Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Wilts Specialist Ops
Navigation apps have become a double-edged sword, as people trust them so much that they end up in the most dangerous situations without even knowing. Sure enough, common sense is also missing entirely, as you shouldn’t by any means follow a route that doesn’t look appropriate for your vehicle.
A cyclist in the United Kingdom is the perfect example, as they entered the M4 in Wiltshire and started pedaling because that was the route suggested by the navigation app.
In other words, the man was cycling to a destination and used an unnamed navigation app (though I'm certain it was Google Maps) to find the best route. He trusted the application blindly, so he followed every suggested turn until he entered the highway.
Cars passing by him at 70 mph (over 110 kph) didn't look unusual, so the man continued pedaling until he was stopped by the police. The officers escorted the man off the motorway, though it looks like he escaped without a fine. The police claim the man was following sat-nav directions blindly because the wanted the quickest route to the destination.
Oddly enough, Google Maps even includes cycling directions, so the man most likely didn't know this and used the standard driving navigation that provides turn-by-turn guidance for vehicles. The cycling mode shouldn’t suggest roads where bicycles are not allowed but instead look for directions where a standard car wouldn’t fit, such as park alleys that help the cyclist arrive at the destination faster.
Misusing navigation apps can backfire in the most awful ways, with some people learning the hard way that you shouldn’t put all your trust in such software.
Not long ago, a fatal accident in India happened after the driver used Google Maps for directions in the middle of the night while driving in heavy rain. The driver took a wrong turn and eventually plunged into a river. Two of the five passengers drowned.
Others got their cars stuck on narrow roads because they used navigation apps that don't take into account the vehicle dimensions or the cargo size. Just earlier this week, an American tourist tried to reach a beach in the United Kingdom without knowing that the navigation app directed her to a very narrow path where vehicles were not allowed.
The vehicle got stuck on the route, so the tourist abandoned it and used a train to go to the hotel. The local officials needed more than four hours to pull the vehicle out from the narrow space without damaging the walls of the pathway. The tourist blamed the navigation app, claiming she was just following the directions that appeared on the screen, obviously without paying attention to the road ahead to see if it's appropriate for her vehicle.
In other words, the man was cycling to a destination and used an unnamed navigation app (though I'm certain it was Google Maps) to find the best route. He trusted the application blindly, so he followed every suggested turn until he entered the highway.
Cars passing by him at 70 mph (over 110 kph) didn't look unusual, so the man continued pedaling until he was stopped by the police. The officers escorted the man off the motorway, though it looks like he escaped without a fine. The police claim the man was following sat-nav directions blindly because the wanted the quickest route to the destination.
Oddly enough, Google Maps even includes cycling directions, so the man most likely didn't know this and used the standard driving navigation that provides turn-by-turn guidance for vehicles. The cycling mode shouldn’t suggest roads where bicycles are not allowed but instead look for directions where a standard car wouldn’t fit, such as park alleys that help the cyclist arrive at the destination faster.
Misusing navigation apps can backfire in the most awful ways, with some people learning the hard way that you shouldn’t put all your trust in such software.
Not long ago, a fatal accident in India happened after the driver used Google Maps for directions in the middle of the night while driving in heavy rain. The driver took a wrong turn and eventually plunged into a river. Two of the five passengers drowned.
Others got their cars stuck on narrow roads because they used navigation apps that don't take into account the vehicle dimensions or the cargo size. Just earlier this week, an American tourist tried to reach a beach in the United Kingdom without knowing that the navigation app directed her to a very narrow path where vehicles were not allowed.
The vehicle got stuck on the route, so the tourist abandoned it and used a train to go to the hotel. The local officials needed more than four hours to pull the vehicle out from the narrow space without damaging the walls of the pathway. The tourist blamed the navigation app, claiming she was just following the directions that appeared on the screen, obviously without paying attention to the road ahead to see if it's appropriate for her vehicle.
The M4 might be the quickest way as suggested by a sat nav but please
— Wilts Specialist Ops (@WiltsSpecOps) October 12, 2023
Don’t follow directions blindly when using a pedal cycle! #RPU safely escorted this rider off the motorway. pic.twitter.com/cRqCtWuC1J
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