Man follows BMW satnav off cliff
2009-03-26 10:54
South Africans experiencing satnav maladies since the Gautrain construction begun (or in the newer parts of Cape Town) may identify with a British man who nearly drove a 5 Series off a cliff.
Robert Jones, a 43-year old delivery driver (the bloke who returns your rental or delivers your serviced car) from Doncaster, nearly drove a BMW 5 Series into oblivion off the edge of a 30m cliff on Sunday.
Jones said he always implicitly followed the instructions of onboard satnav systems, without which he would be unable to fulfil his mandate as delivery driver. Inexplicably Jones just kept on driving on the satnav’s bearings even as it was clear the road was rising and about to crest before falling into a rocky footpath.
"I just trusted the satnav. It kept insisting that the path was a road even as it was getting narrower and steeper. I rely on my satnav, I couldn't do without it for my job. I guess I'm lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge. But it has been a bit of a nightmare."
Fortunately for Jones, a fence kept the BMW from plunging down the cliff. It did attract a fair amount of attention in the picturesque town of Todmorden, West Yorkshire, where the car nearly came to grief.
Local police, who are charging Jones with negligent driving, were not impressed with the quizzical state of affairs, as it took nine hours to extract the vehicle.
