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man using gps drives in front of train


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January 3, 2008

Man Using GPS Drives in Front of Train

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 9:02 p.m. ET

BEDFORD HILLS, N.Y. (AP) -- A Global Positioning System can tell a driver a lot of things -- but apparently not when a train is coming.

A computer consultant driving a rental car drove onto train tracks Wednesday using the instructions his GPS unit gave him. A train was barreling toward him, but he escaped in time and no one was injured.

The driver had turned right, as the system advised, and the car somehow got stuck on the tracks at the crossing. He jumped out and tried to warn the engineer by waving. He got out of the way just before the train slammed into the car at 60 mph, Metro-North railroad spokesman Dan Brucker said Thursday.

The car was pushed more than 100 feet during the fiery crash.

Some 500 train passengers were stranded for more than two hours during the Wednesday evening rush hour. The accident also heavily damaged 250 feet of rail, Brucker said.

The railroad said that the driver was issued a minor summons for obstructing a railroad crossing and that he and his rental company would be liable for the damage, estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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We got a Gramin for Christmas, love it to pieces so far, saved our ass once or twice so far when detours were needed, but damn, if it tells me to turn onto some train tracks, it's just gonna have to get busy, uh, what does it say... "recalculating". You do something stupid like that, don't blame the machine...

Anybody got their favorite voice for their GPS? I kinda like the Garmin Aussie chick. She's... got some spring in that voice, and I like springy!

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GPS is really handy, especially when we travel abroad. The great thing about it, is the ability to turn it off, get lost on purpose, knowing it can easily get you un-lost anytime you want to. Getting lost is one of the best ways to experience a country, its culture and its people.

On the other hand, using GPS when travelling from Jerusalem can be a risky business. A few days ago, a Jerusalemite was nearly lynched in Ramallah when his GPS chose this path to drive him from Jerusalem to some other Israeli town. Luckily for this guy, the PA police rescued him. GPS was destroyed with the car, though.

Now that I think of it, this is another example of how getting lost using GPS is one of the best ways to experience a country, its culture and its people...

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re: GPS

Isn't it really just a gizmo to keep you dumb so that you don't learn and develop a sense of direction? I've been lost and found my way by simply correlating road signs with a map. I mean, where's y'alls pioneering spirit?

namibia.jpg

MG

Hell, that's easy to navigate. You just go in the opposite direction. :)

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