Skip to main content

Up the garden path

A supermarket delivery driver in the UK abandoned common sense when he opted to follow the instructions of his GPS device, turning what appeared to a short cut into a long delay. As customers waited anxiously for their delivery, the van man listened with intent to the words of authority from his GPS system and following its directions, his 1.82m wide delivery van soon became stuck in a 0.9m wide footpath. Bemused cyclists and pedestrians watched in amazement as the driver took no notice of the diminutive si
February 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A supermarket delivery driver in the UK abandoned common sense when he opted to follow the instructions of his GPS device, turning what appeared to a short cut into a long delay. As customers waited anxiously for their delivery, the van man listened with intent to the words of authority from his GPS system and following its directions, his 1.82m wide delivery van soon became stuck in a 0.9m wide footpath. Bemused cyclists and pedestrians watched in amazement as the driver took no notice of the diminutive size of the pathway and carried on down the leafy lane, until his vehicle became stuck. He then had to abandon the vehicle, which was later recovered. Locals commented that this is not the first time vehicles have tried to use the path, which does appear on GPS maps, however it is the first time someone has persisted in attempting to drive an oversize vehicle down the pedestrian track. Local officials plan to place bollards and warning signs at the end of the lane to prevent drivers from trying to use it.

Related Content

  • CECE Congress focuses on future of construction
    April 10, 2012
    The bi-annual CECE Congress was held in Spain when participants looked forward in a bid to see what will happen in the next ten years Growth markets such as China, India and Brazil offer big opportunities to European construction equipment manufacturers. As companies, particularly those from China, start to expand outside their own countries the competition for business will increase, and it has been claimed that there is no such thing as 'the global market', rather it is the sum of hundreds, if not thousa
  • Driving safely to cut risks for road users
    August 24, 2015
    Regulations in France covering driving have become tougher. In a bid to tackle distracted driving, French drivers are now banned from using hands-free phone kits that use headsets while at the wheel. This follows research showing that the use of hands-free kits is only slightly less dangerous than holding a phone in the hand while at the wheel. French drivers are also forbidden to eat, apply make-up, read a map or listen to very loud music when behind the wheel. Meanwhile headphones or wireless earpieces ar
  • Komatsu introducing intelligent excavator
    December 8, 2014
    Komatsu has continued its development of Intelligent Machine Control (IMC) systems, in cooperation with global partner Topcon, with the launch of the PC210LCi-10, the first fully integrated OEM machine control crawler excavator. Unlike its IMC-equipped D61PXi/EXi dozer that was introduced last year, the popular 21 tonne excavator has been unveiled first in Europe, rather than in Japan or the USA. The machine, which is built at Komatsu UK’s excavator plant in Birtley in the North East of England, offers sem
  • VIDEO: Brazilian cyclists caught on camera drafting a truck
    January 18, 2016
    Just how dangerous is it for a cyclist to draft a fast moving vehicle? Probably very dangerous but that means only some cyclists will attempt it, as these videos shows. At the start of this video from Brazil, the cyclist on the right appears to attach his Go Pro camera to the rear of the truck that they are drafting. It is not until about 3:55 seconds into the video that the speed picks up and reaches reportedly 124kph. Near the end of the video, the one cyclist left appears to take back the camera off t