OK, we know how useful you're finding your sat/nav system, but please ignore it. That seems to be the message being sent to motorists passing through the village of Exton in Hampshire. Seems the navi tells drivers to take a road that is just 6 feet wide. Not a problem for most, but for drivers of large vehicles, especially trucks (or lorries, as the Brits call them), the result is usually a stuck rig. So the town has put up the country's first signs warning drivers to explicitly ignore their systems. Poor Beacon Hill Lane has had its fill of flattened bushes and flowerbeds. So the residents pressured the council to do something about it. The council put up the signs last year and the residents have said it has improved the situation markedly. It's scary when obeying technology overrides our common sense, but this seems to be a trend. Cell phones are an obvious target, but GPS has been to blame in France already, and German motorists seem to be particularly adept at driving off piers or into construction sites when prompted by the voice in the box. Let's be careful out there, folks.
[Source: Daily Mail via ARBROATH]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
akintz @ Feb 27th 2007 10:53AM
You can tell these types of people to be careful until your head turns blue and they look at you crosseyed... They're still not going to use common sense and will still obey the device without question or hesitation. It's just their nature. Their stupid, stupid nature.
John B @ Feb 27th 2007 11:54AM
Darwinian evolution in action. Let the bozos weed themselves out of the gene pool.
Adam @ Feb 27th 2007 12:08PM
We've had numerous instances of tractor-trailers coming down our cul-de-sac and getting stuck. They swear up and down the "internet directions" told them to turn on our street. Normally we discuss the proper route after they cause yard damage or hit one of our stone walls.
Bill @ Feb 27th 2007 12:32PM
There was a similar story like this on NPR several months back. Also in England. Directions were given to take a certain road, but it wasn't a "real" paved public road, and a stream runs across it, and most people aren't equipped to ford streams, so they would just cluelessly plunge into it. The local council and police got tired of having to tow people out.
Jorge @ Feb 27th 2007 1:04PM
The problem is in the source of the information, authorities should enforce GPS service providers to give the users accurate and safe information.
After all the driver behind the wheel would follow the instuctions no matter what, trusting that the info is right, this is when common sense should be present, but this is the most uncommon sense of all.
Ron @ Feb 27th 2007 3:29PM
We're currently developing GPS systems for automotive applications. One of our biggest headaches are inaccurate maps. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get corrections to the various mapping companies. Worst still is that they release updates only every six months or longer. Of course, we then stuck with trying to get updates to units that we've already shipped. Very discouraging at the moment.
-Ron
What's All This Then
Warning: Life Under Construction
Adapt, Adopt And Improve
Ron @ Feb 27th 2007 3:33PM
Has anyone else been able to get updates to mapping companies or get updates quicker than six months?
- Ron
http://rdesgr.com/WhatsAllThisThen
http://sprezzaturaron.livejournal.com
http://sprezzaturarrd.blogspot.com
Sam @ Feb 27th 2007 10:19PM
Why don't they just widen the road.
Donna @ Mar 6th 2007 7:32AM
My I-Way told me to go the wrong way on a one way. I only realized it when I was half way down the road. Luckily I got through unscathed. It makes me feel a little insecure about listening to the device.
Spencer @ Mar 6th 2007 8:04AM
I see a lot of comments about stupid people and people not using common sense, but common sense doesn't necessarily come into play when your driving through unfamiliar territory, which is what most people use GPS for. If you aren't already familiar with the roads your travelling, no amount of common sense is going to tell you that you have a bad map or the GPS is wrong until it's too late. I'm sure this narrow road only got too narrow to traverse once the truck drivers had already traveled a good ways down it. If it had been too narrow to get down at the entry point, most truck drivers would be able to see this before turning onto it. Don't be so quick to judge until you're someplace new and GPS or a crappy google map is all you have to go by.
PAUL HALLER @ Mar 6th 2007 8:17AM
IT SEEMS TO ME SOME OF THE BLAME 80%, SHOULD BE PUT ON THE BRAIN DEAD DRIVERS.. OK, THE DIRECTIONS ARE WROMNG, DOES THAT MEAN YOU DRIVE WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED!!! GPS SAYS, TAKE THIS ROAD, WELL MORONS LOOK AROUND YOU DOES THE ROAD GET SMALLER AND NARROWER AS YOU TRAVEL?? WHY GO FURTHER IT WON'T GET ANY BETTER.. THE DUMB VILLAGERS ARE NO BETTER, GET A 4X6 PC OF PLYWOOD AND SPRAY PAINT MESSAGE, ROAD NARROWS TO 1 CAR ONLT CAN TRAVEL EITHER DIRECTION!! STOP MOANING AND USE SOME BRAINS, PEOPLE....PAUL
steve @ Mar 6th 2007 8:44AM
I am suprised of this headline,these sort of things happen alot,they will take you up one way streets which I guess you could say you were only going one way.out in the woods you have to be careful with the hand held devices because they will have you go right over a cliff.
paul @ Mar 6th 2007 8:54AM
maybe you should pay attention to your driving instead of the dashboard.this would help in all areas not just narrow roads
Deloris @ Mar 6th 2007 9:01AM
My system told me to make 2 illegal u-turns on a busy highway, but I had enough common sinse to not try that. The GPS systems still have some bugs like everything else, but people if you dont have at least a little bit of common sinse nothing works properly. Think before you leap.
Michelle @ Mar 6th 2007 9:10AM
Seems funny that 10-15 years ago, all we had was a good ole map from Rand McNally, and wow, it seemed to get the job done. I do not ever remember getting lost when my parents were taking us kids on a trip. I would never spend the money on a GPS system that is, in all actuality, not a necessity. I will stick to the map. They are more accurate.
Carol @ Mar 6th 2007 9:30AM
I was about to plonk down $600 for a nav device, because I really thought they worked. Now I'm thinking twice. Last weekend I drove my kids to Girl Scout camp. I got directions from Mapquest, and they were wrong. They got me within a half mile of the place, and sent me down the wrong road. I was driving up & down this tiny snow covered road, and all around the area for about an hour. I stopped at a gas station, a pizza place, & 24 hour convienience store for directions. They all knew it was "around here somewhere," but no one knew exactly where. It was almost 10pm (we were due at 8:00), when the leader finally called my cell phone to see where we were. It turns out we were 5 minutes away. I decided right then, that I need to invest in a good navigation device. Now I'm worried about trusting that for directions. I know I can't trust mapquest.
Mary L. @ Mar 6th 2007 9:31AM
Unfortunately, many people these days do not think for themselves; it is easier to let someone or something else do it for them. A university professor friend of mine frequently bemoans the fact that young people come to his class unprepared and unable to THINK things out. Common sense also appears to be a rare commodity. I will allow that some people are "directionally challenged," through no fault of their own, and depend on others to get them where they are going (I have observed this in action). But I for one, have an inbuilt aversion to relying exclusively on anything mechanical or electronic, which, after all, is only as good as its builders can make it. Gadgets make useful tools, we should not allow them to take over our lives completely. The human brain is still (if used PROPERLY) the best computer there is. And there's the rub... ay, there's the rub...
Gerry Seely @ Mar 6th 2007 9:40AM
I once followed a map from my laptop's GPS software and wound up trying to cross the Mississippi river on a bridge that the Union Army blew up back during the Civil War. BUT, when I notified the mapping company, their next update solved the problem. You'd think that with Google Earth, it'd be pretty easy to confirm things.
Rojack @ Mar 6th 2007 9:47AM
If you have never driven a large truck you can not imagine the predicaments a driver can easily find themselves in. I have never used a GPS and would not use one in a truck simply because they are designed for cars, not trucks. The mapping program would not show where low bridges are. With the exception of major highways for which there are maps designed for trucks, most paper maps as well, of local areas are of little use to a truck driver because they do not show if the road or street would be truck friendly, so it always best to get directions from the customer. Even following the directions givin to the driver by the customer though, the driver can end up on roads he or she should never have been on, and sometimes it is to late once the turn has been made made. The problem ahead is not always visible from the intersction where you made the turn. You can not turn a truck pulling a 53 foot trailer around in just any old driveway you see. I have driven as much as ten miles on a road just looking for a place to turn around.
mdgrims5 @ Mar 6th 2007 9:49AM
I have learned over the past few years to trust only an actual map. Mapquest is the worst of the maping sites out there. Rand McNally is Better but you still need to check a map to make sure you are actually given the best route. I have had several instances where I would have gone down the wrong road had I not checked it out first. A good way to test a Nav system or a Mapping web site is to get directions for a place you are familiar with and check it out. Also Look up your address on any of these devices. See if it is accurate. I live on a corner and MapQuest has my house in the middle of the block. Always keep a good old Rand McNally in your vehicle. This will help when the Nav or Web site puts you somewhere where you may not want to be