Sat Nav horror leaves two dead after directions led driver wrong way down slip road
A report has been created by the coroner
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A pair of motorists were killed in a head-on collision after one followed sat-nav directions taking her the wrong way down the slip road on a busy dual carriageway.
Amal Mohammed Ahmed, 38 and Tracey Julie Haybittle, 58, died after a collision on the A5 just south of Milton Keynes last November.
At an inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court, it was heard Ahmed had driven the wrong way down the "off" slip road at the Little Brickhill junction and collided with Haybittle’s Volkswagen Tiguan with both cars travelling "at speed."
Following the incident, Ahmed was pronounced dead at the scene with her female passenger suffering “life-threatening and changing” injuries. Haybittle died later in hospital.
A report has been created by the coroner
PA/Google Maps
The inquest that National Highways had taken a number of measures to prevent drivers from turning onto the road, including narrowing the slip road to one lane and installing large signs saying "No entry" and "Do not use sat-nav."
Assistant coroner for Milton Keynes Sean Cummings said it appeared that Ahmed was "following audio directions from her sat-nav application" when she drove the wrong way down the slip road.
He wrote: "CCTV monitoring of driver behaviour was commenced. [It] showed that despite these measures, drivers were still turning early and attempting to drive the wrong way down the slip road.
"While the visual map display on commonly used sat-nav applications at this junction displayed the correct information, the verbal commands gave information likely to confuse and direct drivers down the wrong slip road into the path of oncoming traffic. This was observed to happen frequently."
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The first report noted that police officers who attended the collision spotted three vehicles performing the same manoeuvre as Ahmed.
He has now issued a "prevention of future deaths" report to the technology companies TomTom and Apple, as well as National Highways and the chief executive of Milton Keynes Council.
Cummings’s report will be sent to Apple UK Limited, Google and TomTom, who must respond by the middle of October.
He wrote: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you (and/or your organisation) have the power to take such action."
A TomTom spokesperson told GB News: "TomTom has recently become aware of the tragic accident involving Tracey Haybittle. At present, we do not have confirmation whether TomTom data or products have been used in this incident. Nonetheless, we will review our data and applications to ensure their accuracy.
"This event serves as a reminder of the importance of always adhering to local driving rules and traffic signs. We encourage drivers to use sat nav devices as tools to assist them, while always prioritizing the guidance provided by road signs and regulations."
GB News has approached Google UK and Apple UK for a comment.
Last year, a chef who killed a taxi driver after he mistakenly followed his sat-nav the wrong way along a road was spared an immediate jail sentence. Perry Johnson passed oncoming traffic on the A505 between Luton and Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, and crashed head-on with Raja Waheed Khan's Toyota Prius. Both cars were travelling at about 60mph when they collided in 2021.
Johnson, of Stonar Gardens, Sandwich, in Kent, was handed a one-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. The 31-year-old had been convicted of causing death by careless driving at St Albans Crown Court.
A judge said there was "too much reliance on sat-nav systems" in the case.