Skip to main content

Air freight

In Switzerland, an Opel delivery van had to be airlifted from a mountain, following a navigation error by its driver. The driver followed the directions given by his satellite navigation system, which told him to follow a narrow track that wound slowly upwards.
February 21, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In Switzerland, an Opel delivery van had to be airlifted from a mountain, following a navigation error by its driver. The driver followed the directions given by his satellite navigation system, which told him to follow a narrow track that wound slowly upwards. Trusting his GPS system, the man drove as directed up the narrow pathway until the vehicle could move no further. The van finally became firmly wedged between a fence and a stone wall and unable to turn around or reverse, the driver called the emergency services. They provided a helicopter to remove the van. However a local fireman praised the driver's off-road skills in negotiating the goat track in his Opel van.

Related Content

  • GPS technology developments
    June 13, 2012
    The use of GPS-inclusive technology is proving invaluable to contractors responsible for major transport-related construction projects across the globe. Guy Woodford looked at some of the latest and imminent site solutions featuring GPS Staff at Trimble Heavy Construction based in Sunnyvale, California recently finished developing three new solutions for connecting the construction site. The Trimble Connected Office, the Trimble Connected Controller and the Trimble Connected Machine, are all now available t
  • Increase in fatal vehicle crashes across US
    December 4, 2015
    A worrying increase in fatalities from vehicle crashes has been noted in the US during the first half of 2015. This comes in the wake of several years of improvements in road safety. A new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the first six months of 2015 shows that motor vehicle fatalities increased 8.1% compared to the same period last year.
  • Pointless system sets record high for new low?
    January 6, 2014
    A man in the English city of Liverpool is still allowed behind the wheel despite having accumulated 45 licence penalty points on his licence. This worrying fact was uncovered by the UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) following a freedom of information request to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The points were all for failing to disclose the identity of the driver or exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road, between October 2012 and June 2013. This worryingly high number beats the
  • Machine Control sector is the place for acquisitions
    January 22, 2014
    The machine control sector has been lively in recent months with a major acquisition, the unveiling of new software innovation and landmark testing of new technology to monitor paving temperature. Guy Woodford reports The state road construction authority in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt (LSBB Saxony-Anhalt) has become the first nationally to test MOBA’s new PAVE-IR Scan temperature measurement system at a works site.