Top ten hysterical incidences caused by Sat Navs: and yes they really did happen, April Fools is on the first of AprilDid you hear the one about the bouncy castle that was delivered to an old people's home? This may sound like an April fools prank but it's actually a true story from a not so savvy Sat Nav user.
The leading motoring website www.motoring.co.uk conducted a survey to find out where people had ended up when their Sat Nav went wrong. The responses were weird and wonderful, the top ten most bizarre are:
1-"Sat Nav continually told me I was driving on water, felt like Jesus and got very confused"
2-"I was delivering a bouncy castle and arrived at an old peoples home having entered one wrong digit in the postcode"
3-"I accidentally arrived in London Bridge when I was aiming for Tunbridge Wells"
4-"We missed a funeral because the Sat Nav couldn't recognize the place"
5-"Was given four points for entering a ring road the wrong way because of my Sat Nav"
6-"Ended up crashing the wrong wedding; by the time we reached the right one we had to follow the bride up the aisle"
7-"Heading to Lincoln, ended up I don't even know where on the edge of the lake"
8-"Got my car stuck in a bog trying to get to Toddington"
9-"Heading for the coast, ended up in a farmyard with a load of sheep"
10-"Got stuck up a single lane track which the sat nav said was a road and had to reverse for over a mile before I could turn around"
Despite Sat Nav's being touted as the answer to end of all map reading and direction induced friction, over half (56 per cent) of those surveyed said they had yelled at their Sat Nav out of frustration. Eight out of ten (79 per cent) admit to having regular conversations with their electronic map-reader and almost a third of drivers (32 per cent) have got into an argument because of their devices. In the battle of the sexes it appears more men have been led up the garden path, 10 per cent more men (30 per cent) than women (20 per cent), have end up in a random field instead of their desired destination due to a Sat Nav error.
Drivers prefer a woman's voice when it comes to sharing a journey with the electronic device, with almost two thirds of people (56 per cent) choosing a female voice. Nigella Lawson came in as the top voice of choice - a close second was funny man Billy Connolly - with drivers saying hearing his voice would make them chuckle while driving. The reassuring voice of Julie Walters was third. The least favorite Sat Nav voices were Simon Cowell, Margaret Thatcher and Catherine Tate.
Motoring.co.uk, managing director Richard Mason said the top five errors that cause people to go off course when using their Sat Nav are:
Incorrect spelling of the final destination
Inaccurately putting the post code in
Faulty device
Particularly remote destinations
Devices being delayed as they work out their location causing drivers to
over-shoot turnings