Providing alternative road navigation instructions for drivers on unfamiliar roads

A navigation system in a vehicle, the navigation system comprising:

• a global positioning system receiver (GPS receiver) configured to obtain location information for the vehicle;
• a central processing unit coupled to the GPS receiver and configured to:
• record position indicators based on the location information received from the GPS receiver as the vehicle travels along a road;
• determine, while the navigation system is not providing navigation information to a driver of the vehicle, that the vehicle has deviated from a first path deemed to be a known path based on the position indicators;
• and
• provide driving instructions upon identifying that the vehicle has deviated from the first path.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor executing navigation software within a vehicle, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

• recording a set of position indicators that each indicates a previous location of a vehicle on one or more road segments;
• determining, while the navigation software is not providing navigation information to a driver of the vehicle, that the vehicle has exited a first path that is deemed to be a known path based on the set of position indicators;
• identifying a second path that returns the vehicle to the first path;
• and
• outputting driving instructions for the second path.