When sat-navs fail

Sat-navs have been the answer to many drivers' prayers. They endow us with the knowledge of the local roads and guide us to our destination with robot-voiced precision.

But it's best not to do everything they tell us to do...

First time unlucky

In 2007 Paula Ceely, 20, took her Renault Clio to visit her boyfriend. Her first time out in it, the Redditch student was followed the instructions to drive over a level crossing without realising where she was.

A train smashed into her car sending her into a 360 degree spin. Luckily, Ceely was OK. Her car, not so good.

Beware of the bridge

Syrian lorry driver Necdet Bakimci got his 32-ton car transporter stuck in a narrow Lincolnshire lane, in August 2008.

Apparently, the driver didn’t seem too bothered about his mishap when a passer-by showed the driver his mistake on a laptop. These things must happen a lot in Syria...

Right name, wrong place

In April 2008, a Northampton taxi driver took a job to collect Princess Diana's niece and take her to Stamford Bridge to see the Chelsea game.

Using his sat-nav, the driver took the woman to Stamford Bridge alright, but Stamford Bridge the small town just outside York, 150 miles way from the action.

Perhaps she was just too polite to say anything.

Written off by a ford

In March last year, a driver, named only as Hayley, drove her car up a farmer’s lane while following her sat-nav to the letter.

Despite signs telling drivers the lane was unsuitable for road vehicles, Hayley drove on and eventually came to a ford. On trying to cross it, her Mercedes SL500 was swept 600 yards down the River Sense.

Luckily she was saved by a passer-by but the car was a write off.

A German meets his portaloo

A pedantic German motorist took his sat-nav literally, with hilarious consequences.

While driving on the autobahn, it instructed him to ‘turn right now’. He performed an immediate 90 degree turn a good 30 meters before the actual turning. He drove straight off the motorway and onto a building site, up a flight of stairs and into a portaloo.