GpsCrash

Latest

  • GPS sends another driver onto train tracks of doom

    by 
    Donald Melanson
    Donald Melanson
    09.30.2008

    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?

  • Bus driver chooses GPS over gigantic warning sign, plows into overpass

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    04.17.2008

    Okay Britons, here's your shot at ripping us Americans who've had quite a few laughs at the expense of your GPS-loving neighbors. Reportedly, the driver of a charter bus carrying a high school girls' softball team decided to casually follow the soothing turn-by-turn directions that were being emitted from the nearby GPS unit rather than actually noticing the enormous clearance sign on the overpass ahead. As you can likely guess, the 11-foot, 8-inch-high vehicle plowed right into the 9-foot bridge -- which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 -- though somehow everyone on board escaped without any major injuries. Oddly enough, the driver apparently isn't alone in chipping away at the landmark, as a local even mentioned that "large trucks hit the bridge every two weeks or so," but couldn't resist noting that "this [instance was] by far the worst."[Thanks, Raleigh]