GPS sends another driver onto train tracks of doom

We've seen some pretty extreme cases of excessive faith in GPS, but this may well be the first instance of the ill-advised practice nearly exactly repeating itself. As you may recall, earlier this year a Bedford Hills, New York man trusted his GPS so much that he apparently thought it was perfectly reasonable to follow the directions directly onto a set of train tracks. That didn't exactly work out so well, for his car or the oncoming train. Now, as The Journal News reports, another man followed his GPS onto the very same set of tracks last night and, while he did get out in time to make a surely embarrassing 911 call, that apparently wasn't enough to prevent a commuter train from slamming into the car a few minutes later, causing an hour and a half delay but, thankfully, no injuries. Maybe it's time for some signs?

[Zak @ Sep 30th 2008 12:46PM]

I don't know if signs will help, people would be too busy staring at their GPS systems to read the signs.

[Kris @ Sep 30th 2008 12:54PM]

It's amazing to me how dumb these people are. Doesn't anyone actually LOOK where they're going? They should pass a law saying if you wreck your car following a GPS your license is revoked.

[Flashpoint @ Sep 30th 2008 1:01PM]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[Frankenstein Black @ Sep 30th 2008 1:06PM]

“I am so transfixed by the AWESOMENESS of my GPS that I don’t bother to look up or notice the weird bumpy road with steel rails and wood bars running across it” ;^/...

[Frankenstein Black @ Sep 30th 2008 1:07PM]

“I am so transfixed by the AWESOMENESS of my GPS that I don’t bother to look up or notice the weird bumpy road with steel rails and wood bars running across it” ;^/...

[phanbouy @ Sep 30th 2008 1:07PM]

i guess flashpoint really liked the signs comment

[Andy TGD @ Sep 30th 2008 2:37PM]

@Kris

Amen to that, brother.

[Nick @ Sep 30th 2008 2:42PM]

In mother New York, GPS drives you!

[Anthony @ Sep 30th 2008 4:44PM]

Everytime I turn on my GPS in my car it says "routes are only a suggestion... please use caution...". I find it annoying & wish I could turn it off, but I guess for every one of me there's another of this guy.

[useful linkage @ Sep 30th 2008 5:50PM]

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but come on. How dumb can we get? Geesh.

[hazard @ Oct 1st 2008 1:14AM]

If your GPS told you to jump of a cliff, would you? This man clearly would ..

[Speeddemon2008 @ Sep 30th 2008 12:47PM]

I love these stories. They just show the idiocy of some drivers.

[BigD145 @ Sep 30th 2008 1:33PM]

No, they show the idiocy of the average person. It's a good thing that all people don't drive.

[iEye @ Sep 30th 2008 3:07PM]

If they ever made a "Final Destination" movie #$, this would be a good death sceene, the GPS kills you!

moo ha ha!

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Sep 30th 2008 7:16PM]

If you RTFA (which is still somewhat slim on details), it sounds like for some reason cars get stuck (high-centered?) here all the time. The victims got out of their car and spent some time (5+ minutes) trying to get the car un-stuck.

Now, I'm guessing if the GPS sends them here, and they actually drive far enough to get to the tracks, there must be a road. Why on earth the road is designed in such a way that your cars gets stuck, I'm not quite sure. You'd think the article would go more in depth on that matter.

[Zelatio @ Sep 30th 2008 12:47PM]

Time for signs? How about time for some friggin' common sense?

[BluesK1d @ Sep 30th 2008 1:02PM]

Seriously. This should be a Darwinism measure. If you follow the GPS onto the tracks, the car doors should lock and force you to realize your stupidity before being reduced to two dimensions by a train.

[CraigJ @ Sep 30th 2008 1:20PM]

Common senses != common

[Valicore @ Sep 30th 2008 2:51PM]

What is wrong with people? God this is proving the 100IQ is the average theory... common sense is not so common apparently. Darwin FTW.

[maveric101 @ Sep 30th 2008 2:44PM]

100 is the average IQ because that's how IQ is defined...

[BigD145 @ Sep 30th 2008 2:57PM]

The real average is 90-95 in the US.

[wootman @ Sep 30th 2008 5:49PM]

There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics.

[BigD145 @ Sep 30th 2008 6:39PM]

100% of people belong to the human species. I do question that statistic every time I see Bush or McBush on video.

[waterboy99troop @ Sep 30th 2008 8:09PM]

@wootman

you forgot True Lies...

[a @ Sep 30th 2008 12:48PM]

SIGNS?

haha... Forget the signs. I vote to let them exterminate themselves...

[phanbouy @ Sep 30th 2008 12:57PM]

how many bystanders do they get to take out on their way out?

[ch4s3r @ Sep 30th 2008 12:58PM]

here here

[ishism @ Sep 30th 2008 2:02PM]

There There

[phanbouy @ Sep 30th 2008 3:42PM]

apparently engadget readers are still too lazy to see the sarcasm

[i.c. weiner @ Sep 30th 2008 4:22PM]

what does being lazy have anything to do with sarcasm?

[konshuss @ Sep 30th 2008 12:50PM]

why did he leave his car on the tracks? is the discovery that your gps sucks so jarring that you have to start acting like the wife in slaughterhouse 5?

[Stiv @ Sep 30th 2008 1:44PM]

@konshuss

Awesome Vonnegut reference! +1

[webon @ Sep 30th 2008 1:50PM]

maybe, just maybe he got stuck, but that's just my guess

[lanejasper69 @ Sep 30th 2008 7:05PM]

Stuck????

NO.

He/She had to make the bonehead turn to start the whole mess...people are generally stupid. It was certainly someone taking the GPS verbatim I'd assume. i swear, even my in-laws who are a bit older than myself thought mine was some sort of auto pilot device or cruise control that sat on the dashboard. This coming from the same people (Love them dearly by the way) who called me once late at night to ask how to check email they never set up an account for. They just thought somehow it magically came to them in the black box (PC Tower) and they could write back. LOL

[Steven @ Oct 2nd 2008 10:29AM]

That's the problem with these built-in GPS devices. Leaving your car on the tracks is the best way to get rid of the piece of rubbish.

[From My Cube @ Sep 30th 2008 12:51PM]

my GPS once drove me to the bank and had me empty out all my accounts and then mail them to an "investment house"...I should be getting my first intrest check anyday now

[Lowest Ranked @ Sep 30th 2008 1:21PM]

What was this about the GPS that drives you again?

[Hellaphunt @ Sep 30th 2008 12:51PM]

Wow, we have drones already? If they can't watch the (rail) road, what makes you think they'll watch for signs?

[Ekauq @ Sep 30th 2008 12:53PM]

I think the GPS software just knows how to handle the dumb drivers.

[Macbeth @ Sep 30th 2008 1:04PM]

It's not aggressive enough, needs to drive them into a volcano or the nearest geographic equivalent.

[Josh @ Sep 30th 2008 2:16PM]

Obviously he had his SatNav AI difficulty on "Veteran".

[avester @ Sep 30th 2008 12:56PM]

Oh baby, I didn't know that this was a strip-joint! My GPS said that this was a regular restaurant!

[Driving Test @ Sep 30th 2008 12:59PM]

Survival of the fittest. Additionally, in every state, they should make every driver take a driving test every 10 years. I'd bet you'd be amazed how many people fail and have to re-learn the rules of the road!

[dzhiurgis @ Sep 30th 2008 1:03PM]

I agree. Especially older people, they are just dumb :/

[CraigJ @ Sep 30th 2008 1:56PM]

slow != dumb.

You'll probably be old and "stupid" someday, unless you follow your GPS into a river, that is...

[csmitty @ Sep 30th 2008 2:15PM]

Hey, I failed the NC test when I moved. 10yrs after my first license, so yea your right.

Me, i would have aired down my tires in winter weather. not add chains, but to each his own. NC drivers arn't exactly the brightest either. I hate having that tag as I'm sure others notice as well.

[Quadrain @ Sep 30th 2008 12:59PM]

GPS...helping the process of Natural Selection

[dahood12 @ Sep 30th 2008 12:59PM]

Skynet is quiely thinning the ranks of the human race...

[feffrey @ Sep 30th 2008 1:07PM]

The Human race does not need Skynet's help to thin out humanity.

[The Dude @ Sep 30th 2008 1:25PM]

That was Skynet's plan all along. No nukes or shit like that, but the gradual death of everyone through erroneous GPS directions. OF COURSE!