Dizzy Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Very sad story in the news this week about a little girl who died after a sat nav directed her learner driver dad to turn right at a junction into oncoming traffic. OK, so I presume there must have been a sign saying no right turn but it just made me wonder how many people actually trust their sat navs so much that maybe they are distracted by it or may not take full notice of signs etc simply because they put their trust in a little machine which 'tells' them where to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Obviously a Richard Head, but wasn't there a "qualified" driver in the car as well?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted February 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Yes there was, but that's not my point Obs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Obviously we use Satnav at sea, and I am very aware of the fact that they can go wrong at times, never mind relying on one to tell you when to turn right in a car without using your own senses. To rely on a machine to that extent deserves a Darwin Award Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 But the point of having a "qualified" driver in the vehicle Dis, IS to avoid the learner from making "mistakes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Great little bit of kit as long as you remember they are not infallible, only two weeks ago mine directed me through a hospital carpark in Stockport that I was not looking for, when I eventually arrived at my chosen destination and recounted my experience to someone they said that exactly the same thing had happened to another customer the day previously, theirs had been a TomTom mine a Garmin. The aspect of satnav's I'm not keen on, you arrive at your destination not really aware of how you got there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlady54 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 What appalled me in this incident is the fact that, although the person was turning right, across a traffic lane, he couldn't see that vehicles coming towards him were travelling at speed. Did he (or the passenger) not see any other traffic and wait to see that it was safe to continue? A sat nav doesn't tell you if it is safe to continue, wherever you are driving, that is the responsibility of the driver and supervisor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 My point entirely, the degree of reliance on and obsession with gadgets these days is unbelievable - like the girls J-walking (or driving), cos their heads down texting on a moby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Last year I had almost the same thing happen at the end of the M57. My gut feelings told me I needed to go left but the SatNav insisted I went right which put me onto the M58 going the wrong way. Turns out that the road layout had changed and the SatNav hadn?t been updated. I tend not to use them but increasingly I?m finding myself getting lost these days. I?m sure some councils must adopt a policy of if you want to know where you?re going then get a SatNav and don?t expect us to put signs up. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Very useful as a rough guide, but don't believe them 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Have only ever used one once and almost threw it out of the window in frustration at the nagging voice insisting that I turn round as it wanted me to go fifteen miles out of my way to use a 1mile stretch of motorway that i had just passed under. I only needed it to show me where the last few miles led me as I was unsure of exactly where the location was. I knew the first three quarters of the route no problem but just needed to get the last bit right as it was a bit complicated even with a route plotted on the web. I can honestly say that I will not be investing in one any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 I had my sat nav on when I went to Knowsley safari park. It said 'bear left' - I looked and it was a monkey, bloody rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I had my sat nav on when I went to Knowsley safari park.It said 'bear left' - I looked and it was a monkey, bloody rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Have only ever used one once and almost threw it out of the window in frustration at the nagging voice insisting that I turn round as it wanted me to go fifteen miles out of my way to use a 1mile stretch of motorway that i had just passed under. I only needed it to show me where the last few miles led me as I was unsure of exactly where the location was. I knew the first three quarters of the route no problem but just needed to get the last bit right as it was a bit complicated even with a route plotted on the web. I can honestly say that I will not be investing in one any time soon. Sid that has happened to me also when I had it set on quickest route rather than nearest route mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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