The UK's Department for Transportation (DfT) is trying to put an end to situations like the one you see above. A woman headed to a christening party, paying attention to her satnav -- and little else, apparently -- drove down a road marked "Unsuitable for motor vehicles," and then drove into a swollen river because that's what her navi told her to do.
The DfT wants satnav makers to improve their directions, and also wants them to start providing alternate routes depending on the particular car. In addition to consumer complaints, the DfT is also reacting to increasing incidents of truck drivers getting stranded on narrow country lanes. The 2,000 times it happens each year are estimated to cost £10 million and create 5,000 hours in delays.
The DfT will essentially issue a seal of approval that it wants buyers to look for as a sign of directional quality. We still don't know what they plan to do about drivers who ignore signs that say, "Don't drive down this road," and people who think its OK to ford a river just because the little voice inside their cars says so.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Allan @ Mar 31st 2008 4:08PM
The last sentence pretty much says it.
A seal on a box of a nav system is not enough to stop people from being stupid and not paying attention to where they're going.
LJ @ Mar 31st 2008 4:12PM
What kind of complaints did they get? "Oh, my nav system told me to drive into a river, so I did"? ...or "I wasn't paying attention to the world around me..."
If they didn't see a river, do you think they would have seen a child crossing the road?
The DfT should respond to such complaints by revoking the driver's license.
Reality_check @ Mar 31st 2008 4:16PM
HA!
I DISCOVER IT FIRST, THAT´S A BLACK SLK WITH (OPTION) BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR, AND JUDGING BY THE ROOF (PAINT IS MINT CONDITION) IT´S A 2005-2007 MODEL. ALSO IS A SLK350 BECAUSE OF THE NAV SYSTEM EVEN THOUGH AN OPTION ON THE SLK280, BUT HIGHLY IMPROVABLE THAT A WOMAN WOULD WASTE TIME ORDERING OPTIONS ON A SHINY BLACK MERCEDES.
Franz @ Mar 31st 2008 4:19PM
I agree. This is a load of bull crap. There is no substitute for paying attention to you're going. Like LJ said, if they didn't see a river, they sure as hell wouldn't have been able to see a child crossing the road. The fault is not with navigation systems, it's with the idiots who use them.
Reality_check @ Mar 31st 2008 4:23PM
HA!
I DISCOVER IT FIRST, THAT´S A BLACK SLK WITH (OPTION) BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR, AND JUDGING BY THE ROOF (PAINT IS MINT CONDITION) IT´S A 2005-2007 MODEL. ALSO IS A SLK350 BECAUSE OF THE NAV SYSTEM EVEN THOUGH AN OPTION ON THE SLK280, BUT HIGHLY IMPROVABLE THAT A WOMAN WOULD WASTE TIME ORDERING OPTIONS RATHER THAN DRIVING OFF IN A SHINY NEW BLACK MERCEDES.
UPDATE 1 THIS HAPPEN IN THE OFFICE NBC
THAT HAPPEN TO STUPID BOSS MICHAEL SCOTT WHO DROVE INTO A LAKE WITH DWIGHT RIDING SHOTGUN!
Chris @ Mar 31st 2008 4:55PM
@reality check,
sorry to burst your bubble, but that car is clearly too long to be an slk. My first thoughts was that it was an SL-series, which was proven true if you read the link which said the car is an SL500.
Chris @ Mar 31st 2008 4:57PM
oh, and one more thing, STOP YELLING AT ME.
k.w.a @ Mar 31st 2008 5:03PM
lol @ chris,
my thoughts exactly. that's definitely an SL. just a little "Reality Check" for y'all ;)
Not Detroit @ Mar 31st 2008 5:33PM
Punishment for failing to obey Darwin's Laws of Natural Selection can not be negotiated down to a lesser sentence.
The smart ones live, the stupid ones die.
No exceptions.
WillDaThrill @ Apr 1st 2008 3:14AM
**DISCLAIMER**
"If you are too stupid to obey road signs/conditions and/or do not possess the ability to use/practice common sense DO NOT PURCHASE THIS ITEM! If you are the person we speak of and you have purchased this item to use in any vehicle, we are not liable for any idiotic occurrences you may cause."
Juan @ Mar 31st 2008 4:12PM
The UK seems eager to make it safe for stupid people.
Remember the padded street posts?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=525785
Allan @ Mar 31st 2008 4:23PM
That actually turned out to be a prank by some advertising agency.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/17/padded-lampposts-in-london-not-really-being-tested/
geo.stewart @ Mar 31st 2008 4:14PM
I'd LIKE to see the satnav companies respond the same way Portland airport did last yr re: the request for Hannukah decorations. Just do away with the nav systems.
If people cant use them reponsibly and the government's answer is to burden the mftr, not the idiot using it, then do away with them. Everyone got along without them the last 100 yrs and its obvious there are enough people out there who shouldn't have them (or their cars probably).
Or treat them like firearms or the car itself, make people get a license to have a cell phone or satnav in their car.
Draaaainage! @ Mar 31st 2008 4:20PM
Sweet! This was supposed to be a reply to CAPS-LOCK MCGEE up top there, yelling something about an SLK with leather.
Now I just look ridiculous.
Draaaainage! @ Mar 31st 2008 4:21PM
Holy cat feces Weblogs, Inc.!
The comment below this one was posted first, and should be up top. To clarify I posted an explanation and SOMEHOW that ended up ABOVE my first post?
Who the hell is coding for you guys!?
Draaaainage! @ Mar 31st 2008 4:19PM
LOUD NOISES!
Side note: When they pull that car from the river it will require draaaaainage! drainage!
James Riordon @ Mar 31st 2008 4:19PM
I've made more stupid turns now that I have a GPS than I ever did before. On the other hand, I also have saved lots of time by entering a destination and blithely careening down any road the sexy voice I have set up on my GPS tells me to take.
I'll probably end up in a river eventually.
Sean Flanagan @ Mar 31st 2008 4:20PM
The UK government has to stop trying to save people from themselves. Someone who drives into a river because a little electronic device told her to deserves every bad result she gets.
Draaaainage! @ Mar 31st 2008 4:24PM
Yeah but what if a trucker wedged himself on the only route to your home and you had to wait hours while he was shimmied loose? Then it's not just damage to the trucker's gear or the company rig, but a cost to you in the form of lost time.
Now assume that several people, or a dozen or more, are all waiting idly by while this occurs. That's a lot of lost economic potential an dor relaxation time. Everyone loses.
Alex @ Mar 31st 2008 4:21PM
there is no cure for stupidity.