Scripps Employees Called 'Hackers' For Exposing Massive Security Flaw
Suspected PayPal Hackers Seek Deal To Stay Out Of Prison
Aussie Family Stranded Three Days After Following GPS Into Outback
How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a pickup truck. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the Outback, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together. [From: The Sydney Morning Herald]
LOOK: Bank Vault Saves 22 Lives During Tornado
Live from Microsoft's New Generation Xbox event!
Demi Looks FANTASTIC In A Bikini
Xbox Reveal liveblog on Joystiq
Dozens Killed in Oklahoma Tornado; Death Toll to Rise
PHOTO: Dog Guards Dead Victim's Body After Oklahoma Tornado Disaster
Xbox One architecture panel liveblog!
H&M's Plus-Size Model Jennie Runk Says She Chose To Gain Weight
Brave Woman Stood Down Armed London Attackers
Okla. Sheriff's Deputy Finds Dog Guarding Body Buried Under Destroyed Home
Surgeon's Remove Giant Hairball From Tiger
The List #0147: Escape a Car Underwater
South American 'Crazy' Ants Are a Threat in Southern US
Killed Soldier In London Attack Identified
Selena Gomez Leaving Justin Bieber's House: Booty Call Rumors Swirl
Man Reportedly Beheaded In Brutal Assault In London Neighborhood
Mother Dies With Infant During Oklahoma Tornado
U.S. Acknowledges Four American Citizens Killed In Drone Strikes
Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed - Atheists Included
Wolf Blitzer's Embarrassing Moment With Tornado Survivor
Singer Sues McDonald's, Claims Chicken Sandwich Incident Ruined Her Voice
Help For Heroes Killing
The World's Most Powerful Women
PHOTOS: Christie Brinkley Gets Back Into A Swimsuit At 59 Years Old
PHOTOS: Tornado Aftermath Leaves Trail Of Destruction
NY Times Eviscerates Obama White House
Who Won 'DWTS'?
White Father Allegedly Suspected Of Kidnapping Biracial Daughters
WATCH: Tornado Victim Finds Dog During CBS Interview
PHOTOS: Tornadoes Wreak Havoc On Central U.S.
PHOTOS: Tornado Devastates Moore, Oklahoma
Comments
68
Subscribe to commentsmichelleAug 3rd 2010 2:20PM
if GPS leads you to a closed road, turn around. how dumb/computer dependent are we becoming?
TeriAug 3rd 2010 4:38PM
I know, right? Ignoring the signs. My father always carries maps of different places in the car. It's not hard to read a map, and you get more of a feeling of actually where you are in the world. You can decide which way is best, not a drone that follows the leader...to a dead end road.
cassandraAug 3rd 2010 2:24PM
haha. lol. no offense, but that is so dumb. you should follow warning signs! omg. haha. i can't stop laughing. but i am glad they are okay and safe.
AbraxusAug 3rd 2010 2:53PM
I'm from Australia and this story is a little bogus - Perth is on the west coast, say Australia was a clock, it's at roughly 9 pm, Brisbane is WAY over the other side at say 2 pm - there is no way they were driving between these two places and got lost, they are thousands and thousands of miles apart. I wish AOL would get its facts right! You have to pass tons of places between these 2 cities!
The actual story - family driving across Australia from Perth, on their way to Brisbane in Queensland had gotten as far as New South Wales and followed the GPS onto the closed road because they figured their car was rugged enough to 4 wheel it. It took 3 days for help to get to them because of the flooded road that they got bogged in.
You can't blame a GPS for this - last time in Australia a group of South Koreans did something similar back in May - they couldn't speak English (GPS was speaking Korean) - so they followed it blindly, even though there were signs saying NOT to go the way they did. Stupid is as stupid does!
RobertAug 3rd 2010 5:05PM
Sadly ,they are not safe because they survived to do it again.The worst part is that people who are too stupid to heed current warning signs and believe a years old map in a machine are allowed to reproduce.
tyAug 3rd 2010 7:29PM
I only use maps and have made it through several closed roads. One day my resourcefulness may run out though, if you see a mudded over road that is partially dug out, partially stoned/graveled over and partially thatched, coulda been me.
wrightrjjAug 3rd 2010 2:26PM
It shows right there people can't think for themselves anymore. "Oh we have to listen to the gps, because its never wrong" (how pathetic)
EdwardAug 3rd 2010 3:29PM
I drive around without a GPS and I never get lost! I use the old fashioned road maps.
GPS=Waste of money
WilliamAug 5th 2010 2:01AM
I seriously doubt the GPS told them to ignore the warning sign as stated in the article.
ChelleAug 3rd 2010 2:43PM
I think you took that line wrong...the article was stating that the GPS told them to take the turn so they took it DESPITE the warning posted. The GPS did not specifically say "ignore that sign and turn here"....
marksrujbbersoul9Aug 3rd 2010 7:24PM
Can anyone say duh!
WilliamAug 3rd 2010 7:33PM
I guess I should have been more direct. If you are following your GPS directions and there is a sign up that says Bridge Out Ahead then quit driving in that direction. Same goes for any other sign. I was also surprised, and somewhat delighted, that officials let them sit out there three days before going to fetch them. Yanks could learn from that. But then we'd be sued to hell and gone.
GWRAug 3rd 2010 2:42PM
My GPS routed me down Rossville Ave from the center of Chattanooga, TN heading to Dalton, GA. If you look at Google Earth at coordinates 35 01 40.82N by 85 18 03.06W you will see railroad tracks crossing Rossville. There is no road crossing, there is no overpass and there is no underpass. When you reach the point where the railroad tracks cross there is a 15 foot berm.
I have found dozens of errors like this in my travels through all of the 48 continental United States. And, the companies who make the mapping data don't seem to want to make any effort to correct it.
mike hyltonAug 3rd 2010 2:55PM
Dozens? gees whats this world coming to when you find dozens out of how many thousands? lmfao
donaleeAug 3rd 2010 3:08PM
Always take an atlas with you!! Our gps had us turning east instead of west. My atlas told me the right way.
AviceAug 3rd 2010 8:48PM
I don't have a GPS because when I looked at them in the store, they couldn't find my ziip code. I do use Google maps and Mapquest, but when I tried to find a business and it told me to go 2 miles north, 2 miles west, 2 miles south, and a mile east, I just went a mile west and saved all that driving. I use a mapping program on my laptop and it works MOST of the time but I have seen it take me down a frontage road because it didn't know there was an exit to the place I wanted to go--not a biggie, but that tells me it can be wrong.
LitaAug 3rd 2010 2:44PM
It was not the GPS that caused these people's predicament. It was absolute stupidity. We need to stop blaming the devices that we employ to help us; they are meant as an aide which requires some thought process from the user. If you are too stupid to use common sense when you travel, then I implore you to get out the jigsaw puzzles, the deck of cards, whatever you have on hand at home, and stay there where you can do the least amount of harm to yourself and your family. Tip for those who are slow on the uptake: Just because the burner on your electric stove is dark doesn't mean it isn't hot enough to burn you!
RuthAug 3rd 2010 2:46PM
Last year my husband and I encountered a group of German tourists following GPS instuctions down a steep and dangerous four wheel drive road in northern Arizona. I felt so sorry as I watched their rental van lurch down the road with sick gray faces peering out at the 300 foot drop off the edge. The van was way too long to turn around and their only choice was to go ahead. We ran that road last weekend and there was no wrecked van so I guess they made it.
Love our GPS but we carry maps and a compass and a tiny bit of common sense too...
lnbAug 3rd 2010 2:48PM
We and 8 other home owners, live on a 600 ft. long, dead end, gravel, rural road. There are two very old gate posts (no gate) at the entrance of the road and several signs that state "not a through street" "no river access (there's a river on the west end of town)" "private road" and "no turn around". However, not only do the GPSs show it as a through road, but so does Mapquest, Google Maps, and several other maps Including the county parcel maps. There is a parcel at the end that has a house that totally blocks any access to the next street and there is no right of way through that parcel.
Do you think the signs, etc. outweigh the GPSs, etc? No way. We even had a large RV that was pulling a boat and trailer head down the road. It got stuck and had to be pulled out - after they had to take part of one of our neighbor's fence out!!! (Yep, the RV owners paid for the fence). Total idiots.
bellethecat55Aug 3rd 2010 3:14PM
Have noticed that most folks don't think the signs mean them. In our town, stop lights and signs are only a suggestion, apparently, considering the number of idiots who remove themselves from the gene pool at certain crossings.