Sat nav blamed for street's road rage epidemic

nlnews@archant.co.uk
14 November 2007

RESIDENTS are up in arms over their Bounds Green street being turned into a "rat-run" by satellite navigation gadgets, resulting in regular road rage incidents and violence.

Whittington Road has suffered from traffic problems for some time because it is used as a cut through between the A406 North Circular and Bounds Green Road.

But residents claim the problems have become intolerable since sat nav machines began suggesting it as a quickest route.

Caroline Simpson, chairwoman of the Bowes Park Community Association, said: "For many years we have been complaining about the rat-run on Whittington Road.

"It has over the last nine months got progressively worse because of sat nav. We get lorries and coaches sent on this road and it is absolutely intolerable."

The build up of traffic has caused regular road rage incidents.

"There is racial abuse, sexual abuse and people get out of their cars to thump each other. There have been fights between people in cars at various times on the streets," she said.

Residents have asked the council for traffic calming measures, but nothing has been put into operation yet.

However, Councillor Matt Cooke, of Bounds Green ward, has written a letter to Haringey Council and Transport for London asking them to ensure inappropriate routes are removed from sat nav.

He said: "Obviously it's impossible to remove it from the map, but it should not be included as a relevant cut through.

"Sat nav obviously does some sort of algorithm and says this is the quickest route, but if people do take that route they turn into an enormous traffic jam every single morning.

"So it's bad for drivers but it's also incredibly bad for local residents who live there."

A Haringey Council spokesman said: "The council does not supply information to providers of sat nav systems. The issue of traffic using inappropriate routes is becoming more significant across the country as the use of sat nav increases, and this is a problem system providers need to address.

"The council does consider traffic calming measures where there are particular problems with rat-running."

A Transport for London spokesman said: "This is not a matter for Transport for London. TfL has no jurisdiction over satellite navigation equipment manufacturers.