One Florida woman was having a pretty bad day when she claimed she was “following her GPS” only to drive through a Portland, Maine police station parking garage and down a flight of stairs. Police said it was not her GPS that led her astray, but rather it was her excessive blood alcohol level that contributed to the accident which did not injure anyone, thankfully.
Since no one was injured in the incident, it can be easy to laugh at the premise of following your GPS so closely that it could lead you down a set of stairs and cause a Connecticut auto accident, but is it really that far off from what a large significance we place on our GPS when driving? Have you ever gotten to a destination only to find out that your GPS led you astray? If this has happened, be grateful that it just led you to the wrong destination and not down a flight of stairs in a police station parking garage.
Relying heavily on GPS to get us from point A to point B is not a terribly new concept. We advise a couple of things to make sure that while you’re using GPS you are doing so safely and do not run into a situation like the woman in the above story;
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Program your GPS before you begin driving. This is incredibly important. If you are programming your GPS while you’re driving you will be more prone to mistakes and more importantly you will be taking your eyes off the road in front of you which could lead to terrible consequences.
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Use common sense. If your GPS is telling you to make a turn but you see some sort of obstacle in your way, like a set of stairs, you should reconsider the turn, stop, pull over, and reassess your directions.
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Do not let your GPS put you into any unsafe situations. For instance, if you are driving down the highway and your GPS is a little late with the instruction to get off at a particular exit, don’t race across a couple lanes of traffic to get off the exit, be OK with missing the exit and turning around at the next exit.
GPS systems in your car and on your phone are not perfect and they do make some mistakes. Not only do they make some mistakes, but they also can be a little behind your location from time to time so as you’re driving you need to use good judgment as to whether or not you should be relying on the directions from your system. If you decide it is ok to use your GPS make sure you are doing so safely when you are not driving and making good choices to avoid a Connecticut auto accident.
Our office welcomes your call if you’ve been injured in an accident, whether it involved a GPS issue or not. Contact one of our experienced attorneys who will review your case and work with you to protect your long-term interests.
