Photo: Twitter / SM Andy Creasey
Take this as an example as to why you shouldn’t blindly trust technology – at least, not when your own eyes can accurately inform you of your whereabouts. Two men and one dog had to be rescued from a raging river into which they drove because GPS told them so.
This happened in Ripon, U.K., and required the intervention of several emergency units, including the police, firefighters and water rescue. Firefighters were astounded that the driver could be so “unbelievably stupid” as to continue on the road that was clearly flooded.
Technically, the man didn’t drive the Ford Transit flatbet into the river, the Mirror explains. There is a ford that is usually covered with only a few inches of water, but which, because of recent rains, had been flooded. There is a warning at the entrance, telling drivers to proceed with caution, but this one chose to go by his GPS and not trust his better judgment.
The passenger (and the driver’s son) actually filmed the whole thing and posted it to social media. He tells the British publication that they didn’t imagine the water would be so high and praises first responders for the way they acted. He also says they had every right to scold them for their stupidity, because they deserved it.
“The emergency services said we could have lost our lives if we were two feet deeper. We would have been swept away down the river. It was proper bad. It was flowing really fast, about 70 mph apparently,” Kieren Gibbons tells the Mirror.
“We were just following the sat nav on the way to a job and suddenly before we knew it, we were in the river. It was a ford really but because of the rain, it was really high. It was about three-and-a-half foot high,” Gibbons adds. “We tried to stop but it was too late. Water just started coming into the van. People were passing by, filming us, but they called emergency services.”
In the video he shot at the scene, he doesn’t look afraid or, for that matter, all too concerned about how they’re going to get out of the water. His father seems equally unbothered, but the poor dog is panicked. So there was at least one responsible being in that truck.
Technically, the man didn’t drive the Ford Transit flatbet into the river, the Mirror explains. There is a ford that is usually covered with only a few inches of water, but which, because of recent rains, had been flooded. There is a warning at the entrance, telling drivers to proceed with caution, but this one chose to go by his GPS and not trust his better judgment.
The passenger (and the driver’s son) actually filmed the whole thing and posted it to social media. He tells the British publication that they didn’t imagine the water would be so high and praises first responders for the way they acted. He also says they had every right to scold them for their stupidity, because they deserved it.
“The emergency services said we could have lost our lives if we were two feet deeper. We would have been swept away down the river. It was proper bad. It was flowing really fast, about 70 mph apparently,” Kieren Gibbons tells the Mirror.
“We were just following the sat nav on the way to a job and suddenly before we knew it, we were in the river. It was a ford really but because of the rain, it was really high. It was about three-and-a-half foot high,” Gibbons adds. “We tried to stop but it was too late. Water just started coming into the van. People were passing by, filming us, but they called emergency services.”
In the video he shot at the scene, he doesn’t look afraid or, for that matter, all too concerned about how they’re going to get out of the water. His father seems equally unbothered, but the poor dog is panicked. So there was at least one responsible being in that truck.
#Ripon Blue Watch along with multiple FRS resources from @NorthYorksFire were mobilised along with @NYorksPolice to this. I had 1 question only, why did you attempt this. The response was my SatNav said this way. Unbelievable Stupidity pic.twitter.com/Uwsu9ph79O
— SM Andy Creasey (@fireyfella) October 1, 2019
Google News