Depending on a GPS is a daily occurrence for most drivers. Whether it is by phone, in dash, or a portable unit we all use them. But it goes even further than "use," we trust these units to take us where we ask. And when it starts taking us into bad places we assume that it the GPS knows what it is doing and wouldn't take us to a bad place. Sometimes even the worst case scenario can happen though.

The park rangers at Death Valley National Park in California call it "death by GPS." It describes what happens when your GPS fails you, not by being wrong, exactly, but often by being too right. It does such a good job of computing the most direct route from Point A to Point B that it takes you down roads which barely exist, or were used at one time and abandoned, or are not suitable for your car, or which require all kinds of local knowledge that would make you aware that making that turn is bad news.

Most of these incidents don't end in death, but rather in bafflement. A woman in Bellevue, Washington drove her car into a lake because her GPS said it was a road. A man in Yorkshire, England almost drove his car off a cliff. The answers in these circumstances "The GPS told us we could drive there."

Possible Preaching Angle:

It is interesting that some things we put our faith and trust can take us where we don't want to go. But there is one Person who when we put our faith and trust promised to never lead us astray but to "guide us in paths of righteousness."

Source:

Greg Milner, “Death by GPS,” Ars Technica (5-3-16)