GPS Suggested Mountain Road in December. Bad Idea

Family ends up stuck overnight in national forest
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 12, 2016 7:01 PM CST
GPS Suggested Mountain Road in December. Bad Idea
If it's winter, it's OK to second-guess your GPS.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The GPS gave them excellent directions—if it were August. But the problem for the Sanquist family is that they were driving from Oregon to California in December, and their GPS told them to head straight through the mountains of Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, reports ABC News. As they soon discovered, heavy snow falls there this time of year, and the roads aren't plowed. Ron, wife Karen, their 9-year-old daughter, and the family dog eventually found themselves stuck and without cell reception, and they spent a frigid night in the family car. Ron hiked out the next day and was able to call 911 after two miles.

"I am not even sure if I had a shovel what I could have dug out," he tells ABC. Rescue crews got them back on the road again, and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office issued a statement reminding drivers to keep in mind that GPS systems often don't take into account winter conditions. "Gadgets aren't perfect," writes Chris Matyszczyk at CNET. "They're made by humans, who most certainly aren't perfect." His big takeaway: "It's OK to go the long way around. In life, as in cars." (More GPS stories.)

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