Sat Nav Funny Stories

Author
Discussion

Steve748

8,542 posts

185 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
ShadownINja said:
OJ said:
Steve748 said:
williamp said:
I remember driving back in the mid 80s, and the Sat Nav told me to stay on the M25...

...the only problem was, the M25 wasn't a complete loop then, and I ended up in the Kent Countryside near Brands hatch!

William, Leicester (ex Kent)
Mid 80's? Had the yanks put the satellites up then?
I think he was driving a Delorean at 88mph at the time it happened... or perhaps he was joking
There was a mapping system for lorries based on a BBC Model B...

PS Is it only me who reads Williamp's name as Willi Amp, perhaps a German who is big into Audio equipment?

Edited by ShadownINja on Tuesday 10th February 16:51
Aaaah I remember that one........... wasn't it the one where they followed yellow squares and triangles on the road signs?

V8mate

45,899 posts

190 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
Steve748 said:
ShadownINja said:
OJ said:
Steve748 said:
williamp said:
I remember driving back in the mid 80s, and the Sat Nav told me to stay on the M25...

...the only problem was, the M25 wasn't a complete loop then, and I ended up in the Kent Countryside near Brands hatch!

William, Leicester (ex Kent)
Mid 80's? Had the yanks put the satellites up then?
I think he was driving a Delorean at 88mph at the time it happened... or perhaps he was joking
There was a mapping system for lorries based on a BBC Model B...

PS Is it only me who reads Williamp's name as Willi Amp, perhaps a German who is big into Audio equipment?

Edited by ShadownINja on Tuesday 10th February 16:51
Aaaah I remember that one........... wasn't it the one where they followed yellow squares and triangles on the road signs?
Wasn't that Pac-Man? confused

stifler

37,068 posts

189 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
My mate looks for 'safety cameras'(cash machines) in his tractor. When he gets there he puts a chain around the base and attaches it to the tractor. He pulls forwards until the camera is now flashing at mice on accident black-spots. He takes the chain off, gets back in the tractor and sets the sat-nav for home.

You know the funny bit? The sat nav has never sent him the wrong way!

Allegedly wink

Edited by stifler on Tuesday 10th February 18:51

Puff Puff

20,984 posts

227 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
There's this bunch of numpties:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/26/subaquatic...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7362254...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL141165722007011...
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.as...

And I know of one well known works racing driver (BTCC, Le Mans) who flew into the UK, picked up his car, programmed the circuit name into the Sat Nav and ended up at Donington in Lincolnshire

ShadownINja

76,399 posts

283 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
V8mate said:
Steve748 said:
ShadownINja said:
OJ said:
Steve748 said:
williamp said:
I remember driving back in the mid 80s, and the Sat Nav told me to stay on the M25...

...the only problem was, the M25 wasn't a complete loop then, and I ended up in the Kent Countryside near Brands hatch!

William, Leicester (ex Kent)
Mid 80's? Had the yanks put the satellites up then?
I think he was driving a Delorean at 88mph at the time it happened... or perhaps he was joking
There was a mapping system for lorries based on a BBC Model B...

PS Is it only me who reads Williamp's name as Willi Amp, perhaps a German who is big into Audio equipment?

Edited by ShadownINja on Tuesday 10th February 16:51
Aaaah I remember that one........... wasn't it the one where they followed yellow squares and triangles on the road signs?
Wasn't that Pac-Man? confused
rofl

TBH I was in my teens so wasn't really paying attention to the programme I was watching.

skip_1

3,460 posts

191 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
Hi Sarah Nelson, could I please have some of your tasty Grasmere Gingerbread?

sadako

7,080 posts

239 months

Tuesday 10th February 2009
quotequote all
Does anyone know anything about the wierd navigation system that reads barcode roadsigns that look like space invaders that they trialled in London? The space invaders are still there in places...

AUDIHenry

2,201 posts

188 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
My Audi's nav had a problem with one particular freeway interchange: it's basically a place where one freeway turns to three. If I wanted to go to two of the three (the 10 and the 101, for anyone who is interested), it worked just fine, but if I wanted to go to the third (the 5), it kept me on the 101 lane until the very last second where I'd have to risk life and limb to move over to the 5.

It's annoying the first time when you are not ready but all the other times you just ignore it.

ceriw

1,117 posts

206 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Well it doesn't seem like there are many sat nav stories here... here's my tuppence worth. (if that)

Only time I've wondered about the competence of my TomTom is when I've been exiting some of the long 3 lane motorway tunnels in Switzerland... on exiting the sat nav picks up and gets quite flustered - my friendly, if somewhat plummy english lady tells me to 'make a u-turn!'

As mines about 4 years old now I do find myself driving through fields according to the display. New roads aren't on there of course....

And on a slightly sadder note, after 3 or 4 hours of driving along the same motorway with no deviations I'm shocked that when she finally says something I'm pleased to hear her voice!

Tunku

7,703 posts

229 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I've never owned a sat-nav, and have no idea where my local Halfords store is. I'm doomed, doomed to wander the planet.

samuelellis

1,927 posts

202 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Only slightly ammusing thing is when mine does not respond quickly when ive turned and then panics saying its calculating a new route, then calculating another route

the only slightly ammusing thing my sat nav did once is technically correct - it was set to shortest route so took me drom Dudley to West yorkshire without going on a single motorway (it was technically correct as it was a shorter route)

Puff Puff

20,984 posts

227 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I just remembered the chap who was visiting a friend in Northern France. He decided (for a change) to programme 'Shortest Route' into his TomTom rather than 'Fastest Route'.

All was fine for the first twenty or so kilometres then he was directed off the main road on a minor road, then on to a single track road (still with a road number). The minor road became a gravel track (still with a road number) that after about 750 metres became a rutted track across a field.

As he was turning round in the field the sump of his car hit a rock he hadn't spotted in the gloom (by now it was 9.30 in the evening). Fortunately no damage was done.

At this point our hero decided to ignore his TomTom and return to the main road and swap to 'Fastest Route'. He arrived at his friend's place over an hour later than expected.

I never made that mistake again.....


Fordo

1,535 posts

225 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
i dont know if this counts, but i once used google maps to plan me a route, and it planned the strangest route ive ever seen.

when i asked for directions form london to ireland, it suggested i goto dover, take ferry to calais, down through france, down through to spain, to a ferry terminal there, then get ferry to ireland

Total journey time: 5 days, total mileage- something like 2000 miles!

JJCW

2,449 posts

187 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Fordo said:
i dont know if this counts, but i once used google maps to plan me a route, and it planned the strangest route ive ever seen.

when i asked for directions form london to ireland, it suggested i goto dover, take ferry to calais, down through france, down through to spain, to a ferry terminal there, then get ferry to ireland

Total journey time: 5 days, total mileage- something like 2000 miles!
Wasn't this an RAC website story that was on the tv?

hman

7,487 posts

195 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
JJCW said:
Fordo said:
i dont know if this counts, but i once used google maps to plan me a route, and it planned the strangest route ive ever seen.

when i asked for directions form london to ireland, it suggested i goto dover, take ferry to calais, down through france, down through to spain, to a ferry terminal there, then get ferry to ireland

Total journey time: 5 days, total mileage- something like 2000 miles!
Wasn't this an RAC website story that was on the tv?
thats the one where the route planner on the computer says "go to atlantic, swim"



My tom tom once decided that a very very rough road (farm track full of potholes and boulders) somewhere in bristol/ somerset was the best way to avoid a main road with traffic on it.

The car ended up with both sideskirts mashed and that was just by crawling through it.

andrewrob

2,913 posts

191 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Dont know if this qualifies as funny but here you go

A friend of mine had an Avensis company car with the sat nav option as did his other colleagues.

Around ten of them were coming together for a meeting so they all keyed the same address in for the meeting centre, headed off, and all ended up on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

They apologised to the farmer for the inconvenience who was still in shock as he thought it was the inland revenue executing a raid.

Sarah N

Original Poster:

2 posts

183 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Thanks to everyone for your messages. Just for the record I dont work for a 'camera partnership' I work for a Road Safety Group which is very different! We provide useful information and safety advice and run courses to help people improve/refresh their driving - so im not here to catch anyone out and my job doesnt entail anything to do with the 'yellow money boxes'.

So please if you do have any funny Sat Nav experiences like ending up in a river or off the end of a bridge then please type away...smile

  • P.S....whoever made the comment about the gingerbread...its definately the best in the world, and as many times as I have tried i STILL havent managed to get any free from grasmere!

nickwilcock

1,522 posts

248 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I seem to recall hearing a tale about an unfortunate Turkish truck driver who ended up in Skegness, wondering where the hell he was....

He was looking for Gibraltar (Spain) and was somewhere near Gibraltar, Lincolnshire.

Wouldn't it be such fun to drive a Yank tank into New York, Lincs and ask where Wall St is!