Blindly following GPS directions can end badly... Image Credit: YouTube / Storyful
The bizarre mishap occurred when the driver blindly followed GPS directions down a boat ramp and into the water.
It is not unusual for a car satellite navigation system to offer questionable directions, but some degree of common sense should always be applied when deciding whether or not to actually follow them.
Common sense, however, seemed to be missing entirely from this particular scenario which saw two tourists drive straight down a boat ramp and into a harbor in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii recently.
A video of the incident shows the hapless duo being rescued by a sailboat crew.
"I was just sitting there trying to seek shelter from the rain, and then the next thing, I saw a car drive directly past our boat straight into the harbor at a pretty decent speed," said local Christie Hutchinson who captured the footage.
"It was so confidently done, they didn't have a look of panic on their face. They were still smiling."
It turned out that the tourists (who happened to be sisters) had been following their GPS to the location of a snorkel tours company when it had instructed them to drive into the ocean.
For reasons known only to them, they happily obeyed and plunged the car into the water.
Always look were you are going. Once, during a road trip that took me through the Smokey Mountains, I got off the highway somewhere around Pigeon Forge. All I wanted to do was get back on the highway but there wasn't a clear area to turn around even though I could see the on-ramp behind me in my mirror. I could have made an illegal U-turn but there was a police vehicle just chilling right there in a little gravel area. So, I GPS'd it because it'd probably take me around the block and back to the highway on-ramp. Right?! No. It lead me up a long, very narrow dirt road that kept getting narrow... [More]
Good advice! First time I stopped trusting GPS was back in 2012 in the days of TomTom... I had just moved to a new state,so didn't really know my way around the city... Wake up one day early about to start a new job and get in my truck,put in all coordinates correctly after checking twice... Wound up going in one massive square right back where I started at through rush hour traffic...God damn I was ****ed! Boss understood thankfully Always pay more attention to the road,and what looks/feels correct.
I had to laugh! Having spent my childhood in that part of the country, I know the sorts of roads you mean. I recall being on roads that were narrow, twisty, and have drop-offs into trees. I wasn't driving, but my dad was always very careful! Getting lost on such roads would have to be a nightmare! Glad you made it out!
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