Another Brit puts complete faith in GPS system, nearly perishes

Alright Britain, we've given you quite enough passes on this whole "blind faith in GPS" thing, but now we're going to need an explanation. In yet another case of a British individual nearly losing their life thanks to a complete and utter lack of common sense, a 20-year old Birmingham University student was following a GPS' directions to Carmarthenshire for the first time, only to have her vehicle destroyed by a speeding train while she watched. Oddly enough, the dame followed the route onto an "unmarked" (saywah?) railroad crossing, but rather than actually contemplating the situation, she proceeded to lift the nearest gate, drive her vehicle squarely onto the tracks, and then went to lift the far gate in order to cross what she reportedly thought was "a normal farmers' gate." In the meantime, a train made its way in her direction, and while she admitted that she considered getting back into the vehicle in an attempt to move it, thankfully she didn't follow through on any more unbelievably bad decisions. Needless to say, the car was trashed along with the GPS, but perhaps the most comical part is the fact that the lady has vowed to never use a navigation system again in protest for it nearly killing her -- we'd suggest staying off the roads altogether.

[Via El Reg]

[v_dogg @ May 11th 2007 5:30PM]

hmm sounds to me like the gps had nothing to do with it. just some stupid naive girl

[iSpork @ May 11th 2007 5:30PM]

We don't have many rural level crossings here in Birmingham, and maybe she never went to Wales with her parents as a lass.. so can't really blame her or her GPS for this incident, just a lack of common sense.

[LukeA @ May 11th 2007 5:31PM]

What's the spread on her being a blonde?

[iSpork @ May 11th 2007 5:32PM]

"Paula Ceely, was driving her Renault Clio from Redditch, Worcestershire, to see her boyfriend at his parents' home in Carmarthenshire for the first time.

She was trying to cross the line in the dark when she heard a train horn, realised she was on the track, and the train smashed into the car."

and Luke: check the link, she's not blonde.

[aeo @ May 11th 2007 5:32PM]

Forget breathalysers, we need IQ testers in cars more than anything. "I'm sorry, your IQ is below 100. Ignition (the key thingy) will not be activated".

Then it should give them an electric shock to help them understand the message in the event that they can't read.

[Jon @ May 11th 2007 5:39PM]

If this person used a paper map she would still have the accident due to her idiocy.

[Richard Lai @ May 11th 2007 5:44PM]

I would have thought that the railway track would have showed up on the screen anyway.

Let's just be glad that she is still alive, and let the lesson be learned.

[Cosmos @ May 11th 2007 9:39PM]

Glad? Natural selection has been cheated! And she didn't learn anything, because she is faulting her GPS for the accident.

[CharlieX @ May 11th 2007 5:48PM]

A "normal farmer's gate?" And those must have been "normal farmer's railroad tracks" too.

[segovia101 @ May 13th 2007 9:22AM]

You know nothing of rural life. Those tracks act as a guide for the cows when moving them from pasture to pasture. It's much easier to wheel or shunt the livestock around the farm on special bogies fitted to the underside of the animal. While the initial outlay in laying the track is high, it quickly pays for itself due to the time the farmer frees up for other work. Some setup costs are subsidised the EU and national governments.

Naturally the bogies are removed at slaughter. Serial numbers allow the bogies to be returned to the appropriate farm. Didn't you see that 'How it's made'?

[SOSdan @ May 11th 2007 5:49PM]

I guess in Britain "a normal farmers' gate" is followed by a long stretch of railroad tracks and then by another "normal farmers' gate."

... Seriously? It's obvious she knew it was a railroad track but just made a dumb choice for her own convenience. Don't lie. You're giving Brits a bad name.

[panik @ May 11th 2007 5:51PM]

Another yank sensationalizes a story about gps that hasn't really got anything to do with gps

[L.Rawlins @ May 11th 2007 5:58PM]

Actually, this story is less about GPS and more about level crossings being lethal.

We really ought to do something about these death traps, and sharpish.

[Razor @ May 12th 2007 7:19AM]

Yes, after all they've only been around for what about 150 years now? You would have thought people would have learned by now what to do at them...

[murray @ May 12th 2007 1:55PM]

Level crossings aren't dangerous. Stupid people are.

[MasterCKO @ May 14th 2007 9:34PM]

what, you mean like install gates or something? hmmm, sounds like a great idea.

[Joel @ May 11th 2007 6:18PM]

Dang! These bloody sat navs seem to have a mind of their own!

[Ian Jardine @ May 11th 2007 6:30PM]

Sadly she bames the satnav for her problem rather than her series of bad decisions. I ean her car had headlights, didn't she see the rail tracks??????????

[Marian @ May 11th 2007 7:02PM]

Too bad. It was so close to purge the human race DNA of some very dumb genes...

[nivz @ May 11th 2007 7:03PM]

So here's the summary

Dumb Girl + Car = Lethal

I feel bad for her though.. Might have been excited about marriage or suttin u never know what chicks think.. lol.. hope she'll be alright..

[L.Rawlins @ May 11th 2007 7:10PM]

Strangely though, because I have a twig and giggle-berries I still pay more in insurance; and I'll bet despite her accident, so does the boyfriend.

[posterChild @ May 11th 2007 7:22PM]

A. She's orange.
2. I think we all agree that this isn't a story about GPS.
B. Maybe this is why the British keep pushing for the Big Brother camera/GPS systems to monitor their countrymen. At least that way, they might have film of this incident for all of us to see.

*shrug*

[jimgirardi @ May 12th 2007 12:50AM]

Q. I like your random list counting method.

[Tim B. @ May 11th 2007 7:53PM]

Stupid British

[simond10 @ May 12th 2007 11:53AM]

Stupid poster.

[Tim B. @ May 11th 2007 7:55PM]

Just kidding ;)

[scott @ May 11th 2007 8:01PM]

As other have noted, what does it have to do with the GPS?! Just terrible sense!

And I must say that the authors here have equal poor sense for blamming the GPS. There's little to NO connection between the smashing of the car and the nav system.

[Grant @ May 11th 2007 8:16PM]

So does this "Birmingham University" actually have any admissions standards? or does just signing your name on a paper enough?

this was nearly a darwin award, i'm partially dissapointed it isn't, because i am completly for the cleansing of the low intelligence gene pool.

[tnkgrl @ May 11th 2007 8:52PM]

'cause you know, it's hard to notice railroad tracks on the ground ahead when you drive without your headlights on -roll eyes-

[notyesterday @ May 11th 2007 9:27PM]

The blog entry is a VERY misleading version of the story. I know, reading the original source is SO taxing, who can be bothered, especially when someone has kindly (mis)summarized it and tells you what to think??

If there really was a sign with these instructions (quote below), that's 90% of the problem. What a ridiculous way to handle railroad crossings. Let's see, this sign + dark + no idea there was a railroad = understandable mistake. In passing, here in Eastern Pennsylvania in the US, I come across disused railroad tracks often enough when riding my horse.

"I came to this crossing at Ffynongain and there was like a metal gate, which looked like just a normal farmers' gate with a red circle on it
"I thought it was a dead end at first and then there was a little sign saying, if the light is green, open the gates and drive through."

[BowserUSC @ May 13th 2007 4:52AM]

I think the red circle on the gate as well as the sign and green light are good enough signs that it was a railroad crossing. Also notice how it says "open the gates and drive through," not open one gate, drive onto tracks, open other gate and drive through.

[tchiseen @ May 11th 2007 9:36PM]

For the sake of natural selection it would have been better if she had stayed in the car. Why did she have to park on the tracks? Personally I think there should be more level crossings, and trains should have spikes on them.

[Mark @ May 11th 2007 11:31PM]

Women and Cars - It just wasn't meant to be!

[Leigh @ May 13th 2007 12:29AM]

Insurance stats prove that, in general, women are better drivers than men. Don't prove yourself an idiot by commenting when remaining silent might leave some in doubt.

[Terry Chapman @ May 12th 2007 12:31AM]

"In yet another case of a British individual..."

The other guy was German!

[William F Neal @ May 12th 2007 1:06AM]

Haha.. i would hate to be the boyfriend right about now..

[Alex Deva @ May 12th 2007 6:50AM]

Come on guys, admit it. Which one of you is her disguised boyfriend?

[Max @ May 12th 2007 8:25AM]

Shit, I live in Carmarthenshire! Some people are such idiots...

[everrette powell @ May 12th 2007 9:36AM]

this entire story doesn't make any sense because she is a second year student at Birmingham University that has to be a misprint.

[Dan Grenfell @ May 12th 2007 11:49AM]

I may make a living from it, but it never ceases to amaze me the boundless faith that the young put in technology!

In the good old days we learnt how to read maps at school...yet it's amazing how many people can't even read simple road maps (let alone OS maps) any more!

Heh, perhaps I'm just a grumpy old curmudgeon! ;)

[Timerider @ May 12th 2007 11:46AM]

"The GPS says those train tracks right in front of me don't exist. They must not be there."

How stupid can you get.

[sahara @ May 12th 2007 2:53PM]

I heard that using blonde hair-dye continuously, causes brain damage. Anyway, blind faith in any technology just doesn't work. Wasn't Mapquest enough?

Taxis in New York City, are set to have GPS installed. Gee, don't folks know how to get to where they're going?

[choochoo @ May 12th 2007 7:02PM]

From the article, "The crossing wasn't shown on the sat nav, there were no signs at all and it wasn't lit up to warn of an oncoming train."

Now look at the (large) picure of the crossing at:
http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/_images/db/42/91/LEVELCROSSING1.429125.full.jpg

Am I the only one that sees an almost comical abundance of signage, including a red/green light to warn of oncoming trains, plus step by step instructions.

By the way, the instructions specifically tell you to check the light, open BOTH gates, then check the light again before driving across. Plus there's a phone that lets you contact the signalman.

It seriously scares me that I have to share the roads with people so lacking in common sense.

[Owain Jones @ May 13th 2007 3:51PM]

I happen to live about half a mile from that crossing... Here's a few points that people here need to be told:

1. All GPS systems insist that there is no railway at that crossing, and that, in fact, my village doesn't exist.

2. On the night of the accident, it was torrential rain (ish).

3. The photo that choochoo linked to, was after the event, and the car had been going the other way (not quite as many signs from that direction).

4. If she'd been bothered to look at a map before travelling that night she would've realised that that was a ridiculous direction to travel to get her to ger boyfriends house.

Ok, those were points supporting the girl... here are some that aren't.

1. In the original article, no mention was made of her using a GPS (it seems to be an afterthought after a similar incident in England), and all the blame was placed on "lack of signage".

2. There are loads of signs, and ample lighting.

3. The original article stated that the boyfriend said he'd heard about accidents at the same crossing before: There is ABSOLUTELY NO RECORD anywhere about any other accidents at that crossing in at least 20 years, plus considering at some point our farm is about 2 yards away from the tracks, I'm sure we'd know if there had been.

4. She would have driven past the same track at least three times before making that stupid mistake, I should know, I drive past it all the time.

5. She wasn't blonde, she had no excuse. She was incredibly thick.


One final point to make: It happened about 4 months ago, don't make out as if it only just happened.

[T. Dixon @ May 14th 2007 10:46AM]

I think probably there are no more stupid people in Britain than in the US or elsewhere; the US probably just has more accurate GPS data to keep the stupid people from making so many dumb decisions.

[claud @ May 19th 2007 2:16AM]

We humans sometimes think of ourselves as all equally Intelligent, In a perfect world that might exist?, but here on earth it does not, as 99% of the population has an average I.Q. of 101, data shows 90% of the 99% has an I.Q. of 81 and below (an I.Q. of greater than 130 would be preferred), Forest Gump character had an I.Q. of 70 but he was a nice person, (so being not so smart but nice, I am OK with). (But being stupid and a "Bonehead", I am not OK with). When 90 out of 100 people you meet are "Gumpish" and when personalities (Good & Bad) are mixed in, so we all seem to be surprised when people do and say "Stupid" things, statistically it’s to be expected, and we all would like to believe that 90% of people are all equally smart, but that’s just not true.
Everywhere I go there is someone doing something stupid, on TV or on the road, it’s everywhere. The only ones who don’t know or could ever are the "Stupid" people. I know it’s not "politically correct" and many of you will be upset by my statement, but it will not change the truth of it all. (we all know that I.Q. is a rough measurement and not precise) but even if it gives you some general numbers to work with, we can see we have a long way to go before we evolve into something on the high percentage of "Intelligence".
90% of the people you meet on the street are genetically incapable to reason out the obvious, they keep trying to fit the square peg in the round hole and argue the fact that its suppose to work that way, to them it is a big challenge in which they employ theories that make them feel better, a false sense of superiority of discovering something without proof so as to make it seem like they are an intellectuals.
I know that that the main response is going to be that an IQ test does not really measure Intelligence?, but if you think about it, I.Q. testing gives you something to work with and as time goes by there will be better test to give more accurate results, no matter if you are educated or not, although for someone with a low I.Q. it definitely does not hurt to be "Educated".
My personal belief is that if we are to have any chance of surviving in this world we need to educate and somehow find a way to have us mere mortals to have "common sense" even if it’s by training through “Education.
I would think most if not all of our mistakes throughout history have been made out of sheer ignorance and stupidity or both, Our "Only" chance of survival is to train and educate and filter the evil ones from our human society, it is something we all have to do together, but that is almost an impossible challenge in itself considering all the different cultures, religions and languages, I could list an endless set of examples but hopefully you get what I am trying to say.
It’s the impossible task of joining together for the whole of humanity.
Hopefully we have the strength and ability to do just that.
We all have to figure out where we are on the Intelligence scale, and some soul searching as to our moral and ethical values is very much needed to make the right choices for our future together in that the majority can agree on to make life here on Earth, so that it can be rewarding in every aspect so to fulfill every avenue that we embark upon, Intellectually, Morally and from a financial point a positive return on our money invested.
Remember 90 out of 100 are not odds the few will gamble their life with. But I am more frightened that the 90 likely will!
You can't "Fix Stupid"

[Paul @ May 25th 2007 8:54AM]

It would also seem apparent that this dimwit passed a driving test without even a glance at the Highway Code. I seem to distinctly remember passages on unmarked level crossings, along with the relevant signage.

She should be forced to re-take an extended driving test. It was good to hear that her next visit was by train though.

My worry is the p.c. lobby take onboard people blaming technology in these instances. Cue more nanny-state legislation.

And as for the Darwinism theory, I don't buy it - we seem to have more idiots walking the Earth now than ever before! You only have to look at the fact that we Brits elected Blair and the US elected Bush. Anyway, I digress.