Police warn motorists about sat-nav only driving

12:50pm Friday 5th December 2008

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MOTORISTS are finding themselves stranded on the Lake District’s high mountain passes in treacherous conditions because of ‘sat-navs’, police have warned.

Officers from Cumbria Constabulary have had to rescue an increasing number of drivers from high mountain roads, such as the Kirkstone Pass, and ‘The Struggle’, after they followed instructions by electronic satellite navigation systems.

The sat-nav systems do not take into account bad weather conditions, and so motorists should use their common sense when planning routes, say police.

PC Christine Nelson, of Cumbria Police, said: “I would urge people not to rely too heavily on their sat nav systems when travelling through Cumbria. Most systems calculate the shortest route with the least traffic, and nine times out of ten this will take you over the A592 Kirkstone Pass and The Struggle when planning routes through the Lake District.

“These are high mountain passes which invariably experience adverse weather conditions at the summit, even when the weather may seem OK at shore level.

“People need to take a common sense approach to route planning by checking weather reports and roads information, and should never ignore warnings when advised not to travel on such exposed routes.”

These stricken motorists are only the latest in a string of drivers to have come to grief after following sat navs along the region’s roads.

In May this year, The Westmorland Gazette reported that numerous heavy goods vehicles were getting directed, and subsequently stuck, down narrow lanes after following instructions from the dashboard devices.