Gps Inaccurate Before Fatal Accident

[+DamOTclese]

http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/23.36.html#subj11

 

This is from the latest issue of RISKs Digest. The only thing I could think to ask is why the company that logs GPS tracks from their taxi fleet were logging GPS readings for a city over one thousand klicks away.

 

I at first thought that the GPS readings were incorrect; that the GPS log right before the homicide was an error caused by an electrical short, the human operator resetting the computer, or maybe even caused during the crash. But from the note it looks like the taxi fleet HQ was logging GPS during a test or something.

 

Bizarre.

[+Mastifflover]

And the point of this is?

[+DamOTclese]

And the point of this is?

Yes.

[+The Leprechauns]

And the point of this is?

I would think that several useful tips can be gained from reading the linked article.

 

1. If you find yourself running your taxi off the road and rolling over, turn off your GPS well in advance, unless you want people talking about you on the internet after your death.

 

2. When traveling in Australia, consider the fine bus system.

 

3. Use a Garmin.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I think you will see more and more accidents caused by GPS nav systems in cars.

 

I use a laptop mounted on the dash of my Suburban and a Delorme Earthmate GPS to see scrolling maps with geocaches and points of interest while driving.

 

This is very sensory-intensive, requiring much more focus than a cell phone, and not something that can be done safely by anyone while driving...I have learned to pull over to interact with the system, but even glancing at the map while driving has caused some hairy moments.

 

I worked with Ryder Dedicated Logistics to implement fleet tracking computers on-board all of their freight trucks - they had numerous accidents when the drivers were trying to interact with the On-Board Computer while driving and had to eventually link the user interface to the speedometer system so that if the truck was in motion the OBC couldn't be used.

 

Be safe out there!

Ed

[+cachew nut]

sunspots

[WH]

Must've been a Magellan.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

Is there a point to anything? Ever? Really?

[+Sagefox]

And the point of this is?

Yes.

Well, that clears it up! I was confused for a minute there.

[+LeatherKnight]

The Leprechauns wrote:

1. If you find yourself running your taxi off the road and rolling over, turn off your GPS well in advance, unless you want people talking about you on the internet after your death.

 

Heehee, excellent gallows humor!

 

My question is, why 2 white crosses on the site of a single fatality? Was there another fatality on the exact same spot? Or did the victim, like me, request that his GPS be buried next to him, and is hence, memorialized with him?

 

Also, why is this referred to by the author as a homicide? The only other involved party appears to be the GPS. Other possibilities were listed as a fox who was lucky enough to blunder in front of someone willing to risk their own life to avoid killing him, or a pedestrian who never called in and reported the accident (possibly because he was occupied in an urgent appointment with a clean pair of shorts).

 

Well, read and don't learn, that's my motto.

[+Team DaSH]

I'm not sure why, but this sort of reminds me of that episode of CSI where the woman put the wrong address in her GPSr and rammed her car into a bar instead of her inteneded target, the HMO that denied her claim. So anyway...Happy Hunting!

[+briansnat]

I recall a story about a couple who were following their GPS on a road, right past the bridge out sign into a river.

[+The Leprechauns]

I want to post something funnier than "Ted Kennedy must use a Magellan," but I'll drive off that bridge when I come to it.

[+wvcoalcat]

If Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagon, he'd have been president.

(Remember, they used to float before the floor panels got rusted out)

[+Team Kilroy]

This cache may be of interest here. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=6550

[+cachew nut]

Or this cache

[+Melrose Plant]

And the point of this is?

Yes.

Well, that clears it up! I was confused for a minute there.

Exactly. Precisely. If you had not come to me, I would have come to you.

[+Sparky-Watts]

There was also an episode of "Monk" where the murderer re-programmed the victim's in-car nav disc to lead him to an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront......you'd think he'd see the difference between a bunch of gutted warehouses and Rodeo Drive....