"Relying on Google maps has turned me into a highly dangerous driver."

I almost killed myself and my mother by accident the other night.

In the dark, I turned the wrong way into a one-way street and nearly had a collision with a bus as I reversed into an intersection at panic speed.

Perhaps I am a bad driver because I didn’t drive for almost a decade. (I lived in London where the transport is so good that you don’t need a car).

I might be a bad driver because I got my driver’s licence in Canberra – which is really a big country town with a lot of roundabouts.

I can do roundabouts, but I may need to upgrade to a city license or grow the thick skin you need for the kind of reactions I get on the road.

via GIPHY

The real problem is that I rely on a GPS map on my phone.

Sorry Mum, the British GPS woman who told me to turn right into Elizabeth Street is at fault.

It’s her fault

She was in my car that night, she was looking at the map and she told me to turn right.

She didn’t mean that right – she meant the next one, but when she says turn right, I turn right.

That’s how you get places in Sydney. You listen to her.

It’s not the first time she’s got me into trouble. She’s told me to take right turns before when I see signs that say ‘No Right Turn’ and she bangs on: “Turn right, turn right”.

Back in the day

Years ago, I memorised directions.

I knew the winding roads of coastal and hinterland northern New South Wales off by heart.

When I drove from Mackay to Bathurst with a cat and a road atlas, I can't remember being lost or travelling down a one way street the wrong way.

That 18-hour drive is longer than it takes to drive from London to Warsaw.

Even when I lived in London, I learned to map out where I needed to go - without a device.

London's black cab drivers need to have “The Knowledge” - a difficult test that has been likened to having an atlas of the city implanted into the brain.

After a year in Sydney, I have no "knowledge" of the city's roads.

Every time I get in the car I use my GPS and blindly follow her into trouble.

If my phone battery dies, I can't drive across town. I can't go anywhere.

My reliance on a GPS has made me a terrible driver.  I can't even drive 3kms to my sister's house without that mechanical woman telling me where to go.

After nearly killing my mum I've realised I need to get "the knowledge" of my new city - as well as a defensive driving course.

I'm crossing that bridge  - sometime soon - with nothing but a paper map by my side.

For the perfect podcast to keep you and your kids entertained in the car these holidays, listen to our special road trip episode of This Glorious Mess.