Driver Led To 100ft Cliff Edge By Sat Nav

sky news ^ | 3/25/09

[mathprof]

A driver has blamed his sat nav for leaving his car teetering on the edge of a cliff after he followed its instructions.

Robert Jones said he trusted his navigational system and continued to follow it when it told him the steep, narrow footpath he was driving on was a road.

Mr Jones, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, now faces court action for driving without due care and attention.

His BMW nearly plunged down a 100ft cliff in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, on Sunday.

He was only stopped from falling after the vehicle rammed into a wire fence.

Police and rescue teams then spent nine hours recovering his car following the incident.

The 43-year-old, who works as a driver, said he relies on his sat nav for his job and described the incident as a "nightmare".

He told the Halifax Evening Courier: "It kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it.

"You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff."

Mr Jones added: "I guess I'm just lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge."

The drama attracted crowds of onlookers in the picturesque market town that borders the Pennines.

One said: "It's like something off the Italian Job, but what a waste of police time.

"It's all well and good trusting your sat nav but how about trusting your eyes and when there's not a road in front of you, don't keep driving."

[mathprof]

I wonder if this guy is related to Geithner.

[MrB]

SkyNet became self aware

[Dilbert San Diego]

He could be a Darwin award nominee. Let’s always use our common sense. If we see the road is disappearing, don’t go that way, even if the satellite navigation thing tells us that’s the right way to go.

[Slapshot68]

I wonder if the GPS was programmed to say “Now, fall to death, 500 feet” should he had gone over.

[TADSLOS]

(in sexy female voice) “Re-Calculating”

[madison10]

The GPS must be getting directions from TOTUS.

[GeronL]

what an idiot.

just listen and obey the voices no matter what dude.

[IYAS9YAS]

Jeez, how hard is it to consult a map before leaving on the trip. Can no one navigate in analog mode anymore?

[WayneS]

Horse-hocky!

[Seruzawa]

Note to self: Don’t forget to look out the windshield while navigating by GPS.

[WayneS]

Son of Sam did that and we ALL know where it got him.

[max americana]

Reminds me of the movie “EAGLE EYE” when the military computer took over...

[thesharkboy]

Are 0bama and Co. using GPS to navigate their way through the economic crisis?

[Dallas59]

Israeli GPS Commercial

[COBOL2Java]

[anymouse]

I hope that they revoke his driver’s license for being too stupid to be allowed to opperate a motor vehicle.

My guess that alcohol might be involved. A “hold me pint, mate” ping might be in order.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

My grandson and I were out geocaching one day, he was 8 at the time. He was on the passenger side with the GPS, I was driving and he was giving directions. Right in the middle of a bridge he shouted, "turn left, Oompah, turn left right here". I said, "Gerry, we're on a bridge, I can't turn". He told me, "Well, we will never find the cache if we don't follow directions".

Technology is great but it can't replace common sense.

[MortMan]

Police and rescue teams then spent nine hours recovering his car following the incident.

Then the interior detailing teams spent fifteen hours struggling to remove the driver's seat skid mark.

[TADSLOS]

LOL!

[kenth]

Unfortunately, he failed the final part of his instrument rating test.

[2CAVTrooper]

What a moron.

The scary thing is that this guy probably already polluted the gene pool so even an honorable mention for a Darwin Award is out of the question.

[brytlea]

Was he driving with his eyes closed??

[Travis T. OJustice]

The 43-year-old, who works as a driver,

He should never be allowed to drive again!

[brytlea]

I do use mine when in unfamiliar places. It’s tough to use a map if you’re driving alone, and I also like the fact that I can find a gas station or food or whatever easily. There’s nothing wrong with having one and using it. But one has to be sure who is in charge!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Reminds me of taking a cab home from Logan, with the big dig having torn up half of downtown Boston. The drivers GPS system kept insisting that he turn into construction barriers or police barricades.

[CodeToad]

"Note to self: Don’t forget to look out the windshield while navigating by GPS."

Pilots have a thing called "Death by GPS" for that very reason. VFR, or visual, pilots failing to look out the front part of the cockpit while fiddling with the GPS. With the new Synthetic Vision Technology, some pilots feel there is no need as the system projects the outside terrain on the screen.

[who knows what evil?]

Jeez, how hard is it to consult a map before leaving on the trip.

Even maps aren't to be trusted...maps of Vermont show roads that, in reality; are mere cow paths full of small boulders. That Vermont 'short cut' is a disaster in waiting for your vehicle...

[Twotone]

We used NRoute (?) for a trip from Tennessee to Oregon. It actually was incredibly accurate - even guiding us through road work detours. However, on one occasion it did tell us to take an exit down a steep hill where no exit existed. We had the good sense not to follow the instructions.

[dmz]

Son of Sam did that and we ALL know where it got him.
______

Now you just take that back. Son of Sam wasn’t listening to just any voices, it was a dog talking to him.

I listen to mine, don’t you?

Of course, mine just wants more food, trips to the trails around the resevoir, and the occasional belly rub. Oh, and to watch tv while laying between my wife and I on the couch.

[William Tell]

My wife and I were travelling a rural road that follows a river here. Evidently the path recorded in the GPS device was different along a small stretch of road.

After not having heard a peep from the device for about an hour, it suddenly announced, "Turn right", which would have put us in the river.

We may not have heard the last of this story. My GPS device includes the capability of supplying corrections to the manufacturer to improve the data. If somebody maliciously entered a false roadway into their own GPS and then submitted it to a manufacturer who included it in their internal maps, then we might hear that somebody is in trouble for having intentionally created a dangerous situation.

[IYAS9YAS]

Even maps aren't to be trusted...maps of Vermont show roads that, in reality; are mere cow paths full of small boulders. That Vermont 'short cut' is a disaster in waiting for your vehicle...

I understand that, but usually maps have a designation for the type of road (certain color is highway, certain color for unimproved road, etc...).

[IYAS9YAS]

Then the interior detailing teams spent fifteen hours struggling to remove the driver's seat skid mark.

Woulda been cheaper to replace the seat...

[who knows what evil?]

I understand that, but usually maps have a designation for the type of road (certain color is highway, certain color for unimproved road, etc...)

These were certainly 'unimproved'...LOL! :-)

[NavyCanDo]

“just listen and obey the voices no matter what dude.”

Bob Hope had a word he used to decribe these people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkzV5AIK8iM

[reagan_fanatic]

The 43-year-old, who works as a driver...

FAIL!

[Myrddin]

Some people are just too incompetent to use technological tools. This guy is one of them. GPS and navigation programs aren't perfect. They are guidance, nothing more. Even when not making monumentally stupid moves like driving into a river or off a cliff, there are still less obvious hazards. One is particular involves driving through a neighborhood that is ethnically or racially dangerous for the driver. The nav programs don't have features to keep you from driving into the middle of a gang infested neighborhood. That could get you killed.

[Myrddin]

Reminds me of taking a cab home from Logan, with the big dig having torn up half of downtown Boston. The drivers GPS system kept insisting that he turn into construction barriers or police barricades.

My Garmin GPS V insists that I should turn right (west) from I-15 south as I approach the Chubbuck Rd overpass. There is no offramp. You have to proceed to I-86 West to turn that direction.

[IYAS9YAS]

These were certainly 'unimproved'...LOL! :-)

Yeah, not only did the instructions say "Turn off the paved highway.", but they also included the "Follow Lulubelle through the pasture."

[beckysueb]

A good candidate for the Darwin Award?