13 GPS (Sat Nav) mishappenings
1. Gobal navigation system is called GPS in Belgium, Navi in Germany and Sat Nav in the UK. I don't know how it is called in the USA.
2. Drivers following their satnav's instructions through a village were stunned to find themselves driving along a narrow track at the edge of a 100-foot cliff.
3. An English woman's country house was under siege from truck drivers obeying satnavs and ploughing into her cottage - 15 times.
4. A truck driver was stuck in his cab for three days after his satnav directed him down a narrow country lane, where he became hemmed in by two banks and an overhead pipe. Luckily for him a friendly local family passed him three meals a day until he was rescued
5. A German motorist took his satnav literally when ordered to 'turn right now', executing an immediate 90-degree turn and ploughing straight into a building site, up a flight of stairs and into a loo.
6. A taxi driver drove 200 yards into a river under directions from his satnav, leaving him stranded in the river.
7. A young couple ended up amongst a sheep herd
8. A Christmas shopping trip to Lille in France ended up 100 miles away in a Belgian village with the same name after their coach driver made a satnav blunder. It took an extra four hours on the bus to get to the right Lille in France.
9. A German driver in Hamburg maintained his faith in his satnav, even when it directed him onto a construction site marked 'closed for construction'.
10. A 20-year-old student had a narrow escape when her satnav directed her to drive onto a remote level crossing, resulting in the unplanned destruction of the car by a train.
11. Hundreds of drivers were sent down a narrow country lane towards a river. When they got there expecting a road bridge they found a disused foot passenger ferry platform.
12. A trucker driving from Turkey to Gibraltar on sat-nav ended up 1,600 miles adrift at the North Sea at Lincolnshire (UK).
13. I love my GPS, Satnav, or navi very much but I won't follow it blindly and then land up in the King's castle restrooms !
happy tt and oh my gosh # 4 sounded horrible!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.apooobooks.com/2008/09/04/thursday-thirteen-6head-class-school-supplies/
I've never used Sat Nav, never even seen it. I'm not sure I want to either, after reading your TT!
ReplyDeleteUS - GPS or I hear some folks call it by the manufactures name of the gizmo (probably the higher end ones) People really should drive with their eyes open and brain engaged.
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit like following Google Maps or Mapquest, then! I need to put paper maps back in my car.
ReplyDeleteThis was a funny read, Gattina, thanks. (Of course I am not lost at the moment, either!)
Gday Gattina. navigation system is called GPS
ReplyDeleteover here some call it a Nav system...
Oh my I hated the narrow rds..when we were in Italy we decided to go over to Monte Carlo.then I wanted to see the pink palace.. ohhh my I had instant headache going around those narrow roads we turned back soon as we had a chance and never got to the Palace....
This is sad, but also really funny. We have a GPS. I guess the trick is that you can't always do what it tells you. You have to think too. Happy TT!
ReplyDeletewow! how's that? the autolink runs...
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm just amazed that some people will so blindly follow directions. Seriously, sometimes you just have to realize that the computer is NOT right.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's GPS in the states too. There is one thing called OnStar in some vehicles too...it's where you have someone talking to you telling you which direction, how close, turns, etc. And you can call them from your vehicle by the touch of a button and it will test your engine, call for road service...lots of things.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just exactly like MapQuest on your laptop...but, beware, the routes they give you are outdated!!!
This reminded me of our experience with the Navi -we live in germany :) - last weekend. We were going around 3 times to find this place.. it was taking us up the narrow road.. and we did our best to ignore it but we landed anyway on the same path. We gave up and turned off the navi..luckily we found the place although we showed up a bit late.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have GPS (I'm going to get it)
ReplyDeletebut, I will never follow it blindly. Especially after reading this