Photo: Greater Manchester Police
Just when you’d think most people already know trusting a navigation app blindly is a big no-no, here’s the case of a Briton who attempted to drive on the tram track because that’s where the sat nav told them to go.
As awkward as that may sound, the driver of the car you see in this photo believed it was a good idea to get the vehicle on the tram tracks at New Islington, just to use the shorter route offered by a navigation app.
The Great Manchester Police confirmed the incident was caused by someone who just put too much faith in a sat-nav system, explaining that the emergency teams were working to free the vehicle.
On the other hand, trams on the Ashton line have been delayed until the vehicle was removed from the tracks.
While incidents like this one happen occasionally, we can’t help but emphasize that in 99% of the cases, the navigation apps shouldn’t by any means send a driver on the tram tracks. Unless the route the driver was supposed to use was just going along the tracks, in which case the navigation app can’t be blamed anyway.
But at the same time, even if a satellite navigation system encounters a glitch and ends up sending drivers in a place where they shouldn’t be, you really don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out something’s wrong. And of course, nothing that a navigation app offers shouldn’t be taken for granted anyway.
Getting your car stuck on the tram tracks is indeed embarrassing, but it’s still not the worst thing that can happen when trusting a nav app blindly. Last year, a young Russian driver and a friend ended up stuck in brutally cold weather after following a suggested Google Maps route.
The car got stuck in the snow and the driver eventually froze to death, while the passenger ended up in hospital with severe injuries.
The Great Manchester Police confirmed the incident was caused by someone who just put too much faith in a sat-nav system, explaining that the emergency teams were working to free the vehicle.
On the other hand, trams on the Ashton line have been delayed until the vehicle was removed from the tracks.
While incidents like this one happen occasionally, we can’t help but emphasize that in 99% of the cases, the navigation apps shouldn’t by any means send a driver on the tram tracks. Unless the route the driver was supposed to use was just going along the tracks, in which case the navigation app can’t be blamed anyway.
But at the same time, even if a satellite navigation system encounters a glitch and ends up sending drivers in a place where they shouldn’t be, you really don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out something’s wrong. And of course, nothing that a navigation app offers shouldn’t be taken for granted anyway.
Getting your car stuck on the tram tracks is indeed embarrassing, but it’s still not the worst thing that can happen when trusting a nav app blindly. Last year, a young Russian driver and a friend ended up stuck in brutally cold weather after following a suggested Google Maps route.
The car got stuck in the snow and the driver eventually froze to death, while the passenger ended up in hospital with severe injuries.
Please be careful when following your Sat Nav #GMPTransportUnit @OfficialTfGM @MCRMetrolink are working to free a vehicle driven onto tracks at New Islington this morning. Trams will be briefly delayed on Ashton line this morning. #GMtravelsafe pic.twitter.com/NUlUmOH6Cg
— GMP Tameside South and West (@GMPTamesideS) December 10, 2021
Google News