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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

High Noon: My GPS made me do it

 Drivers these days can get turn-by-turn directions and traffic updates from their smartphones, some have portable GPS devices like this Garmin StreetPilot c550, and some spring for a navigational system built into the dashboard of the vehicle.  (Associated Press)
Drivers these days can get turn-by-turn directions and traffic updates from their smartphones, some have portable GPS devices like this Garmin StreetPilot c550, and some spring for a navigational system built into the dashboard of the vehicle. (Associated Press)

There are those who are ready to follow the GPS in their car to the ends of the Earth – literally.

A man intently following the instructions of his GPS after leaving a ferry early Thursday made a sharp right turn and drove into the harbor in Whittier, Alaska, submerging his car up to the antenna, police said.

The man, who was not seriously injured, was rescued by another ferry passenger and taken by ambulance to a hospital in Anchorage. “We’re aghast, actually,” harbor master Sue Miller told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s never happened before, let’s put it that way.” More.

While I've never followed my GPS directions into a harbor I have followed them against my better judgement and gotten hopelessly lost. Do you use a GPS? Do you always follow it's directions?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.