Slavish devotion to technology
From http://www.foursprung.com/
Call it dunk driving. Motorists in England who follow satellite navigation a little too unquestioningly have found themselves fording gentle streams that sometimes become swollen enough to stall their vehicles and even flood them. So reports the Times of London.
On the heels of a closed road in the Wiltshire village of Luckington, some drivers with GPS systems have been given directions to go through a ford at the mouth of the River Avon. Normally the water is about 2 feet deep, but it can reach 4 feet after heavy rains (and this is England). To dunk their cars, however, drivers have to slavishly obey navigation directions and ignore recently posted road-closed signs.
Some farmers are earning 25 pounds to tow stalled cars back to dry land, reports the Times. But the real cost might be the value of the car. When water reaches the floorboards (carpeting) of the car, odds are it's gotten into the electrical system and some mechanical components and the car will never be right again. In the U.S., insurers usually declare the car a write-off at that point. Assuming no dishonest people among the owners, insurers, tow-truck operators, and junkyards, the vehicle is then crushed. The reason: A water-damaged car can be made to look and work right for a month or a year, but eventually problems will crop up that can never be fixed.
Also in England, the BBC News reported that GPS routing in North Yorkshire directs cars and trucks along a twisty road from Swaledale to Wensleydale that has a 100-foot drop off and is more suited for adventurous souls in four-wheel drive Land Rovers. A third village along the route is aptly named: Crackpot.
Finally, several years ago, GPS navigation instructions in Germany omitted one crucial piece of information regarding the shortest route between two villages, which proved hazardous on foggy nights. The missing instruction? "Stop. Wait for ferryboat."
Call it dunk driving. Motorists in England who follow satellite navigation a little too unquestioningly have found themselves fording gentle streams that sometimes become swollen enough to stall their vehicles and even flood them. So reports the Times of London.
On the heels of a closed road in the Wiltshire village of Luckington, some drivers with GPS systems have been given directions to go through a ford at the mouth of the River Avon. Normally the water is about 2 feet deep, but it can reach 4 feet after heavy rains (and this is England). To dunk their cars, however, drivers have to slavishly obey navigation directions and ignore recently posted road-closed signs.
Some farmers are earning 25 pounds to tow stalled cars back to dry land, reports the Times. But the real cost might be the value of the car. When water reaches the floorboards (carpeting) of the car, odds are it's gotten into the electrical system and some mechanical components and the car will never be right again. In the U.S., insurers usually declare the car a write-off at that point. Assuming no dishonest people among the owners, insurers, tow-truck operators, and junkyards, the vehicle is then crushed. The reason: A water-damaged car can be made to look and work right for a month or a year, but eventually problems will crop up that can never be fixed.
Also in England, the BBC News reported that GPS routing in North Yorkshire directs cars and trucks along a twisty road from Swaledale to Wensleydale that has a 100-foot drop off and is more suited for adventurous souls in four-wheel drive Land Rovers. A third village along the route is aptly named: Crackpot.
Finally, several years ago, GPS navigation instructions in Germany omitted one crucial piece of information regarding the shortest route between two villages, which proved hazardous on foggy nights. The missing instruction? "Stop. Wait for ferryboat."
posted by KathyGS at
10:05 AM
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