Distracted by GPS navigation, an elderly woman failed to notice warning signs and drove her sedan onto a motorcycle-only U-turn bridge in Samut Sakhon on Thursday, leaving the car stranded.
The 83-year-old driver, identified only as Maneewan, was travelling with two passengers when the incident occurred at around 1.30pm at the Tha Chin U-turn bridge on Rama II Road, in front of a former petrol station.
Police arriving at the scene found the sedan near the top of the narrow elevated ramp, with the driver and her passengers waiting outside the vehicle for help. Officers then helped guide the car backwards down the ramp.
The car sustained damage to three tyres, while its sides were scraped against the bridge railings.
Maneewan told police that she and her friends were returning home to Phutthamonthon Sai 3 in Bangkok after visiting a Chinese vegetarian shrine in Tha Chalom to pay their respects.
She said she had switched on her GPS navigation because she was unfamiliar with the area. Mistaking the structure for a regular U-turn bridge for cars, she drove onto the ramp without noticing the signs restricting access to motorcycles.
She realised something was wrong when the underside of her car struck the road surface, prompting her to stop.
Maneewan said she regretted the mistake and would be more careful and attentive when driving in the future.
A local vendor who witnessed the incident said a customer had come out of a shop laughing, prompting the vendor to look up and discover the car stranded on the bridge.
The vendor suggested that motorists unfamiliar with the area might fail to notice the warning signs, adding that the bridge's appearance could make its restrictions less obvious to some drivers.
According to the vendor, this was the fourth time a car had driven onto the motorcycle-only bridge. The vendor called on the relevant authorities to introduce preventive measures to stop motorists from accidentally driving onto it.
Photos and video clips of the incident circulated widely on social media, prompting discussion about the use of GPS navigation.
Some users speculated that the driver might have been following directions intended for motorcycles rather than cars, while others expressed sympathy and shared their own experiences of GPS navigation leading them to incorrect destinations or routes.
Photos by FM91 Traffic Radio
