Many of us would be lost without a sat nav in today’s world but in many cases people actually get lost because of their ‘little helpers’ and often find themselves in quite unusual situations.
Sadly some sat nav accidents can have serious and in some cases, fatal consequences which highlight the dangers of putting their information ahead of your own natural driving senses. However, there are many examples which simply show how common it is for a sat nav to literally lead you down the wrong path.
Here is a round-up of some of the most unusual stories which have been blamed on sat navs in the UK:
Sat nav accidents
Lorry lunacy
A 47-year-old lorry driver thought that his sat nav knew best when it came to choosing between what it told him or taking notice of a road sign warning of dangers to heavy vehicles. Soon after his 17.5-tonne truck became jammed between two walls in a narrow country lane, proving that sometimes the old fashioned ways are the safest. Steven Ablett ended up spending the night in his truck’s cab and missing his son’s 18th birthday.
Security scare
There was a major high level security alert after the Duchess Of York Sarah Ferguson’s car was sold with sensitive addresses still stored in the sat nav device onboard. Police had sold the Jaguar XJ6 at auction but had neglected to wipe the memory. The sat nav contained addresses of houses and common routes taken by the Duchess.
Lack of trust
The residents of a small village in Glamorgan are so unhappy with the way that sat navs are sending heavy duty vehicles through their narrow streets, that they have erected self-made signs, letting drivers know they are likely to become stuck if they trust their devices too much.
Riverside chaos
One cab driver placed so much trust in his sat nav that he followed its instructions to drive along a river. After travelling more than 200 yards he finally became stuck in mud and had to abandon his cab, which was later rescued by a man in a tractor, who pulled it out of the River Nar near Swaffham in Norfolk.
Mini roundabout madness
A sat nav got the blame from a Belgian lorry driver who left a trail of destruction estimated to cost around £20,000. After being led into a cul-de-sac, he ended up destroying a car which became trapped under his vehicle, severely damaging five other cars and totally destroying a mini roundabout.
