Posted on 03/25/2009 11:52:59 AM PDT by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
SkyNet became self aware
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.
I wonder if the GPS was programmed to say “Now, fall to death, 500 feet” should he had gone over.
(in sexy female voice) “Re-Calculating”
The GPS must be getting directions from TOTUS.
what an idiot.
just listen and obey the voices no matter what dude.
Jeez, how hard is it to consult a map before leaving on the trip. Can no one navigate in analog mode anymore?
Horse-hocky!
Note to self: Don’t forget to look out the windshield while navigating by GPS.
Son of Sam did that and we ALL know where it got him.
Reminds me of the movie “EAGLE EYE” when the military computer took over...
Are 0bama and Co. using GPS to navigate their way through the economic crisis?
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.
Technology is great but it can't replace common sense.
Then the interior detailing teams spent fifteen hours struggling to remove the driver's seat skid mark.
LOL!
Unfortunately, he failed the final part of his instrument rating test.
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