Slashdot Mirror


British Village Requests Removal From GPS Maps

longacre writes "The tiny village of Barrow Gurney, England, has asked GPS map publisher Tele Atlas to remove them from the company's maps. The reason: truck drivers using GPS navigation devices are being directed to drive through the town despite the roads being too narrow for sidewalks, which has led to numerous accidents. At the root of the problem lies the fact that the navigation maps used by trucks are the same as those used by passenger cars, and they don't contain data on road width or no-truck zones. Tele Atlas says they will release truck-appropriate databases at some point, but until then they advise local governments to make use of a technology dating back to the Romans: road signs."

3 of 539 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why it's not just a matter of signs by beelsebob · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    You seem to be assuming that British people would "play it smart". Oddly, over here, we don't try to arrange things for the biggest pay out, because we're not litigious bastards like Americans.

  2. Re:Road Signs? by TheLink · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Well IF the van could actually make it into the relevant bits of the village, I'm sure you can design it so the steel barricade can be raised or opened.

    Otherwise, better not to let those huge vans in.

    On a related note I wonder if modern sized tourists have got stuck in some of those old houses designed for much smaller people :).

    --
  3. Re:Road Signs? by arkane1234 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    The solution isn't demolishing half the villages of Europe to make way for trucks, it's to ban the trucks from places they can't go. And, ideally, ban trucks of this size all together.

    sounds like the stereotypical British mentality I always poke fun at, but in this case it's true...
    Just ban something, and it obviously will just go away!
    Trucks carry the shit you buy, in case you forget. As much as we'd all love them to have their own little transportation system, it's not that way so we have to use the funding the plate tax/vehicle tax/multi-axle fuel tax/ bring to build these changes.

    Yes, I know.. change is hard. Considering the age of your village, I'd say you should be used to change by now, and roll with the punches. After all, there's been plenty of changes in the 250+ years (wait, is there a british year system?) to learn from.

    After all, who needs to go faster than 19-24 Kph, right? Why should a village that has been here far before the horseless carriage was thought of need to do such things as pave the roads or have petrol stations? If those horseless carriages want petrol or a place to drive, they can turn around and get it elsewhere!

    Oh, and by the way, there were Quite a few villages in America that were old when the constitution was signed, also.
    Remember Jamestown, Virginia? Founded 1607.

    --
    -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!