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Senator says GPS apps “really owe it to their customers” to implement truck route warnings

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Connecticut Senator Blumenthal is calling on GPS app makers to do something about their faulty truck route directions after one too many semi trucks has struck low-clearance overpasses. 

Blumenthal teamed up with the Department of Transportation on Monday, April 5th, to warn drivers to stay off of Route 15, no matter what their GPS tells them. 

According to Bronx News 12, Blumenthal is asking Apple and Google to update their map navigation system in order to keep truck drivers off of Route 15, which has multiple low-clearance bridges not passable for tractor trailers. 

“[Low-clearance truck crashes are] more than a nuisance and an inconvenience, it’s a real menace,” Blumenthal said.

Just last year, nearly 600 vehicles had to be pulled from the highway after following their GPS’ faulty directions and failing to notice the signs outlining the height limit. Additionally, just a few months into 2021, four bridges along the roadway have already been struck by semi trucks, leading to costly repairs and massive traffic backups. 

“No trucker in his right mind would be on this road if he knew he was going to go crashing into an overpass,” Blumenthal said. 

“All drivers these days are so attuned to these electronic devices rather than the signs. We can make the signs bigger, but truckers need to be warned, explicitly, directly, you simply are not going to be able to make it on this road.”

“I’m going to be looking into potential federal action that can require them to have some kind of warning. In the meantime they really owe it to their customers,” Blumenthal continued in a public statement.

“The signs could be made bigger, but the truth is most truckers are looking down at their phones.”

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