like VOR/DME you mean?
I think, Mike, that the pilots we are talking about here don't know what to do with a VOR, and DME isn't covered in the PPL (DME and ADF wasn't in it when I did mine in 2000)
I have to agree, and yet I find it one of the most useful aids for fixing my position.
Last week I flew from Cambridge to Lydd via the corridor between Luton and Stansted. I wouldn't dream of navigating through there by DR alone. There are so many variables and between Royston and Hertford, very few features. I tracked the 012R from BPK and felt comfortable knowing that I was a safe distance from both CTA/CTR boundaries.
Yes, this was only a back up to visual navigation, but a very useful one!
And NO, it does not mean that you have to stare at the CDI! Do a full scan for traffic, glance at the CDI and then eyes back outside, simple!