Satellite Navigation a Real Crackpot!

debest writes "What happens when your satellite navigation system in your car gives you bad advice on which road you should take? In Britain, these systems have been directing drivers down a road near the (aptly named) town of Crackpot that is strewn with boulders and has an unprotected 100ft dropoff on one side! The locals are worried someone's going to go off the edge."

What to do:

[Dr. Eggman]

Treat it for depression, give it plenty of (if its voice command) encouraging words or (if its tap-n-go) a good rub, but be sure to keep an eye on it; its obviously has suicidal tendancies.

What worries me....

[pranay]

Is why are the british drivers punching in "crackpot" as their destination? Agreed that GPS Nav works like magic, but this is too much optimism. What did they expect, a list of all local crack joints with directions?

Cooter

[Anonymous Coward]

""What happens when your satellite navigation system in your car gives you bad advice on which road you should take?"

Not much different than that gas station attendant five miles back.

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Re:Reality TV

[Yocto Yotta]

Hey now, come on, this story is cute and funny in a safely humorous, non-tech way. I don't know about you, but I want to know about every navigation bug affecting rural UK folk. Just what I expect here at /. Boy oh boy, let me tell you about the time Yahoo! Maps told me to take the I405 instead of I5 to go to South Seattle from Lynnwood. FRONT PAGE NEWS!

best action to take...

[Anonymous Coward]

...put up a sign "Toll Road Ahead".

Happens all the time

[greg1104]

I had a similar problem recently while driving through Pennsylvania. I had set my car's GPS computer to lead me to Intercourse, but no matter what I pushed it I could only reach Bird in Hand. Of course, I've had this problem with web pages on my PC at home before, so I really can't blame the mapping company.

So what they're saying is.....

[rune2]

In Crackpot there's more than one way to go off the deep end! /rimshot

Wow

[abscissa]

If a computer tells you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?

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Hypothetical conversation

[xIcemanx]

"Don't drive there! The road ends on a cliff and we'll all fall off and die horribly!" "But the GPS directions say to go that way!" "Oh, in that case, no problem. "

Re:Strange progress of technology

[Anonymous Coward]

linking to Wikipedia makes me feel ill

First comment from a Britannica employee I've seen on Slashdot. How does it feel to be downsized?

Here's a much more informative talking car link. [wikipedia.org]

Re:Strange progress of technology

[HTL2001]

Why [wikipedia.org] does [wikipedia.org] linking [wikipedia.org] to [wikipedia.org] Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] make [wikipedia.org] you [wikipedia.org] feel [wikipedia.org] ill [wikipedia.org] ? [wikipedia.org]

Scary thing is, only one of those is a redlink...

Sometimes you make it to easy

[funkmasterbillis]

>I had set my car's GPS computer to lead me to Intercourse

maybe you should try match.com, I hear that works pretty well. It must be better than your gps, at least.

Yeah, sure...

[Winlin]

The locals are so worried about this. Just like, in the days of sailing ships, the villagers who put up fake lights were very worried that some ship might run aground on the rocks. I say we see who in this village is hacking the GPS. First place to look...the suspiciously wellstocked local secondhand store.

Rat Race

[porkThreeWays]

I knew I should've bought a squirrel

Business Opportunity !

[Camel Pilot]

I say buy the parcel of land at the bottom of the 100ft dropoff and set up an auto wrecking yard. Put up sign half way down - "Welcome to Crackpot Auto Wrecking"

Re:Happens all the time

[JustOK]

If you really want to get to Climax, you have to go to Michigan.

Re:Strange progress of technology

[R3d M3rcury]

Sentient?! Pfft. My car didn't know the difference between a door and a jar...

Re:Wow

[JustOK]

What type of computer? Running what OS? Is it an open source program?

Re:Happens all the time

[MustardMan]

There are a lot more than that... near Intercourse, you have Paradise (naturally), as well as Leacock, Reamstown, East Petersburg, Mountville, Climax, Beaver, and of course the ever-present Blue Ball. You don't know how frustrating it is to drive out to the country, and figure you'll stop for a quick visit to Intercourse, get lost and end up in Blue Ball. and wind up ending your night with Bird in Hand.

I'm goin for it...

[XdevXnull]

In Soviet Crackpot, GPS drives you!

Re:They really have 2 options:

[lubricated]

>> Yeah but how do you get people out of their cars?

Gta style. You open the door and pull them out.

This is a...problem?

[thc69]

One of the things I enjoy about my GPS is that it sometimes takes me on rocky, dangerous, fall-off-a-cliff dirt roads that I'd otherwise never find!

Re:What to do:

[Alias777]

Good advice by the aptly named Doctor Eggman

Re:Happens all the time

[Your Pal Dave]

is that anywhere near Mianus ?

Nope, 'taint.

Re:Crackpot not a "town"

[norfolkboy]

Hawes... yes, I remember staying there on a fieldtrip at high school!

Not only is Hawes pronoused Whores, but there is also a dairy there called "Hawes Creamery". http://archive.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/2001/4/27/ 172568.html [thisisthenortheast.co.uk]