The staff at the Fourth Corner has long believed that one day our GPS devices will revolt against us. In their sweet British accent they will carefully direct us to an abandoned parking lot where their cohorts will blackjack us and take our car. It was something we cautiously joked about out of hearing distance from TomTom.
Until it actually happened.
This past week a Nevada couple was traversing the high-desert mountains of eastern Oregon in their SUV when their GPS system led them down an unmaintained forest service road. Their car became stuck in the deep snow, and the couple disappeared off the face of the map.
Three days later in the sub-freezing temperatures the weather cleared up enough that one of their phones caught a signal and the emergency 911 tracking device kicked in, rescuing the couple.
GPS'd if you do, GPS'd if you don't. (more on the story at MSNBC)
This is only the first in what is sure to be a series of GPS units trying to kill their owners. The author and his wife on a recent trip to West Virginia nearly suffered the same fate. Factory-installed GPS users are cautioned that their car may simply take over driving and send them off a cliff. Users of Garmin are advised to also carry a map. Users of TomToms are advised to throw it out the window.
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