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Truck Driver Who Trusted His GPS Gets Stuck on Railroad Crossing, Crash Unavoidable

If you still needed more proof that trusting GPS navigation blindly is a really, really awful idea, here’s what happened recently in Oklahoma.
The truck was stuck on the railroad crossing 6 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video/Vertical Velocity channel
The truck got stuck on the railroad crossingThe truck got stuck on the railroad crossingThe truck got stuck on the railroad crossingThe truck got stuck on the railroad crossingThe truck got stuck on the railroad crossing
The driver of a tractor-trailer who needed to use an alternative route because of road construction in the area decided to ignore the street signs and just use his GPS software for the whole thing.

But because the sat-nav didn’t know he was driving a truck, it just sent the vehicle on a route appropriate for passenger cars and going over a high-pitched railroad crossing.

So when driving over the crossing, the truck ended up with the wheels suspended, eventually getting stuck and with the driver no longer being able to go on reverse..

The incident happened on Addington Bend Road near Thackerville, and as it turns out, this wasn’t the only truck that used the route despite not being appropriate for large vehicles.

This time, however, ignoring the road signs had more serious consequences. Because the driver was no longer able to move the truck, an approaching Amtrak passenger train crashed directly into the car hauler. And what happened next can easily be the scene of a horror movie some unfortunate people had the bad luck of watching live.

The good news is that everybody is OK, as only a few train passengers were sent to the hospital with minor injuries. Moreover, the driver and his dog managed to get out of the truck before the collision occurred.

The bad news is that more and more people just think it’s okay to take everything the GPS says for granted. And in some cases, this just proves fatal, especially when the driver ignores all the signs they shouldn’t be using a certain route.

Not a long time ago, a Russian driver and his friend ended up on an abandoned road with their car broken down and without cellular signal after using an alternative route provided by Google Maps. The driver eventually froze to death in the brutal winter temperature, while the passenger was rushed to hospital with severe injuries.

WARNING: Some viewers might find the video disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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