosen not to. The folks in this incident turned off on to a Forest Service road. Will the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service do very limited snow plowing. Congress does not budget them funds to plow snow.
I am glad these folks made it home safely and others can learn from their experience.
The U.S. Air Force wants to set the record straight: Neither aging GPS satellites nor a weak GPS signal were responsible for an elderly couple getting stranded in the woods for several days after following directions in their GPS-enabled SUV.
On Christmas day, John Rhoads, 65, and his wife, Starry Bush-Rhoads, 67, drove their vehicle down a remote road in eastern Oregon, where it became stuck in 1-1/2 feet of snow. The couple was stranded for three days before authorities located them using a faint signal emitted by the couple's GPS-enabled phone.
Some news reports of the couple's adventure were accompanied by headlines such as "GPS Strands Couple and Then Saves Them: Aging Satellites?"
On Tuesday, the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), which operates the suite of satellites that make up the GPS system, used Twitter to clear up the misconception.
Writing under the Twitter username @AFSpace, AFSPC said: "While we do not want to speculate on what caused the couple to get stuck in the snow; the cause was not due to the GPS signal."
AFSPC spokesperson Toni Tones said the current GPS constellation is the most capable in the history of the program.
"Since the inception of us putting it up in 1995, it has exceeded our performance requirements, and we are very proud to offer this service to the general public," Tones told LiveScience.
Tones declined to speculate about why the Rhoads were stranded, but expressed confidence that it wasn't due to the satellites. "All I can say is that the signals that are coming down are very strong and healthy," she said, "so I would have to defer those kinds of questions to [manufacturers] such as Garmin and others that are providing the GPS devices."
That's because even though AFSPC operates the GPS satellites that emit the signal that consumer GPS devices use, they do not create or update the maps that run on the devices, and they are not involved in calculating the routes between destinations.
Tones added that the GPS constellation is designed to be redundant: There are 30 GPS currently in space, but only 24 of them are active at any one time.
The remainder serve as backups in case one of the other satellites malfunctions or if one of them is being upgraded, which happens every few months.
"In the event that one of our satellites fails, we can immediately have another one up to have the full coverage that we need," Tones said
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20091230/sc_space/lostcouplecantblamegpsairforcesaysIn Oregon you can use this website
http://www.tripcheck.com/Mobile/pages/SearchSelect.aspx?section=rcOr By phone
Travelers in Oregon can dial 511 to access the same immediate road and weather information available on TripCheck.
• Users can select updated reports about driving conditions by highway, mountain pass or major city from easy-to-use menus. The 511 system responds to both voice and touch-tone commands.
• Calls to 511 are local calls when dialed from a pay phone or wire line phone. Wireless (cell) phone users are responsible for airtime and roaming charges according to their wireless service contracts, but ODOT does not impose any additional charges.
• Most wireless companies in Oregon provide 511 service. If you cannot use 511, call toll-free (800) 977-ODOT (6368) for road and weather information. Outside Oregon, dial (503) 588-2941. Oregon offers the feature of forwarding users to the Washington state 511 system for road conditions in that state.
• TripCheck is available for mobile phones. Visit
www.tripcheck.com/mobile for a handy menu of TripCheck features, all formatted for the smaller screen size of mobile devices. It even provides links to directly dial hotels and restaurants along Oregon highways.
• Remember, in Oregon, drivers are allowed to use hands-free devices, but not texting devices or touch cell phones. ODOT encourages motorists to pull off the road and park in a safe area before using cell phones.
In California you can call 1-800.427.7623 or check this website
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgiThis morning’s report for Highway 89 in California.
This highway information is the latest reported as of Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 10:03 .
SR 89
[IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AREA & SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM THE JCT OF US 395 (MONO CO) TO THE JCT OF SR 4
/MONITOR PASS/ (ALPINE CO) - FOR THE WINTER - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN
ALTERNATE ROUTE
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM PICKETTS JCT (ALPINE CO) TO 2.7 MI SOUTH OF THE
JCT OF US 50 (EL DORADO CO) /LUTHER PASS/
[IN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA]
IS CLOSED FROM THE SOUTH PARK BDRY TO THE JCT OF SR 44 /LASSEN LOOP/
(TEHAMA, SHASTA CO) - FOR THE WINTER - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN
ALTERNATE ROUTE
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM PICKETTS JCT (ALPINE CO) TO 2.7 MI SOUTH OF THE
JCT OF US 50 (EL DORADO CO) /LUTHER PASS/
CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES ARE REQUIRED FROM 5 MI NORTH OF THE JCT OF US 50
TO BLISS STATE PARK (EL DORADO CO)
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM BLISS STATE PARK (EL DORADO CO) TO TOHOMA
(PLACER CO)
CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES ARE REQUIRED FROM TAHOMA (PLACER CO) TO THE
JCT OF I 80 (NEVADA CO)
CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES ARE REQUIRED FROM 4 MI NORTH OF TRUCKEE (NEVADA CO)
TO THE SIERRA/PLUMAS CO LINE
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON SINGLE AXLE DRIVE VEHICLES TOWING TRAILERS FROM
13 MI NORTH OF THE JCT OF SR 299 (SHASTA CO) TO 1.5 MI SOUTH OF BARTLE
(SISKIYOU CO) /DEAD HORSE SUMMIT/