Sat-nav rat-run misery

Danielle Robinson and Brian Lashley

October 18, 2007

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TRUCKERS blindly following satellite navigation systems are making life a misery for people on a quiet country lane.

Lorries have smashed into houses on the single-track road and families have been left cowering behind windows as HGVs inch past.

In the latest incident on Ney Street, just outside Ashton under Lyne, a lorry hit a 300-year-old cottage as the elderly owner ate lunch. It happened after the driver's sat-nav suggested the route as a short-cut to avoid traffic lights on the A627 Oldham Road.

Widow Margaret Williams, 79, said: "All of a sudden I heard a huge crash.

"I felt sorry for the lorry driver as he was shattered by what had happened. I asked him what was he doing driving down this road and he said that his satellite navigation told him to come this way."

Police closed the road for several hours as building inspectors surveyed the scene.

It is the latest in a long line of incidents caused by drivers following sat-nav instructions.

Residents on the narrow dipping lane, which has a sharp hairpin bend, have called for the road to be closed to through traffic. Since it was listed as a short-cut on sat-navs, numerous vehicles have smashed into properties or become stuck at the bottom of the hill in icy weather.

When the M.E.N. drove down the lane, we saw scrape marks on a number of houses and saw several large vehicles struggling as they negotiated the bends.

Drivers we spoke to confirmed their sat-nav systems directed them down Ney Street to avoid the more obvious main Newmarket Road route through to the A627

One woman resident, who did not want to be named, said: "This latest incident was by far the worst and Margaret was very lucky. I dread to think what could happen next time if something is not done."

Neighbour Colin Shaw said: "The house has been pranged quite a lot in the past and we have asked for help."

Local councillors are backing residents and consultations are underway.

Coun Catherine Piddington said: "Engineers are doing a feasibility study and we have got to consult with the emergency services, but we would like to see the road closed.

"The road was not built for the kind of traffic that is being directed that way by sat-navs and motorists should stick to the main roads. It is a growing problem."

Have you had a bad experience with sat-nav devices? Have your say.

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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

alvinlwh (18/10/2007 at 09:18)

My Sat-nav directed me down a bridleway once and through a ford another time. I got through both routes as suggested just fine in my 4x4.

The Bobelesque, In The Rye (18/10/2007 at 10:00)

Wow! If we have truck drivers who blindly follow the instructions of an electronic box and have no notion of the width of their vehicle I am really worried.

They should be prosecuted fopr due care.

Calamity (18/10/2007 at 12:39)

When I went to a conference in southampton, I put the postcode of the hotel into my my sat nav, and it was telling me to go straight on, even as I was about to turn right into the hotel driveway. I thought that I would see where the SAT Nav would take me, and it directed me a few hundred yards down the road, then a left turn took me into an industrial estate, where it said I had reached my destination. It was almost a mile away from where I wanted to go.
Sat Navs are also weird at roundabouts. At some, it calls the first turning the actual first turning, but at others, it ignores the first turning and calls the second the first. I think it must be to do with the position of the first turning, but it can be confusing.

Jo14, Stockport (18/10/2007 at 12:41)

Can't a notice be put at the start of the lane to advise it's not suitable for large vehiceles?

Seems the logical thing to do.

wayneold, manc (18/10/2007 at 12:58)

When the woman’s voice on the sat nav says "turn right now" you inevitably turn right!

Moral of the story, never listen to a woman!!!!!!

Matthew Wright (18/10/2007 at 14:05)

Does anyone remember the story of the Ambulance that was driven from London to Manchester when it should have gone to some destination in London?. Says it all really.

I did joke they knew where they were not when the sav nat told them but when a brick hit the emergency vehicle and my mate believed me!. Its not however all that funny with the events that have happened since.

Id never use a satnav a couple of minutes well planning is all you need

rlfan, greater manchester (18/10/2007 at 14:22)

I as an lgv driver would say that the guy should be done for due care & attention.
Also just a note ( some employers wont touch you if you dont have/use a satnav)
strange, gone are the days when you needed to forward plan your route using a MAP...

edwards (18/10/2007 at 15:32)

yes no surprise that the drivers are blaming their 'sat-navs'. no doubt some of them must know the area very well and well enough to know that this road isnt suitable. I would also agree that they and they alone are responsible for their driving and should accept the consequences. I have seen drivers arrested and charged with dangerous driving for a lot less than this. The sat nav is no defence.

polkyb (18/10/2007 at 16:10)

Sat-nav takes no account of the type of vehicle you are driving, so, it direct an HGV the same way as it would direct a small car.

It's the drivers fault, though... when you get right down to it, the reason he hit the house is purely down to bad driving.

He *could* have stopped and/or called for help.

ace, manchester (18/10/2007 at 16:27)

Just like digital TV not as good as its made out to be? New technology isnt so great.

mauger 9, HANNOVER GERMANY (18/10/2007 at 16:30)

Get the Union in on this one.

Mike (18/10/2007 at 17:49)

Sat Nav? who needs one of these, wots wrong with a map and a A-Z?

Phil The Gap (18/10/2007 at 18:36)

To balance the discussion, I have used Sat Nav for over 2 years and drive over 20,000 miles a year. It has never lead me the wrong way and takes a lot of the stress out of driving. Far safer than looking at a map and trying to drive or pulling over somewhere dangerous. My friend drives a lorry and his has details of low bridges etc. Not all Sat Nav's use the same maps. I guess it depends which one you buy. It's a drivers aid, not a substitute for paying attention.

Mike, Manchester (18/10/2007 at 18:39)

Ace, maybe the SatNav software should redirect them all to "Birch" services for a bit of you-know-what?

marc (18/10/2007 at 19:47)

mike said: "Ace, maybe the SatNav software should redirect them all to "Birch" services for a bit of you-know-what?"

Ace in a sweaty 'birch-at-the-ready' position is not an image i need in my head, thank you very much!

Saint, Middleton (18/10/2007 at 19:59)

I'm afraid there's no shortcuts in life as this story shows, you need to put the time and effort in to get the knowledge and skills required to be a proper trucker, or anything else for that matter. We rely too much on technology these days, I think this is why we are all becoming lazy and always looking for shortcuts ( pardon the pun ) in life.

I think our national sport in 30 years will be Sumo.

hodie, wiltshire (18/10/2007 at 21:04)

A Sat Nav is a machine. As yet it does not have the "brain" to cope with probablity only with Yes/No decisions on the information programmed into it (which may be out of date or inaccurate). An intelligent driver faced with an obvious improbability would ignore it. Therefore there must be some stupid drivers about.

expatmanc, swansea (18/10/2007 at 22:08)

Sav nav is for the guidance of the wise, not the obedience of the foolish

who cares who I am, who cares where I am (18/10/2007 at 22:47)

Me thinks it is pilot error!!

lindoman, Hindley (19/10/2007 at 10:36)

Residents have campaigned for the road in question to be closed due to the lorry / sat-nav problem. There is a much simpler, and cheaper, option that could be considered.

In other parts of the coutry - where sat-navs have sent lorries down roads that are too narrow, have low bridges or very twisty - local councils have erected signage with a satellite and a lorry crossed out. It has become something of a standard sign in some areas, and is slowly starting to spread across other parts of the UK.

The BBC reported a similar case where a truck got wedged down a narrow lane with a bad dip, their follow-on story mentioned the new sign.

Link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6959057.stm

Mandy Davies (19/10/2007 at 10:41)

Just ban these vehicles from this route,it's not suitable..I can't beleive no one has thought of it.Or is it a case that all must bow to the tyranny of the motor vehicle?

Bring back flogging (19/10/2007 at 22:51)

These drivers should be charged with being Brain Dead-They've obviously got no common sense.If the sat-nav said drive down the Ship Canal they probably would-numpties.

StanF, Leigh (19/10/2007 at 22:51)

I drive 35,000 miles per year and the basic town to town is easy, finding the route for the last few miles is really were sat-nav wins. I saves literally hours per week, not having to find a safe place to stop and trying to remember the route and look for street names. Used with care and common sense it should be fool proof. It will take time to get a version for HGV drivers, who should be able to set the system for their vehicle dimensions, turning circle, height, weight etc. great tool, never leave home without it, especially driving abroard.

LookingForLogic, Stockport (20/10/2007 at 02:02)

sat nav is more of a distraction than mobile phones, or even ( shock horror) eating at the wheel! ( if i didn't eat in the car I wouldn't have time to)
A-Z & notes written in really big writing that you can check out at traffic lights work best! & are generally more reliable!

Snare Drum, Ashton-under-Lyne (20/10/2007 at 12:52)

Are these people so thick that they can't judge the width of their own vehicles. I am sick of hearing bad driving blamed on sat navs. These truckers are supposed to be professional drivers but so many times if you hear of a bad accident, there they are. There are many good drivers but the bad ones give all a bad name. Just go down any motorway and see how many drive nose to tail, behave like they own the road stopping other motorists from getting into lanes and gassing away on mobile phones, seen it all so don't go blaming a sat nav for plain stupidity.

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