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Motoring news

Government 'fails to act' on SatNav hazards

25/03/2009

The Government must take action to reduce the number of road traffic incidents caused by satellite navigation, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Releasing a list of the 21 worst sites for SatNav blunders, the party's shadow transport secretary, Norman Baker, said that the gadgets frequently directed large vehicles along unsuitable roads.

He called for Government action to force devices to recommend routes suited to a vehicle's width and height.

"The Government promised to look at this problem over two years ago, but has completely failed to act," Mr Baker said.

The party's list of problem spots includes Bridgnorth in the West Midlands, where drivers are being directed to a non-existent crossing of the River Severn, and a spot on the A357 in Somerset where heavy goods vehicles "regularly" get stuck under a railway bridge.

According to Network Rail, the number of vehicles hitting railway bridges has nearly doubled since 1996, with about six incidents now being reported on an average day. Mr Baker attributed the increase in bridge strikes to the wider uptake of SatNav.

"This has the potential to be extremely dangerous," he added. "The Government must act to make SatNav devices safer for large vehicles."

Meanwhile, a BMW driver has been charged with careless driving, after allowing his SatNav to direct him to the edge of a 100-foot drop above Todmorden, West Yorkshire on Sunday morning.

Speaking after the incident, Robert Jones explained that the device "kept insisting the path was a road".

"You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff," he added.