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GPS Leads Truck to Impassable Road for 5 Days

by Tim Stevens on February 27, 2009 at 12:52 PM

Truck Blocks Road for Five Days Thanks to GPS
If you have a GPS, you've surely noticed that, from time to time, it gives directions that are a little bit... wrong. Maybe it got the name of an exit incorrect, or told you to turn down the wrong way onto a one-way street, or maybe even told you to turn onto a road that didn't exist. You're certainly not alone in these findings, but we hope your wayward directions were less of an inconvenience than those suffered by an unnamed truck driver in the village of Cotswold, England. His GPS directed him down a tiny road that was too small for his rig and, when he tried to back out, he got stuck, completely blocking the road for five days while his company struggled to extract it!

Do you use GPS in your car to get around?
Yes5984 (60.6%)
No3740 (37.9%)
I'm not sure155 (1.6%)


This is an increasing problem in England, with its many small, country lanes that are completely unsuitable for large vehicles. Most GPS devices don't know the difference, and will route cars, trucks, and everything else down these narrow roads, leading to fun times like this.



Many villages have resorted to signs warning GPS owners to turn back, but lawmakers are now trying to take that a step further and ban large vehicles from these roads entirely. Over here, our roads tend to be a bit wider, but you can still get yourself in trouble if you blindly follow your GPS. Here's a tip: If it tells you to turn onto some train tracks, don't do it! [From: The Inquirer]

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Tags: accident, dumb, england, gps, killer gadgets, KillerGadgets, road, truck

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