Rescue workers in Oregon are reminding motorists across the nation to think twice before following the directions provided by their navigation systems. About 20 cars ended up stranded on a snowy road in the northeastern part of the state after following their GPS to save a few minutes.
News Nation reports that one of the stranded motorists sent a satellite SOS signal from an iPhone to the Union County Sheriff’s office on November 20. The officers who received the SOS call traced it to Ruckle Road, which is described as being steep, not well paved, and, crucially, not plowed or otherwise maintained in the winter. It’s remote enough that Google Street View won’t show you what it looks like.
The sheriff’s office received additional SOS calls shortly after sending a search and rescue team to Ruckle Road. They assumed the calls came from the same person, but the search and rescue personnel found about 20 stuck vehicles when they arrived on location. Posting on Facebook, Union County Search and Rescue explained that the cars got stranded in deep snow about six miles after Ruckle Road intersects Craig Loop.
It didn’t take long for search and rescue workers to realize the UTV they’d brought along to rescue the stranded car wasn’t going to cut it. They enlisted the help of Union Country Public Works, which spent hours plowing the road with a grader, turning the stuck cars around, and helping them make their way out of the area. It wasn’t just dinky little sedans: There’s a last-generation Toyota 4Runner among the stranded vehicles.
Rescue workers say that the motorists got stuck by following a navigation system that recommended taking Ruckle Road would save them time by avoiding traffic delays on I-84, which was temporarily closed. There’s no word on which particular app thought a snowy mountain road was a shortcut.
The moral of the story? When the little voice inside your dashboard says “take the next left,” think twice before turning your steering wheel. “The interstate and highways are the best routes through our region during winter conditions,” summed up Union County Search and Rescue.
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