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Car tells driver to do freeway U-turn [And he does it. Crash.]
News.Com.Au ^
| December 1, 2004
Posted on 12/03/2004 5:06:32 PM PST by John Jorsett
AN elderly motorist driving along a 130km/h expressway in eastern France caused a crash when he followed the advice of his onboard GPS computer - and made a U-turn.
Police said the hapless 78-year-old driver, who was not named, and the occupants of the vehicle he ran into escaped unharmed from the collision on Sunday, but it could have been much worse.
The man told officers his car GPS had told him to "make a U-turn immediately" as he drove along lost near the town of Nancy in search of a hotel.
He did so, not realising the limitations of his satellite navigation device, which guides using verbal directions.
"It's not the first time we've had a GPS incident," one of the officers said, recalling the time a police vehicle found itself face-to-face with a motorist going the wrong way in accordance with his computer's instructions.
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: badonstar; badsuv; dunceaward; elderly; gps; onstar; oops
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To: John Jorsett
Was it French technology?
2
posted on
12/03/2004 5:07:12 PM PST
by
RockinRight
(Liberals are OK with racism and sexism, as long as it is aimed at a Republican.)
To: John Jorsett
Being a computer programmer/engineer, I've often seen users blindly rely on whatever a computer tells them, even if it makes no sense. Scary.
To: John Jorsett
I can program mine to not allow U-turns.
4
posted on
12/03/2004 5:09:18 PM PST
by
Vermonter
To: John Jorsett
The man told officers his car GPS had told him to "make a U-turn immediately" More info supporting testing drivers every year!
5
posted on
12/03/2004 5:10:02 PM PST
by
rocksblues
(No more Kerry, no more polls!)
To: Vermonter
Stinkin' blue state country.
6
posted on
12/03/2004 5:10:24 PM PST
by
IllumiNaughtyByNature
(I got a fever, and the only prescription is MORE COWBELLS!)
To: John Jorsett
7
posted on
12/03/2004 5:10:29 PM PST
by
Mister Baredog
((DO IT NOW, if you haven't put up a flag on your FR homepage yet,PLEASE))
To: John Jorsett
So did they arrest the GPS too? :-)
To: John Jorsett
Bet this won't make the OnStar commercial...
9
posted on
12/03/2004 5:10:50 PM PST
by
bikepacker67
("This is the best election night in history." -- DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe 11/2/04 8pm)
To: John Jorsett
hapless 78-year-old driverSomebody get the keys from Grandpapa!
10
posted on
12/03/2004 5:11:48 PM PST
by
uncleshag
(Send the Light !)
To: John Jorsett
I was going to make a derogatory comment about the French then remembered about the Okie that crashed his RV when he set the cruise control and went to the galley to make some coffee. I know, the Okie acted as stupid as a Frenchman.
11
posted on
12/03/2004 5:11:58 PM PST
by
crazyhorse691
(We won. We don't need to be forgiving. Let the heads roll!!!!!!!!!)
To: John Jorsett
Being a computer programmer/engineer, I've often seen users blindly rely on whatever a computer tells them, even if it makes no sense. Scary.Yea when my computer tell me I just performed an illegal operation I tend to want to turn myself in to the cops. LOL.
12
posted on
12/03/2004 5:12:14 PM PST
by
Mister Baredog
((DO IT NOW, if you haven't put up a flag on your FR homepage yet,PLEASE))
To: John Jorsett
Mine says "Make a legal U-Turn.".
This reminds me of that woman who was driving an RV on the Interstate, put it on cruise control and went back to the bathroom.
13
posted on
12/03/2004 5:12:23 PM PST
by
gitmo
(Thanks, Mel. I needed that.)
To: bikepacker67
>>>Bet this won't make the OnStar commercial...
Another thing you won't see on an OnStar ad: "Hello OnStar? I'm just outside of Vegas...can you give me directions to the chicken ranch?"
14
posted on
12/03/2004 5:13:51 PM PST
by
Keith in Iowa
(Democrats: Tolerant of all people and opinions. Except me & mine - Conservative, Christian.)
To: John Jorsett
Them stinkin' cars think they're so smart...
15
posted on
12/03/2004 5:14:15 PM PST
by
Begin
(Mister, we could use a man like Ronald Reagan again.)
To: John Jorsett
It's the GPS's (or SUV's) fault.
16
posted on
12/03/2004 5:16:12 PM PST
by
Dashing Dasher
(Bush/Cheney -- Peace through Strength)
To: bikepacker67
Bet this won't make the OnStar commercial... You also won't see the commercials where they listen in on your "conversations" in the car, especially if you make stops on roads named "Lovers' Lane" etc...
17
posted on
12/03/2004 5:17:01 PM PST
by
Gondring
(They can have my Bill of Rights when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!)
To: John Jorsett
as he drove along lost near the town of Nancy in search of a hotel. Nancy, France.
Now that's funny.
To: John Jorsett
The man told officers his car GPS had told him to "make a U-turn immediately" as he drove along lost near the town of Nancy in search of a hotel. Quick, get an exorcist before the demon GPS tells grandpa to do something worse.:)
19
posted on
12/03/2004 5:18:11 PM PST
by
xJones
To: K4Harty
Yep, that's one of the reasons I left
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