A skip lorry became lodged under a bridge causing major chaos during rush hour traffic last month because the driver was using sat nav.
The incident took place on Kayberry Road in Newton Abbot when the driver attempted to drive his 12.5ft high skip wagon under a 10ft high railway bridge because he was following the directions given by his sat nav. As you can imagine, he was unsuccessful!
The skip hire driver, from Devon Contract Waste, was travelling from Exeter to Newton Abbot to collect a skip when the embarrassing wedging occurred. The situation was much exacerbated by the fact that it happened at 7.22am and was not resolved until 9.15am, causing serious upset to the flow of rush hour traffic as the road had to be closed.
A source at Devon Contract Waste, who wished to remain anonymous, was unhappy about the use of sat nav and said that drivers at the firm were not encouraged to use the technology.
He commented: “If the driver hadn't been using sat nav this would not have happened… we don't issue sat nav to drivers. We issue Devon road atlases and expect drivers to use them.”
Sometimes the old ways are still the best!
