An ELDERLY British couple is recovering today after a faulty GPS system led them to crash into a 19th-century German church, causing $37,000 worth of damage.
The couple, who cannot be named under German data protection laws, were traveling Friday from Austria to France guided by their GPS system. The 76-year-old husband, who was driving, followed instructions to "turn right" but ended up hitting the chapel near Freundpolz, Bavaria.
The man and his 78-year-old wife were taken to the hospital suffering from shock and bruises, before returning by train to Britain.
....
Karl-Heinz Krueger, a passing motorist, told a local radio station, "The old man was more confused than the woman. He kept saying, It's the machine - it told me to turn this way, but I suddenly ran out of road."
This story is NOT funny. Do NOT laugh.
I confess I laughed, but it's not my fault. It's Andrew Gern's fault for posting the link at The Lead.
I pray for quick healing for the couple's shock and bruises.
People seem to lose their common sense with a GPS. We had a guy in Wyoming who rented a car with GPS and drove from Denver headed for Riverton- 30 miles north of Lander, where I live. He took a shortcut that many take. It is a long stretch of rocks and sage brush but at one point the GPS directed him off onto a dirt road - off of the paved road - he took that road and got stuck. Luckily an oil field worker found him - but really -- when driving in an unfamiliar area - get a real map as well as your GPS!! Use the sense that God even gave a goose!
ReplyDeleteAnn, my son took his children to Galveston for a vacation. When he headed home, he waited until rather late to leave. I received a call from him telling me that he was near Dallas, heading NW. I said you're going wrong, and he would not believe me because the GPS is never wrong. Finally, I convinced him that he should be heading SE and he found the highway to take him in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThe next day, he realized that he had put in directions for bicycle paths from Galveston to Thibodaux. Why people continue to believe the technology when it's obviously wrong, rather than using common sense, is beyond me.
When Hertz Guy on Thursday evening asked me and my brother if we wanted GPS on our rental car, my reply was "GPS? We don't need no stinkin' GPS."
ReplyDeleteOf course, two days later we realize GPS might have been handy a time or two.
ReplyDeleteKJ, we own a GPS, but neither of us has taken the trouble to learn how to set the damn thing yet. Gonna have to do that one day.
ReplyDeleteSix years ago, when we were in Germany, we rented a car in Cologne and drove to Frankfurt. The car came with GPS, but the gal spoke in German! After a few days, we almost understood her...at least enough to know 'right' and 'left.' It wasn't until the morning we turned the rental car in--a week later--that we discovered there was a way to change the language to English!! Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteI luvs me my GPS. It saves me so much stress. I have friends that live in the outer wilds of South London 20 miles from me and there is no way I would ever undertake the trek across London except with GPS. It would be a nightmare. I also like the fact that if there's a traffic jam you can just turn off the road and it will rework out the route for you.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, if it is directing you to drive into a church or a large body of water, or off a cliff, just don't.
L Wms, that would be Grandpère and I. I have tried to set the GPS, and my son showed me again how to do it, but when I'm on my own, I lose my way in the technology. That would be the same son who set his on the bicyle path from Galveston to Thibodaux.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I've had the wonderful experience of your GPS. We'd never have found our way to the fantastic restaurant in the middle of nowhere without it.
Indeed, we would not, Mimi, and who would have missed that meal? It was memorably good (well I thought so). :-)
ReplyDeleteCathy, the meal was, indeed, memorable. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
ReplyDelete