GPS doesn't always know the right way

mahonda · December 21, 2009, 10:57:20 PM

So this morning I'm headed to the job and in the fog ahead i see lots of flashing lights. its a icy back road at dark thirty and it took awhile to figure out what it was. A over the highway truck took his gps for its word and wound up a logging road, and didn't know how to throw chains and slid backwards jack knifing his rig into the ditch. We got one pickup around him got the skidder and pulled the trailer around and then the truck out and sent him back to the pavement. only lost two hours of work time but makes for a good story i guess sorry the pic isn't the best, but it was pretty amusing thought you all would enjoy

stonebroke · December 22, 2009, 01:17:47 AM

NYS is having a big problem with big trucks getting on parkways(cars only) and having the loads hit low bridges. I guess truck driving is becoming a no skill job.

Stonebroke

Gary_C · December 22, 2009, 02:11:06 AM

Nice picture. It does bring back some memories of some of my experiences. Did not get pictures of my adventures but I'm not sure I want to relive them through pictures anyway. :D

One time I got a semi load of logs hung up and blocking a Tee intersection on a one lane state forest road. There was about 8 inches of fresh snow and the front wheels did not want to come around the turn and the right front wheel dropped into the ditch and I was hung up. Had to walk back about three miles to get a guy with big skidder to drag the trailer sideways enough to get around to the front of the semi. Then he just pulled me forward and hoped the front wheel would come out of the ditch before the tandems dropped in. Luckily it worked.

Ianab · December 22, 2009, 02:55:27 AM

The GPS catches out a few folks here in NZ too.

The SHORTEST route is not necessarily the QUICKEST.

A while back one unit sent some tourists on an off road trek through the Kaikoura montains. 100 miles of gravel, gates, private roads, river fords etc.

But it was 10miles shorter than the main road....

Another time we went to visit Lil's brother, we stuck to the main road, her cousin followed with a GPS, set to shortest route. 1 mile less, 20mins more tavel time :

Ian

fishpharmer · December 22, 2009, 05:22:21 AM

Funny that this topic has come up.

I have friend that was driving back from a basketball game with his son last week (it rained most of the week prior). It was an away game so he decided he was going to follow his GPS Nav system home. They were in a rural area. (Okay, I admit, most of MS is rural). He is rather fond of his high tech stuff since he owns a software company (yes, they exist in MS). GPS, says "turn right." So he does it. Hmmmm.....it turns out to be a slippery red clay road. He tells me he thought surely it will get better and turn back to pavement. It got worse. He started heading down a hill and the mud got deeper. His vehicle slid off the road. Now he and his son (14 yrs old) were a little worried. They had passed a house about a mile or so back and began walking through the thick red mud. They got to the house. Seems that the folks on the inside the house were as scared as my friend (he is no country boy). Did I mention it was about 10 pm and pitch black dark? This story ends well, the folks had a big 4x4 and pulled my buddies Toyota camry out of the mud. I could hardly contain my laughter when I heard the story. His word of advice was not to trust those GPS nav systems :D :D ;D

Magicman · December 22, 2009, 09:06:48 AM

Use the GPS, but don't forget the paper......maps, that is...... :D

zopi · December 22, 2009, 09:18:16 AM

Use the GPS...But look where the hell you're going...hadda guy here hung a sharp right right down the railroad tracks...error in driving and an error in mapping...:D

mahonda · December 22, 2009, 10:10:30 AM

Yeah we call ours the lying "Witch" in the window. :D This guy has never thrown a set of chains and told me he never planned on it either so we sent him back to the sunny south and told him good luck he was going to need it.

zopi · December 22, 2009, 10:17:20 AM

c;mon..it ain't that hard...just nasty, cold wet and miserable... :D

pineywoods · December 22, 2009, 10:41:18 AM

Quote from: mahonda on December 22, 2009, 10:10:30 AM
Yeah we call ours the lying "Witch" in the window. :D This guy has never thrown a set of chains and told me he never planned on it either so we sent him back to the sunny south and told him good luck he was going to need it.

In this part of the south, he's really gonna need it. Woods here are criss-crossed with pipe lines and access paths to thousands of gas wells. GPS thinks they are roads. Crews who use them ride 4 wheel drive ATV's and carry radios so then can call for help.

SwampDonkey · December 22, 2009, 12:11:22 PM

Use the GPS, but follow route numbers would be one help. We used it to get through Quebec City a couple years ago and on to Alma up in the Saquenay region. Didn't have any trouble.

clearcut · December 22, 2009, 02:10:39 PM

There was a story on the local news about people using their GPS to guide them down seasonally closed roads. The Mormon Emigrant trail links US 50 and CA 88 in the summer. In the winter it's used by snowmobiles, the clueless, and a very happy tow truck driver.

redpowerd · December 22, 2009, 03:14:25 PM

having the farm on a dead end road...theres the occasional lost gps follower. one day last year two older women followed their gps right by the house, past three of us standing by the barn, down past the silos (still blacktop) and down the hill to the bridge over the crik. knowing they were completley lost i went down and politley explained to them that this road only gets worse, then turned their buick around for them, he he. their tom tom didnt explain to them that they were in a field, obviously.
they wanted the next road...

bill m · December 22, 2009, 06:05:20 PM

Driving home on Thanksgiving night I noticed many people who were most likely headed home. I could not beleive the number of cars with their GPS on. If you need a GPS to get back home you should not be driving. IMO

Ron Scott · December 25, 2009, 08:01:30 PM

Yes, the GPS way is not "always" the best way. ;)

timberfaller390 · December 25, 2009, 08:12:47 PM

I went to gatlinburg, tn. for my birthday this year and on the ruturn trip going through a construction zone i saw one of those flashing traffic advisory signs that said "To get to highway 60 stay straight- YOUR GPS IS WRONG!" I got a pretty good laugh out of that.

Ron Scott · December 25, 2009, 08:48:15 PM

I've run into that a few times also, in different places and States. :

SwampDonkey · April 22, 2010, 04:47:05 PM

Driver inattention with GPS Fatal, Outdated GPS Info.

Although,

"The updated highway alignment maps were made available to the public and GPS manufacturers through Service New Brunswick in January 2009"

SwampDonkey · April 22, 2010, 04:51:41 PM

Quote from: redpowerd on December 22, 2009, 03:14:25 PM
having the farm on a dead end road...theres the occasional lost gps follower. one day last year two older women followed their gps right by the house, past three of us standing by the barn, down past the silos (still blacktop) and down the hill to the bridge over the crik. knowing they were completley lost i went down and politley explained to them that this road only gets worse, then turned their buick around for them, he he. their tom tom didnt explain to them that they were in a field, obviously.
they wanted the next road...

Our road, which is dead end in winter, been here for over 100 years, paved for 35 years still isn't on most of them GPS gadgets. Only recently has it been added to Google because that info is free from the government, but you have to zoom in at a large scale to see it, the small scale zoom only shows route 560 to the east of here. The cross roads on there from our road are for the most part old farm roads, one actual paved road exists. ;D

ely · April 22, 2010, 04:54:59 PM

tom tom is the liying est sob that i know. :-\

metalspinner · April 22, 2010, 05:32:47 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yyKrS8jwSY

:D :D

SwampDonkey · April 22, 2010, 06:28:25 PM

Junction of Route 127 from St Andrews. I used the same line weight for all roads, could be a woodlot road or a highway. The route to the right (N-S) is a rail road. ;) I have not been down there for years, so I can't tell ya how the roads have changed. What I do know is the 4-lane through Woodstock is on SNB's map site. It's not on the atlas index page you use to retrieve the map layers though, that's the old 1993 data on a 1998 published map. :D

For anyone viewing this thread this post is linked from the CBC news article under user comments.

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