Now, smartphones give advice about what lane to be in 800m before the next turn and getting around is a breeze.
The global positioning system (GPS) technology that has transformed finding one’s way began as a military tool before it became useful for the masses.
In 1983, Russians brought down a Korean Air Boeing 747, killing 269 people on board, after it strayed into Soviet airspace.
As a result, United States president Ronald Reagan announced that GPS would be made available for civilian uses.
But it was not until May 1, 2000, when US president Bill Clinton ordered the US military to stop scrambling GPS satellites, that real strides were taken.
In a White House press release on the day, Mr Clinton said the aim was to bring the benefits of US government investments in science and technology to the civilian and commercial sectors.
"The decision to discontinue ‘selective availability’ is the latest measure in an ongoing effort to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide," he said.
"This increase in accuracy will allow new GPS applications to emerge and continue to enhance the lives of people around the world."
By the following day anyone who had a GPS unit "for boats, cars, or recreation" would find overnight they had become 10 times more accurate, he said.
The following day, Reuters reported "boaters, motorists and hikers" would be able to use satellite navigation with the same "pinpoint accuracy" the military enjoyed.
Two years earlier, The New York Times said GPS technology was already being employed by a wide range of users, from farmers who used it for precision planting to golfers who used it to know how far they were from the pin.
"GPS receivers may someday become as pervasive and indispensable as the system’s cheerleaders expect," a technology writer for the newspaper suggested.
Industry groups had predicted the market for GPS products would grow from about $US2 billion to $US8.5b by 2005, she said.
"The potential future uses are compelling — or frightening, depending on your perspective."
GPS could be used to track Alzheimers patients via receivers embedded in their clothing.
When a car’s check-engine light flashed, a driver could be guided to the "nearest, least busy service station", she said.
Today, GPS’ uses are myriad, from automatically updating cellphone times at daylight saving time, to an organisation tracking a fleet of cars, measuring the movement of faults during earthquakes, or simply catching a bus.
How long does it take to walk from the Otago Daily Times’ Stuart St, Dunedin headquarters to St Clair Beach?
It is 6.3km away and a 14-minute drive or one-hour, two-minute walk.
Luckily, my phone informs me, it is mostly flat.
