Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Middleton Police
Delivery drivers can't live without sat-nav for obvious reasons. But as many of us learned the hard way, blindly trusting such software is a big no-no and sometimes can lead to the most awkward and even life-threatening situations.
A DoorDash driver who tried to deliver a Dunkin Donuts order to a customer in Middleton took everything the navigation app said for granted, following every little turn until they ended up in a forest. The unusual location didn't ring any bells, so the driver continued to follow the suggested route until they got stuck in a pond.
It was the moment when they realized that something was not good, so they called the emergency teams for help.
The Middleton Police explained that the driver could get out of the vehicle and walk to a nearby home. The first officers who responded to the scene claimed the driver was panicked but still holding the Dunkin Donuts order in hand (that's some commitment right there).
The driver explained that the vehicle was "underwater," adding that they were just following the instructions provided by the GPS software to find the address. No further information was provided on the GPS solution, but chances are the driver used Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps to find the address.
The police officers started the search for the vehicle, went down a dirt road, and eventually discovered the vehicle partially submerged in the water. The car was still running and was towed to safety.
Here comes the tricky part.
The Middleton Police says the driver will be charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and will have their license suspended, apparently because getting your car into a pond is much more dangerous than driving without a license or speeding (which are apparently very common in the region). Leaving aside the ridiculous punishment and hoping a judge would throw out the case, following GPS navigation when everything looks so dangerous is never a good idea.
Unfortunately, people figure this out regularly, as drivers rely too much on navigation apps for every little journey to unfamiliar destinations. Not long ago, two people drowned in India after using a route suggested by Google Maps. The driver ended up taking a wrong turn, plunging the vehicle carrying five people into a river.
A commenter says on Facebook that the navigation instructions on Google Maps and Waze are often broken. The two navigation apps allegedly sent drivers to their driveway "almost every day" until they reported the bug and insisted on fixing the map data.
It's unclear if the DoorDash driver was using one of these mobile navigation apps, as the police press release simply refers to the navigation solution as "GPS."
It was the moment when they realized that something was not good, so they called the emergency teams for help.
The Middleton Police explained that the driver could get out of the vehicle and walk to a nearby home. The first officers who responded to the scene claimed the driver was panicked but still holding the Dunkin Donuts order in hand (that's some commitment right there).
The driver explained that the vehicle was "underwater," adding that they were just following the instructions provided by the GPS software to find the address. No further information was provided on the GPS solution, but chances are the driver used Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps to find the address.
The police officers started the search for the vehicle, went down a dirt road, and eventually discovered the vehicle partially submerged in the water. The car was still running and was towed to safety.
Here comes the tricky part.
The Middleton Police says the driver will be charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and will have their license suspended, apparently because getting your car into a pond is much more dangerous than driving without a license or speeding (which are apparently very common in the region). Leaving aside the ridiculous punishment and hoping a judge would throw out the case, following GPS navigation when everything looks so dangerous is never a good idea.
Unfortunately, people figure this out regularly, as drivers rely too much on navigation apps for every little journey to unfamiliar destinations. Not long ago, two people drowned in India after using a route suggested by Google Maps. The driver ended up taking a wrong turn, plunging the vehicle carrying five people into a river.
A commenter says on Facebook that the navigation instructions on Google Maps and Waze are often broken. The two navigation apps allegedly sent drivers to their driveway "almost every day" until they reported the bug and insisted on fixing the map data.
It's unclear if the DoorDash driver was using one of these mobile navigation apps, as the police press release simply refers to the navigation solution as "GPS."
Google News