Sat Nav Lemmings

[Riley Blue]

I haven't found a thread for those who blindly follow their sat nav's directions to a sticky end so here's an example to start off with.

What could possibly go wrong when two American tourists took their hire car to Tenby and wanted to visit a statue on a hilltop overlooking the sea...



Here's the story as told by the Tenby Observer: https://www.tenby-today.co.uk/news/sat-nav-mishap-...

[vikingaero]

Love how they mask the number plate of the vehicle in one picture, but leave it uncensored in others. It's a hire car! Who wants to stalk a hire car?

[swisstoni]

I’m sure everyone has been a ‘sat nav lemming’ at one time or another.

I’m waiting for the option to not be taken through hell to save me 3 minutes or 50 yards.

[georgeyboy12345]

Stupid americans think you have to drive literally everywhere. Park in one of the many public car parks that Tenby has and WALK

[Dogwatch]

Wasn’t there another similar instance recently involving tourists in a camper van? Burnt out the clutch trying to extricate themselves apparently,

[ingenieur]

Awkward situation aside... time has not improved the look of the Nissan Juke. It is utterly foul and always has been. People should stop encouraging Nissan by buying their cars. It's horrendous.

[Spare tyre]

I see on the motorway a lot random brake lights coming on

What it is is waze saying “ take the exit in 1 mile”

The tards can’t accept this instruction without braking

Edited by Spare tyre on Friday 6th October 11:23

[vikingaero]

Spare tyre said:

I see on the motorway a lot random brake lights coming on

What it is is waze saying “ take the exit in 1 mile”

The tards can’t accept this instruction with braking

A lot of the new generation can't function without braking:

- big road sign on motorway - brake
- accident on the opposite side of the carriageway - brake
- Snapchat notification - brake
- not sure what speed they are travelling at - brake
- speed camera - brake
- confused at where in the country they are - brake
- forgotten to buy flowers for mums birthday - brake

[LesXRN]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Stupid americans think you have to drive literally everywhere. Park in one of the many public car parks that Tenby has and WALK

When I was in Florida on holiday once, I got chatting to two American women who said they were going to England for a holiday and were then going to France.
I asked if they were going on a ferry or the Eurotunnel. No, one of them said, we're going to drive.

[BricktopST205]

swisstoni said:

I’m sure everyone has been a ‘sat nav lemming’ at one time or another.

I’m waiting for the option to not be taken through hell to save me 3 minutes or 50 yards.

This is a massive problem with Navs and where road knowledge is king really.

An example for myself is that when going from west midlands to east Lincolnshire. Sat nav will always try and take you through Grantham because it thinks it is quicker yet carrying along the A46 and coming across on the A17 just makes logical sense. A46 is mostly dual carriage way and A17 is mostly NSL. Grantham route takes you through the centre of town with plenty of lights and 30 mph zones.

The A52 route will save you 2-3 minutes tops which instantly gets wiped out by a couple of badly timed traffic lights or a tractor. The A46/A17 route is far more relaxing.

[AC43]

I was once sent down a forrestry track in Normandy by a dim-witted Mercedes sat nav system. It was normally used by tractors as I subsequently found out. Not by E Class estates.

Luckily my car was on air and I had a button raise the suspension and so I made it without losing any undertrays, modifying the exhaust or beaching it.

Got some very odd looks from the locals walking thier dogs.

[Riley Blue]

AC43 said:

I was once sent down a forrestry track in Normandy by a dim-witted Mercedes sat nav system.

I've done similar after selecting 'shortest route' from the ferry to a friend's house in Pas de Calais. The road became a lane, the lane became a track, the track turned into a field and still the route on the screen continued. Apparently the French classification of a road is ....um.... unique.

Edited by Riley Blue on Friday 6th October 16:08

[MustangGT]

AC43 said:

I was once sent down a forrestry track in Normandy by a dim-witted Mercedes sat nav system. It was normally used by tractors as I subsequently found out. Not by E Class estates.

Luckily my car was on air and I had a button raise the suspension and so I made it without losing any undertrays, modifying the exhaust or beaching it.

Got some very odd looks from the locals walking thier dogs.

Had that happen in Lincolnshire way back in 2009. Visiting area for a holiday and set SatNav to return to lodgings. Was fine until road turned to a cart track. Luckily I was in an Octavia Scout so managed fine.

[GeniusOfLove]

Back when sat nav was a new thing I think we all got lead astray by it, I ended up down a single track to nowhere in Normandy in pitch black, with ditches to either side.

Now, with 20 years of "I don't think so, sat nav" experience I have a sodding good look up any little lanes it's found for me in the countryside before turning in, and keep an open mind to giving up when it starts looking hair, so I haven't had a "oh st" experience for years, but I think the only people who haven't ended up down an inappropriate road because of duff sat nav advice have only ever driven in towns.

[_Neal_]

vikingaero said:

A lot of the new generation can't function without braking:

- big road sign on motorway - brake
- accident on the opposite side of the carriageway - brake
- Snapchat notification - brake
- not sure what speed they are travelling at - brake
- speed camera - brake
- confused at where in the country they are - brake
- forgotten to buy flowers for mums birthday - brake

"New generation" - why do you say that? If we're making random statements based on anecdotal experience I find the "older generation" less decisive and more likely to arbitrarily brake. It's not like rubbernecking accidents or braking at speed cameras is a new thing. I'd also suggest younger people are better at using technology so are in fact less likely to be early braking for sat nav notifications.

This seems a bit like the usual PH "young people these days are awful, there's no respect, not like back in my day when you could leave your front door open etc etc" stuff to me.

Edited by _Neal_ on Friday 6th October 14:05

[_Neal_]

Riley Blue said:

urned into a field

I've done similar after selecting 'shortest route' from the ferry to a friend's house in Pas de Calais. The road became a lane, the lane became a track, the track turned into a field and still the route on the screen continued. Apparently the French classification of a road is ....um.... unique.

I've had this in France as well - entertaining for a short time, then not so much

[GeniusOfLove]

_Neal_ said:

"New generation" - why do you say that? If we're making random statements based on anecdotal experience I find the "older generation" less decisive and more likely to arbitrarly brake. It's not like rubbernecking accidents or braking at speed cameras is a new thing. I'd also suggest younger people are better at using technology so are in fact less likely to be early braking for sat nav notifications.

This seems a bit like the usual PH "young people these days are awful, there's no respect, not like back in my day when you could leave your front door open etc etc" stuff to me.

It's old people and middle aged farts in crossovers who comfort brake and dither and fanny around all the time in my experience. If it's gotten worse it's because of an ageing population, busier roads, and in some areas because they've all bought cars literally a foot wider than their old one with atrocious visibility and they struggle to place it on the road or know if it can get through a gap.

I don't know anybody under the age of about 45 who lets their phone or sat nav give audible instructions or notifications in any case.

Edited by GeniusOfLove on Friday 6th October 14:06

[anonymous-user]

vikingaero said:

A lot of the new generation can't function without braking:

Be honest with yourself- the majority of the time it's the old farts doing this. And they're usually equipped with the hazard perception of a one-eyed stoat & the reaction speed of a stoned sloth

[SkodaIan]

It's not just Sat Navs people blindly follow. A few years back now a mate was giving me a lift home but I had to give him directions. I said "take the next left", meaning the junction about 100 yards down the road. He jumped on the brakes and swerved off the road, almost onto a railway line we were about to cross and only stopped because I screamed "Stop".

He then tried to claim it was my fault and I should have warned him not to turn on the railway tracks......

Similarly, there's a junction on the A42 (for Ashby, going southbound) where the 1/2 mile sign is just before a lay-by entrance. On several occasions, I've seen cars slam on the brakes and go into the lay-by by mistake and then come straight out of the other end!

[_Neal_]

For clarity I was not attempting to turn this thread into some kind of Gen Z vs Boomers battle royale, more pointing out the silliness of the generalisation made. The "people these days" line is rolled out too much on here, likely due to the demographic of the site, and I don't like it - pits people against each other and feeds division.

Let's all get along - there's plenty of poor drivers of every age, and plenty of good ones.