Lorry drivers warned of satnav errors
Date: 30 August 2007
Road signs have been erected on a number of Welsh country roads warning drivers that satnav systems should not always be trusted.
Several lorry drivers have encountered problems in Wales' rural areas over the years and one particular village has proved especially troublesome.
By blindly trusting sophisticated satnav systems, a number of drivers became stuck in this country village and local traffic engineer Mark Simpson has designed a sign to warn others in the freight industry from making the same mistake.
He said: "We've had a series of problems with drivers getting into trouble by trusting their satnavs and we needed to do something about it.
"They can send drivers on the most direct routes which turn out to be narrow roads completely unsuitable for heavy and long trucks and lorries.
"I hope my sign should do the trick and I hope it is rolled out and copied all over the country."
Mr Simpson, who works for the Vale of Glamorgan council, has placed four signs near the village of St Hilary. He is now hoping to see the idea introduced elsewhere in the UK, to deter drivers from following satnav-advised routes on inappropriate roads.
This follows a request last week from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) for technology that is "more useful to the commercial vehicle driver".
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