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Discussion: General Forums / Hardware & Software Discussion - Abusing your GPS - Apparently Britain has a major problem with lorry (truck) drivers and others trusting their satnav
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09-18-2009, 08:22 PM #1
Abusing your GPS
Apparently Britain has a major problem with lorry (truck) drivers and others trusting their satnav systems too much and getting stuck in villages too small to handle a large vehicle. In a panic, some lorry drivers end up ripping out walls that face the narrow roads and getting stuck on the edges of cliffs.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...irections.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lane-Kent.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...g-village.html
[media]http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/07_01/StuckLorryKNP_468x387.jpg[/media]
There's even a website where you can report drivers too dumb to override the suggestions of their satnavs:
http://www.satnavinsanity.org.uk/
How come this is such a problem in the UK but not in the US? Do small towns in the US have wider roads? If so, why? Surely our horses aren't any fatter?
Dude, seriously, WHAT handkerchief?
snooggums' density principal: "The more dense a population, the more dense a population."
Iliana: "You're a great friend but if we're ever chased by zombies I'm tripping you."
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09-18-2009, 08:59 PM #2
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Re: Abusing your GPS
Well in America, we have designated spots and routes were trucks go. If it is not a designated route, you do not take it.
|TG|Ghost02
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09-19-2009, 12:07 AM #3
Re: Abusing your GPS
Probably because those drivers are too [stupid?] to realize what they're doing is pretty darn dumb? Maybe it just comes down to them not thinking before doing and figuring they can get it with it. At least until they're stuck and can't even get out of the cabin.
Truckers rarely follow those postings or laws to the letter. I've seen some take up both lanes of a 2-lane road/highway. Other times I've seen semis roar down my 2-lane one-way street as if it was a highway and semis are prohibited in my neighbor unless they are driving down one of the main streets.
Originally Posted by Ghost02
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09-19-2009, 11:55 AM #4
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Re: Abusing your GPS
our zoning laws (and more recently developed cities, for that matter) create an atmosphere where large trucks have no need to venture into residential areas. Obviously, there are exceptions, but in America, cities usually come up first, then the farmland around it is subdivided for residential.
many of the cities have either been redesigned with traffic patterns in mind, or grew up during the age of the auto.
some cities (like NY) had large buildings in place before they had vehicles, and are stuck with the narrower streets. the further west you go - for the most part - the less this is an issue.
European countries valued small villages and farms long before cities and vehicles were in the picture, and even today, smaller vehicles are the norm - along with less vehicles overall.
America is a suburban / expedition / excursion / hummer / 3500 / f350 hungry society where bigger is still better and families have at least one car per driver... sometimes many more, so roads are designed with this larger (greater numbers) vehicle load in mind.Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison
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09-19-2009, 01:31 PM #5
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Re: Abusing your GPS
Maybe there isn't as much interesting news in Britain so there is more exposure about GPS abuse. It's not like it doesn't happen in the US.
When I was in NYC for business last year, we had to hire a bus driver to take us to Armonk, NY from Manhattan. He had no idea where to go so we googled map directions for him. He was actually pretty smart about following road signs. We were on a one lane parkway about to go under a bridge when he noticed the posted height clearance wouldn't be suitable for the bus. We could clearly pass under but he wanted to be safe. So he backed up on the parkway and continued backing up the onramp. The state trooper had a nice look on his face.
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09-19-2009, 11:32 PM #6
Re: Abusing your GPS
Could it be that freeways just suck in the UK, that they had to wind around established hamlets instead of going straight across vacant fields and deserts? I recall all the little US towns that turned into ghost towns as the big freeways of the 50's replaced the more wandering little highways that were built in the time of horses. But the US has lots of open space to drop a laser-straight freeway just about anywhere, while the UK is likely to be much more crowded, with a lot less free land to grab for a road. I expect Japan must be even worse.
Dude, seriously, WHAT handkerchief?
snooggums' density principal: "The more dense a population, the more dense a population."
Iliana: "You're a great friend but if we're ever chased by zombies I'm tripping you."
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