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

  • Lithuanian speed merchant
    January 14, 2015
    A Lithuanian man sparked an international police pursuit when he stole a BMW X6 car in Bavaria. The car thief hit speeds of 240km/h in the high performance car as he attempted to elude pursuit, with German police using no less than seven patrol vehicles to try and stop the stolen car. The thief headed towards the nearby German border with the Czech Republic, where Czech police had been alerted and then took over the pursuit, enlisting the use of a helicopter. When the stolen car ran out of fuel the driver a
  • Cats on the road
    January 27, 2017
    In the UK town of Dartford a driver’s dashcam caught footage of a clever cat using a pedestrian crossing. The driver saw the animal waiting to cross and stopped, with an oncoming vehicle doing the same. With the feline safely across, both cars were then able to proceed. Meanwhile elsewhere in the UK, a cat had a very lucky escape after being rescued from a van’s engine bay. The driver had been at the wheel for around three hours when he heard a curious noise emanating from the engine compartment. He stopp
  • Responsive roadsign developed by student
    August 22, 2013
    A UK student hopes his new lenticular road signs which ‘pulse’ at drivers will lead to a revolution in the way motorists are given information on the roads. Meanwhile, a leading road marking firm is helping keep tourists safe in a spiritually significant town in Umbria, Italy. Guy Woodford reports You may think Charles Gale’s vision of creating the first ‘pulsing’ lenticular road sign was the result of months, even years, spent studying traffic and driver behaviour on the roads of his adopted student c
  • Neuron e-scooters may collect road data
    July 31, 2024
    The Singaporean company said that every Neuron e-scooter in Melbourne, Australia, will have a front-facing camera that uses “artificial intelligence computer vision” technology.