Sat-Nav Sign

'Don't trust sat-nav', new signs warn

A council has put up a sign warning lorry drivers to ignore their satellite navigation systems after faulty sat-nav directions caused traffic chaos.
Vale of Glamorgan Council in South Wales is the first in the UK to use visual signs warning drivers not to believe sat-nav advice after once peaceful villages were reduced to bedlam when heavy-goods lorries got stuck in tiny country lanes.
Now a sign aimed largely at foreign drivers has been put up on the outskirts of the village of St Hilary.
"The proliferation of satellite navigation aids used in heavy goods vehicles, and their over-reliance, especially by overseas drivers, has presented itself as a problem within the Vale of Glamorgan," a spokesman for the council's highways department said.
They are continuing with their journey only to find, after travelling some distance, they cannot proceed any further.
"Manoeuvring becomes difficult and the vehicle eventually blocks the road for a significant period of time."
In a bid to overcome the problem, a county engineer designed a pictorial sign aimed at foreign lorry drivers.
The sign was later approved by the Welsh Assembly and has now been put up outside the village for a trial period.
"There have been numerous situations where HGVs have become lost and stuck in the village of St Hilary, even though there are signs at the junction of the A48 informing such drivers that the route is unsuitable.
"If the signs prove successful following the trial period, then they will be used at other locations throughout Wales."