When you are driving a car, are you conscious of a point of the compass (East, West, North, South)?
I am a beginner driver in US. When I approach an intersection or interchange of highway, I am always at a loss which point of the compass is my direction.
Do ordinary American drivers understand "I am going to East"? I am just understand "I am going to New York".
2007-03-23 02:43:21 · 4 answers · asked by munekun0621 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Commuting
No I'm not. And sometimes I'm having a hard time trying to figure out where to turn to, exactly like you :)
2007-03-23 07:37:37 · answer #1 · answered by Misha 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am always conscious of which direction I am going in. I think most Americans are,( except the directionally challenged) For me, I have no idea how or why I know. I think a lot of people have landmarks that keep them going in the right direction. People on coastal land can always say "well if the water is over there and I know the ocean is east."
Mountains are sometimes a landmark the same way.
Maybe if you studied a map of your town, on such a broader
view, it could help get a feel for your own landmarks.
I hope others here have some good tricks for you.
I am not even sure if the fact that so many cars now come with
on on board compass would really help you or not.
Driving in America can be difficult even if you have been driving for many, many years. Managing the big cities can be intimidating for anyone. Practice makes perfect. And always leave a little earlier for your destination just in case you do get lost.
Hang in there!
2007-03-23 10:05:42 · answer #2 · answered by susie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I am driving I can approximate my direction by knowing the time of day and the position of the sun. If it is early morning the sun will be in the east, at noon in the south and in the evening in the west. This is best in rural areas where the sight line is clear. In cities you have to go by shadow lines of buildings or light poles. The above directions will be reversed given the time of day. This does not work on cloudy days but if you know the prevailing wind direction at that time, you can observe chimney smoke or steam, to give you an approximation. Keep using your senses and know the time, you will get better at it. If you want to know the direction exactly, at twelve noon look for the shadow of a pole and it will be due north, but you will have to take off an hour if you are on daylight saving time. Good Luck!
2007-03-23 11:40:46 · answer #3 · answered by kellring 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some do, some don't. My wife claims she can easily "sense" which direction is where. Personally the compass means nothing to me if I'm not looking at a map.
2007-03-23 09:47:05 · answer #4 · answered by Ferret 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋